A Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count Analysis of the Adult Attachment Interview in Two Large Corpora

• Published in: Canadian journal of behavioural science 2016-01, Vol.48 (1), p.78-88
• Main Authors: Waters, Theodore E. A., Steele, Ryan D., Roisman, Glenn I., Haydon, Katherine C., Booth-LaForce, Cathryn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Attachment Behavior; Caregivers; Child development; Developmental psychology; Human; Interviews; Linguistics; Measurement; Studies; Test Validity; Words (Phonetic Units)
• ISSN: 0008-400X; 1879-2669
• DOI: 10.1037/cbs0000035

An emerging literature suggests that variation in Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985) states of mind about childhood experiences with primary caregivers is reflected in specific linguistic features captured by the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) automated text analysis program (Pennebaker, Booth, & Francis, 2007). The current report addressed limitations of prior studies in this literature by using 2 large AAI corpora (Ns = 826 and 857) and a broader range of linguistic variables, as well as examining associations of LIWC-derived AAI dimensions with key developmental antecedents. First, regression analyses revealed that dismissing states of mind were associated with transcripts that were more truncated and deemphasized discussion of the attachment relationship whereas preoccupied states of mind were associated with longer, more conflicted, and angry narratives. Second, in aggregate, LIWC variables accounted for over a third of the variation in AAI dismissing and preoccupied states of mind, with regression weights cross-validating across samples. Third, LIWC-derived dismissing and preoccupied state of mind dimensions were associated with direct observations of maternal and paternal sensitivity as well as infant attachment security in childhood, replicating the pattern of results reported in Haydon, Roisman, Owen, Booth-LaForce, and Cox (2014) using coder-derived dismissing and preoccupation scores in the same sample. La littérature émergente suggère que les variations dans les états d'esprit durant l'Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan & Main, 1985) au sujet d'expériences avec des aidants principaux pendant l'enfance se reflètent dans des caractéristiques linguistiques précises que saisit le Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC), programme automatisé d'analyse de texte (Pennebaker, Booth & Francis, 2007). Le présent article s'attarde aux limites d'études antérieures dans cette littérature en utilisant deux grands corpus (N = 826 et 857) pour l'AAI et une plus vaste gamme de variables linguistiques, et en examinant les associations entre les dimensions de l'AAI obtenues par LIWC et des antécédents développementaux clés. Dans un premier temps, les analyses de régression ont révélé que l'état d'esprit détaché était associé aux transcriptions contenant le plus grand nombre de propos tronqués et désaccentués sur la relation d'attachement, tandis que l'état d'esprit préoccupé était associé à des propos plus longs, confli