Comparison of attachment styles and social development in children of one- and multiple-child families in Isfahan

Abstract

This descriptive study of the causal type was conducted with the purpose of investigating and comparing attachment styles in students of one-child and multiple-child families studying in guidance schools in Esfahan. The sample population included all guidance-school-level students of the city of Esfahan in the school year 2012-2013 selected using the multi-stage sampling method. First, the educational districts 3 and 4 were selected at random from among school districts in the city. After listing the public and non-profit private schools of these two districts, eight schools were randomly selected. The study sample consisted of 90 students of each group who were selected at random from among students of these eight schools. The members of the study sample responded to questionnaires on Hazan and Shaver attachment styles.The data collected were analyzed using the software spss16 and employing the two-way variance analysis method. Results obtained showed that there were no significant differences in any of the attachment styles (secure, ambivalent, and avoidant) between the two groups of children belonging to one-child and multiple-child families. These results also indicated that there were no significant differences between the two sexes with respect to any of the variables of the study either.