A short parent-reported attachment relationship questionnaire: Development and cultural validation for a majority world context

Jäggi L.; McCoy D.C.; Fink G.; Hinckley K.; Alvarado M.; Dormal M.; Hartinger Pena S.; Mäusezahl D.; Noom M.J. · International Journal of Behavioral Development (2026) · DOI: 10.1177/01650254251368797

Resumen

Secure attachment relationships provide the foundation for lifelong emotional resilience and social flourishing. However, measuring attachment with observational methods is challenging at scale in low-resource settings. Caregiver-report questionnaires offer a feasible alternative but remain underutilized and insufficiently validated for Majority World contexts. This study aimed to address this gap by culturally adapting and validating the Attachment Relationship Inventory-Caregiver Perception 2–5 years Short Form Peru (ARI-SF-Peru) questionnaire for use in an Andean setting. Using a stepwise mixed-methods design, we employed qualitative methods to refine the questionnaire, followed by confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to test its psychometric properties in a validation sample of N = 1,000 mothers. A simplified two-factor model (secure vs. insecure attachment) demonstrated strong reliability and predictive validity for child outcomes, though a four-factor model with all attachment styles can be used to provide additional theoretical insights. The final 21-item questionnaire provides a practical, culturally adapted, and valid tool for assessing mothers’ perceptions of their attachment relationships with their young children in an understudied population. The study also provides a framework for adapting self-report assessments in similar contexts, recommending simplified language, positive phrasing, and reduced response options to enhance clarity. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia