Abstract
During the transition from infancy to preschool years, children develop controlling-caregiving and controlling-punitive attachments, in addition to continuing to show disorganized behaviors, as part of a larger disorganized attachment spectrum. Despite advances in understanding disorganization in young adulthood, little is known about the controlling patterns and their relations to psychological health. This is likely due to a scarcity of well-validated and cost-effective measures assessing all three disorganized patterns in young adulthood. The Childhood Disorganization and Role Reversal Scale (CDRR) addresses this need by assessing dimensions of disorganization and role reversal, such as hostility, child affective caregiving, and child punitiveness, in addition to appropriate parent–child boundaries. Since the CDRR is a recent measure, this study aimed to further validate it by (a) evaluating whether its factor structure replicates in a university student sample (N = 286, M(SD) = 19.3(1.6); 74.48% female) and (b) assessing its construct validity through associations with conceptually relevant constructs such as childhood adversity, internalizing problems (depression and anxiety), and subjective well-being (happiness, life satisfaction, and meaning in life). Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for the original four-factor structure CDRR with mothers (Disorganized/Punitive, Affective Caregiving, Mutual Hostility, Appropriate Boundaries) and fathers (Disorganized, Affective Caregiving, Punitive, Appropriate Boundaries). Associations with childhood adversity, internalizing problems, and subjective well-being were in the expected directions. Overall, the results provide additional evidence for the validity of the CDRR and the importance of evaluating disorganized and controlling attachments in young adulthood.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Sparks, G. (1973). Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy. Brunner/Mazel.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss (Vol. 3). Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1 Attachment (2nd ed.). Basic Books
Brumariu, L. E. (2015). Parent–child attachment and emotion regulation. In G. Bosmans & K. A. Kerns (Eds.), Attachment in middle childhood: Theoretical advances and new directions in an emerging field. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 148, 31–45
Brumariu, L. E., Giuseppone, K. R., Kerns, K. A., Van de Walle, M., Bureau, J.-F., Bosmans, G., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2018). Middle childhood attachment strategies: Validation of an observational measure. Attachment & Human Development, 20, 491–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2018.1433696
Brumariu, L. E., & Kerns, K. A. (2010). Parent–child attachment and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence: A review of empirical findings and future directions. Development and Psychopathology, 22(1), 177–203. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579409990344
Brumariu, L. E., Kerns, K. A., Giuseppone, K. R., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2021). Disorganized/controlling attachments, emotion regulation, and emotion communication in later middle childhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101324
Brumariu, L. E., Obsuth, I., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2013). Quality of attachment relationships and peer relationship dysfunction among late adolescents with and without anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27(1), 116–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.09.002
Bureau, J.-F., Easterbrooks, M. A., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2009a). Attachment disorganization and controlling behavior in middle childhood: Maternal and child precursors and correlates. Attachment & Human Development, 11(3), 265–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730902814788
Bureau, J.-F., & Moss, E. (2010). Behavioral precursors of attachment representations in middle childhood and links with child social adaptation. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28, 657–677. https://doi.org/10.1348/026151009X468062
Bureau, J.-F., Easterbrooks, M. A., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2009b). The association between middle childhood controlling and disorganized attachment and family correlates in young adulthood. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.
Byun, S., Brumariu, L. E., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2016). Disorganized attachment in young adulthood as a partial mediator of relations between severity of childhood abuse and dissociation. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 17(4), 460–479. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2016.1141149
Cyr, C., Euser, E. M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2010). Attachment security and disorganization in maltreating and high-risk families: A series of meta-analyses. Development and Psychopathology, 22(1), 87–108. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579409990289
Deneault, A.-A., Bureau, J.-F., Duschinsky, R., Fearon, P., & Madigan, S. (2023). A meta-analysis of the distribution of preschool and early childhood attachment as assessed in the Strange Situation procedure and its modified versions. Attachment and Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2023.2187852
Deneault, A.-A., Bureau, J.-F., Yurkowski, K., & Moss, E. (2020). Validation of the preschool attachment rating scales with child-mother and child-father dyads. Attachment & Human Development, 22(5), 491–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2019.1589546
Diener, E. (2006). Guidelines for national indicators of subjective well-being and ill-being. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 1(2), 151–157.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.
