Resumen de Attachment and Temperament in the Early Life Course: A Meta-Analytic Review

Ashley M. Groh, Angela J. Narayan, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, Glenn I. Roisman, Brian E. Vaughn, R. M. Pasco Fearon, Marinus H. van Ijzendoorn

• This meta-analytic review examines the association between early attachment (assessed at 1–5 years) and child temperament (assessed at birth–12 years), and compares the strength of this association with recently documented meta-analytic associations between early attachment and social competence, externalizing behavior, and internalizing symptoms. Based on 109 independent samples (N = 11,440) of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, temperament was weakly associated with attachment (in)security (d = .14, CI [0.08, 0.19]) but modestly associated with resistant attachment (d = .30, CI [0.21, 0.40]). Temperament was not significantly associated with avoidant (d = .10, CI [−0.02, 0.19]) or disorganized (d = .11, CI [−0.03, 0.25]) attachment. Across developmental domains, early attachment security was more strongly associated with social competence and externalizing behaviors than internalizing symptoms and temperament.