Methods for diagnosing the type of attachment to mother in older preschool age

<p><strong>Objective. </strong>The study aims to clarify the possibilities and limitations of using tests for joint activities and N. Kaplan’s projective technique to identify the type of attachment to the mother in older preschool age. Different approaches to determining the type of attachment to mother in older preschool age are considered. The materials of a two-stage empirical study are presented. <strong>Methods and materials. </strong>The study involved preschoolers (n = 51) attending senior groups of kindergartens in Moscow and their mothers (n = 51). At the first stage, two tests of joint activity were carried out in mother-child dyads (picture dialogue and construction), at the second stage, N. Kaplan’s projective technique was used only with children. In the process of observing work in mother-child dyads, in addition to the actual determination of the type of attachment, experts recorded assessments on 12 indicators, combined into 2 components — cognitive-activity and emotional. <strong>Results. </strong>The results obtained allow us to speak about the high consistency of the data obtained using two methods (tests for joint activity and the projective technique of N. Kaplan) — for 44 out of 51 children the results completely coincide. In addition, assessments of the cognitive-activity and emotional components of child-mother interaction are significantly higher in children with secure than insecure attachment type, determined using each method. <strong>Conclusions. </strong>It was revealed that both options for diagnosing the type of attachment (tests for joint activity, and N. Kaplan’s projective technique) are effective in older preschool age.</p>