Emotional and Behavioral Functioning, and Attachment Style in Children

Mothers (N = 126) filled out the Italian version of the Child Behavior Check-List/6–18 [CBCL/6-8, (24); Italian version, (25)], that is one of the most used instrument to measure childhood and adolescent psychopathology in both clinical and normative samples. The CBCL/6–18 is a 113-item informant-report questionnaire that requires parents (mothers and fathers independently) to rate specific emotional/behavioral problems of their child during the past 6 months. Items are rated on a three-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not true) to 2 (very true or often true), and are clustered into eight syndrome scales: anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior. In this questionnaire, anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, and somatic complaints scales are grouped into the subscale of internalizing problems, whereas rule-breaking behavior and aggressive behavior scale are grouped into the subscale of externalizing problems. Social problems, thought problems, and attention problems (not grouped into any subscale) are also evaluated by this survey. DSM-5 oriented scales (depressive problems, anxiety problems, somatic problems, attention deficit/hyperactivity problems, oppositional defiant problems, and conduct problems) were also used.

Attachment style in children was measured through the Italian version (short form) of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Child questionnaire [ECR-RC, (26); Italian version, (27)]. The self-report short form of ECR-RC is made up of 12 items (six for anxiety and six for avoidance) on a five-point Likert scale. For our purpose we decided to use the ECR-RC categorically, by dividing the four attachment styles in “secure attachment” and, on the other hand “insecure attachment,” which includes fearful, preoccupied and dismissing attachment styles. Findings across studies suggest the ECR-RC is a valuable tool for measuring anxious and avoidant attachment to parents in middle childhood and adolescence. It shows excellent reliability and validity (26, 28), showing a Cronbach's alpha of 0.83 for attachment anxiety and 0.85 for avoidance (26). On the other hand, the Italian validation of the ECR-RC exhibited a Cronbach's alpha of 0.95 for attachment anxiety, 0.87 for avoidance and 0.90 for secure attachment (27).