A shoulder to cry on: preschoolers’ crying, temperament, and attachment security

Whereas attachment scholars argue that variations in crying in the SSP reflect the quality of child-parent relationships, temperament scholars contend that they primarily reflect temperamental traits. Few studies have examined this debate in preschoolers, who may display distinct crying responses. This paper explores whether preschoolers' crying behaviors reflect their attachment relationships or their negative affectivity. Attachment dimensions and crying behaviors were assessed in 144 preschoolers who completed Preschool-SSPs during independent visits with their mothers and fathers. Parents completed the CBQ to measure child negative affectivity. Results showed that children high on insecure-ambivalence with one parent tended to cry more with that parent, while higher security was linked to less crying. Crying with one parent was modestly associated with crying with the other. Parent-reported negative affectivity did not predict crying or concordant attachment to both parents, suggesting that crying in the Preschool-SSP is mostly related to attachment relationships rather than temperament.