Enders, C. K. (2012). Dealing with missing data in developmental research. Child Development Perspectives, 7(1), 27–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12008
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W.W. Norton & Company.
Fagan, J., Day, R., Lamb, M. E., & Cabrera, N. J. (2014). Should researchers conceptualize differently the dimensions of parenting for fathers and mothers? Journal of Family Theory & Review, 6, 390–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12044
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14, 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00017-8
Ford, D. C., Merrick, M. T., Parks, S. E., Breiding, M. J., Gilbert, L. K., Edwards, V. J., Dhingra, S. S., Barile, J. P., & Thompson, W. W. (2014). Examination of the factorial structure of adverse childhood experiences and recommendations for three subscale scores. Psychology of Violence, 4(4), 432–444. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037723
George, C., Main, M., & Kaplan, N. (1996). Adult attachment interview. University of California.
George, C., & Solomon, J. (1996). Representational models of relationships: Links between caregiving and attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 17, 198–216.
Groh, A. M., Fearon, R. P., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H., Steele, R. D., & Roisman, G. I. (2014). The significance of attachment security for children’s social competence with peers: A meta-analytic study. Attachment & Human Development, 16(2), 103–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2014.883636
Hooper, L. M., & Doehler, K. (2012). Assessing family caregiving: A comparison of three retrospective parentification measures. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(4), 653–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00258.x
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. (2015). Investing in the health and well-being of young adults. National Academies Press.
Jackson, D. L., Gillaspy, J. A., & Purc-Stephenson, R. (2009). Reporting practices in confirmatory factor analysis: An overview and some recommendations. Psychological Methods, 14(1), 6–23. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014694
Kerns, K. A., Mathews, B. L., Koehn, A. J., Williams, C. T., & Siener-Ciesla, S. (2015). Assessing both safe haven and secure base support in parent–child relationships. Attachment & Human Development, 17(4), 337–353.
Khoury, J. E., Rajamani, M., Bureau, J.-F., Easterbrooks, M. A., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2020). Observed parent-child interaction from infancy to adolescence as a predictor of severity of childhood maltreatment by age 18. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(11), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113749
Khoury, J. E., Zona, K., Bertha, E., Choi-Kain, L., Hennighausen, K., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2020). Disorganized attachment interactions among young adults with borderline personality disorder, other diagnoses, and no diagnosis. Journal of Personality Disorders, 34(6), 764–784. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi_2019_33_408
Koepke, S., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2012). Dynamics of identity development and separation-individuation in parent-child relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood – a conceptual integration. Developmental Review, 32(1), 67–88.
Lecompte, V., Moss, E., Cyr, C., & Pascuzzo, K. (2014). Preschool attachment, self-esteem and the development of preadolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms. Attachment & Human Development, 16(3), 242–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2013.873816
Liotti, G. (2004). Trauma, dissociation, and disorganized attachment: Three strands of a single braid. Psychotherapy: Theory Research, Practice, Training, 41, 472–486. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.41.4.472
Lyons-Ruth, K., Bronfman, E., & Parsons, E. (1999). Maternal frightened, frightening, or atypical behavior and disorganized infant attachment patterns. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 64(3), 67–96.
Lyons-Ruth, K., Brumariu, L. E., Bureau, J.-F., Hennighausen, K., & Holmes, B. (2015). Role confusion and disorientation in young adult-parent interaction among individuals with borderline symptomatology. Journal of Personality Disorders, 29(5), 641–662. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi_2014_28_165
Lyons-Ruth, K., & Jacobvitz, D. (2016). Attachment disorganization from infancy to adulthood: Neurological correlates, parenting contexts, and pathways to disorder. In J. Cassidy & P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 667–695). Guilford Press.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46(2), 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1006824100041
Macfie, J., Brumariu, L. E., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2015). Parent-child role-confusion: A critical review of an emerging concept. Developmental Review, 36, 34–57.
