This study examined associations between infant—mother attachment, assessed using Ainsworth's Strange Situation at 12-months, and mother—child narrative co-construction in 110 Israeli mothers and their 71/2 year-old children to examine aspects of Bowlby's (1973) notion of Goal-Corrected Partnerships. Narrative co-constructions were classified into a mutual-balanced style or one of two non-mutual/unbalanced styles of affective negotiation. Dyads with children classified as secure were more likely to be classified as mutual-balanced than dyads with children classified as insecure (ambivalent or disorganized). The latter were likely to be classified into one of the two Non-mutual/Unbalanced classifications (i.e., Disengaged or Overwhelming). Contributions of this study to broadening our understanding of secure-base in the post-infancy years, and for increasing our knowledge about goal-corrected partnerships, are discussed.
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