Abstract

VERISSIMO, Manuela; MONTEIRO, Lígia; VAUGHN, Brian E.  and  SANTOS, António J.. Qualidade da vinculação e desenvolvimento sócio-cognitivo. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2003, vol.21, n.4, pp.419-430. ISSN 0870-8231.

Cognitive theories suggest that children's social thought is organized in terms of role taking skills and the understanding of psychological states of others. Researchers working on attachment argue that children's social thought reflects differential internalisation of aspects of early interaction. Our research examined the relations between patterns of children's social thought and quality of attachment relationships. The participants were 50 mothers and their children, from Lisbon, Portugal. Children mean age level was 41 months, 27 girls, and 23 boys. Mothers' age ranged from 21 to 42 years (M=32,26, SD=4.34) Children spend in average 6,80 hours in school. All the families were from middle class for Portuguese standards. Mothers were asked to complete the Attachment Q sort (Watters, 1987). Children's social thought was evaluated through their social interpretations of several vignettes. Two coders analysed the content of children's discourse (Pearson correlations .89). Measures of social thought were Prosocial Reactivity, Cognitive decentration and affective decentration. Cluster analyses of obtained Q profiles revealed three distinct types of attachment relationships. Results showed that secure children used more prosocial reactivity, and cognitive decentration that insecure children. These findings suggest that quality of attachment empowers and constrains child's adaptation and understanding of their social world and the acquisition of subsequent social skills.

Keywords : Attachment; social cognition; emotions.

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