The aim of the study was to investigate biobehavioural organisation in infants with
different qualities of attachment. Quality of attachment (security and
disorganisation), emotional expression, and adrenocortical stress reactivity were
investigated in a sample of 106 infants observed during Ainsworth’s
Strange Situation at the age of 12 months. In addition, behavioural inhibition was
assessed from maternal reports. As expected, securely attached infants did not show
an adrenocortical response. Regarding the traditionally defined insecurely attached
groups, adrenocortical activation during the strange situation was found for the
ambivalent group, but not for the avoidant one. Previous ndings of increased
adrenocortical activity in disorganised infants could not be replicated. In line
with previous ndings, adrenocortical activation was most prominent in insecure
infants with high behavioural inhibition indicating the function of a secure
attachment relationship as a social buffer against less adaptive temperamental
dispositions. Additional analyses indicated that adrenocortical reactivity and
behavioural distress were not based on common activation processes. Biobehavioural
associations within the different attachment groups suggest that biobehavioural
processes in securely attached infants may be different from those in insecurely
attached and disorganised groups. Whereas a coping model may be applied to describe
the biobehavioural organisation of secure infants, an arousal model explanation may
be more appropriate for the other groups.
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