Infant attachment in a sample adolescent mothers.

Thirty-eight, healthy, full-term, first-born infants of adolescent mothers were assessed in a standardized laboratory setting using a modified Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure for assessing attachment. The security rate within this sample was 23.7% which differed considerably from that reported in most white middle class samples of approximately 55-65%. Within this sample, 31.6% were classified as insecure/disorganized which contrasts with 12% in middle class white samples reported by Main & Weston. A racial difference was evident. Fewer black infants were securely attached than were white. This paper presents the findings according to race, sex and age and discusses the implications.