Studied 6 year olds (N=52, male = 26, female = 26) who were assessed using an adaptation of the Strange Situation Procedure, for use with six year olds.  They compared attachment to the following assessments:

• View of the self by indirect interview (the child supplies a puppet's answers in response to questions about themselves)
• Beliefs about how others view them (using a family of dolls to act out situations)
• Self-esteem by direct interview (similar to the puppet interview but direct)
• Feelings and competence by measure (Harter's Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children).

The variation on the Strange Situation Procedure (used for 2 session, 1 month apart) was as follows:
 

Episode	Personnel	Duration	Activity
1	Mother, child and experimenter enter the room.	5 mins	Juice and cookie warm up session
2	Experimenter leaves	10 mins	Picture drawing session.
3	Mother leaves, experimenter returns.	60 mins	Other measures are administered.
4	Mother returns	5 mins	Reunion behaviour observed.
5	All present		Additional measure  in session 2.

Attachment was assessed using a scale devised by Main & Cassidy (1985) based on the child's reunion behaviour with the mother during episode 4.  Results from the non-attachment measures were as follows:
 

	Secure	Insecure/
		Avoidant	Ambivalent	Controlling
N =  Proportions	22 42%	8 15%	6 12%	16 31%
View of self  (puppet interview)	Report self as being perfect but are willing to admit to minor flaws when pressed.	Insistance that they are perfect.	Report self as being perfect but are display a negative self view.	Display an overall negative self view. Self critical.
Beliefs about how others view them  (family of dolls)	Open negotiation. Child and mother of equal value. Warm relationships. Able to use mother as source of safety	Child is isolated or rejected and does not turn to the mother for safety. Conflict and importance of relationships is denied.	n/s	Open negotiation and able to use mother as source of safety but also child behaves in a hostile, negative or bizarre way towards the mother.
Self-esteem interview  (direct interview)	Open view of the self, generally positive but are willing to admit to minor flaws when pressed.	Insistance that they are perfect.	Not significant on the basic measures but children were body preoccupied.	n/s
Self-esteem measure	More positive self-esteem that the other categories.	Less positive than secure	Less positive than secure	Less positive than secure

 
The results above support the idea that there is a relationship between the six year old child's view of the self and maternal attachment:

• Secure children had a positive self-image with capacity to admit and tolerate imperfections in self and others.
• Insecure/avoidant children were defensively idealizing of the self and dismissive of relationships.
• Insecure/controlling children were negative about the self and showed higher hostility towards others. They appeared less concerned about rejection.
• Insecure/ambivalent children showed few clear or strong patterns of responses but were clearly not secure.