Assessing attachment representations in early childhood: Validation of the attachment doll play

The present study examined whether Attachment Doll Play, a new type of assessment instrument for children constructed by George & Solomon (1990/1996/2000), could smoothly and validly apply to Japanese children. After the instructions for the instrument were given a culturally faithful translation, 56 kindergarten children, aged 5 to 6 years, were provided with the Doll Play. Pairs of mothers and their children were observed in the Separation-Reunion Attachment Procedure. The results indicated that (1) children of both genders responded to the Doll Play similarly to their American counterparts, (2) the original coding system of A, B, C, or D attachment type applied well to the protocols of the attachment-related stories driven by the Doll Play, and (3) convergent validity was confirmed by a significant correspondence between the Doll Play and the Separation-Reunion classification (k =.62, p <.001). Cultural influences on the Doll Play and future directions are discussed.