The effects of domestic violence on the stability of attachment from infancy to preschool.

We hypothesized that trajectories of domestic violence (DV), maternal depression, and household income (from pregnancy to age 4) would be differentially associated with instability and stability of attachment, as measured by the Strange Situation at ages 1 and 4. Participants were 150 women and children. Women were first assessed during pregnancy and then yearly when the children were 1 to 4 years old. Overall, attachment was unstable for 56% of the sample from age 1 to age 4. Trajectories of DV and income both predicted attachment patterns. Positive outcomes (secure-secure and insecure-secure) were related to initially low levels of DV that stayed constant or became lower as well as initially high or low levels of income that increased over time.