Madigan, S., Brumariu, L. E., Villani, V., Atkinson, L., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2016). Representational and questionnaire measures of attachment: A meta-analysis of relations to child internalizing and externalizing problems. Psychological Bulletin, 142(4), 367–399. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000029
Main, M., & Cassidy, J. (1988). Categories of response to reunion with the parent at age 6: Predictable from infant attachment classifications and stable over a 1-month period. Developmental Psychology, 24(3), 415–426. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.24.3.415
Main, M., & Hesse, E. (1990). Parents’ unresolved traumatic experiences are related to infant disorganized attachment status: Is frightened and/or frightening parental behavior the linking mechanism? In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & E. M. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 161–182). University of Chicago Press.
Main, M. M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & E. M. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 121–160). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Martela, F., & Steger, M. F. (2016). The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 531–545. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137623
McLaughlin, K. A., Weissman, D., & Bitrán, D. (2019). Childhood adversity and neural development: A systematic review. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 1, 277–312. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084950
Meier, M., & Bureau, J.-F. (2018). The development, psychometric analyses, and correlates of a self-report measure on disorganization and role reversal. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(6), 1805–1817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1028-1
Meier, M., Martin, J., Bureau, J.-F., Speedy, M., Levesque, C., & Lafontaine, M.-F. (2014). Psychometric properties of the mother and father compulsive caregiving scales: A brief measure of current young adult caregiving behaviours toward parents. Attachment and Human Development, 16(2), 174–191.
Moreira, A. L., Yunes, M. Â., Nascimento, C. R., & Bedin, L. M. (2021). Children’s subjective well-being, peer relationships, and resilience: An integrative literature review. Child Indicators Research, 14(5), 1723–1742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09843-y
Moss, E., Bureau, J.-F., St-Laurent, D., & Tarabulsy, G. M. (2011). Understanding disorganized attachment at preschool and school age examining divergent pathways of disorganized and controlling children. In J. Solomon & C. George (Eds.), Disorganized attachment and caregiving (pp. 52–79). Guilford Press.
Moss, E., Cyr, C., Bureau, J.-F., Tarabulsy, G. M., & Dubois-Comtois, K. (2005). Stability of attachment during the preschool period. Developmental Psychology, 41(5), 773–783. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.5.773
Moss, E., Cyr, C., & Dubois-Comtois, K. (2004). Attachment at early school age and developmental risk: Examining family contexts and behavior problems of controlling-caregiving, controlling-punitive, and behaviorally disorganized children. Developmental Psychology, 40(4), 519–532. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.4.519
Moss, E., & Lecompte, V. (2015). Attachment and socioemotional problems in middle childhood. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2015(148), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20095
Newcomb-Anjo, S. E., Barker, E. T., & Howard, A. L. (2017). A person-centered analysis of risk factors that compromise wellbeing in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(4), 867–883. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0603-2
Obsuth, I., Hennighausen, K., Brumariu, L. E., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2014). Disorganized behavior in adolescent-parent interaction: Relations to attachment state of mind, partner abuse, and psychopathology. Child Development, 85(1), 370–387.
Pinquart, M., Feusner, C., & Ahnert, L. (2013). Meta-analytic evidence for stability in attachments from infancy to early adulthood. Attachment & Human Development, 15(2), 189–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2013.746257
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306
Schneider, M., Obsuth, I., Szymanska, M., Mathieu, J., Nezelof, S., Lyons-Ruth, K., & Vulliez-Coady, L. (2022). Attachment-based parent-adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli. BMC Psychology, 10(1), 112. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00821-9
Schulenberg, S. E., Strack, K. M., & Buchanan, E. M. (2011). The meaning in life questionnaire: Psychometric properties with individuals with serious mental illness in an inpatient setting. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67, 1210–1219. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20841
Solomon, J., & George, C. (2008). The measurement of attachment security and related constructs in infancy and early childhood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 383–416). Guilford Press.
Solomon, J., George, C., & De Jong, A. (1995). Children classified as controlling at age six: Evidence of disorganized representational strategies and aggression at home and at school. Development and Psychopathology, 7(3), 447–463.
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., Lushene, R., Vagg, P. R., & Jacobs, G. A. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80
Stevens, J. (1992). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Nair, T.K., Kuma, NA.A., Brumariu, L.E. et al. The Childhood Experiences of Disorganization and Role Reversal Scale: Relations with Childhood Adversity, Internalizing Problems, and Well-Being in Young Adulthood. J Adult Dev (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-024-09474-x
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-024-09474-x