Attachment security predicts social competence — modestly, and alongside everything else
A synthesis of meta-analytic evidence on what early attachment does and does not predict
Reviewed by Sian Trombley, CCCFounder, Thrive Family Company
Moderate confidence
Source citation
Groh A. M., Fearon R. M. P., van IJzendoorn M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg M. J., Roisman G. I. (2017). Attachment in the Early Life Course: Meta-Analytic Evidence for Its Role in Socioemotional Development. Child Development Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12213
Published 1 January 2017 · Added to Thrive 26 July 2026 · Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Attachment is one of the most quoted and most overstated ideas in parenting. This paper puts numbers on it.
Published research findings
The study
Groh and colleagues summarised meta-analyses linking early attachment classifications with later social and emotional outcomes.
What researchers examined
The size of associations between attachment security and later social competence, externalising and internalising problems.
What they found
Security showed a consistent, small-to-moderate association with social competence and externalising problems, and a weaker association with internalising problems.
Thrive editorial interpretation
What this may mean for families
Attachment matters, but it is one contributor among temperament, environment and later relationships — not a verdict issued in infancy.
What this doesn't tell us
Important limitations
Correlational data cannot establish causation, and classifications can shift over time.
Evidence confidence describes how much weight this study's design can carry — not how strongly the finding applies to any individual child or family.
Therapist perspective — Thrive interpretation, not a finding of the study
Therapist Perspective
I use this to lower the stakes. Early relationships shape a child; they do not finish them.
Practical family considerations
Security is built continuously, not fixed in the first year.
This research summary is educational and does not replace individualized medical, psychological or therapeutic advice.
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Short, focused, behaviour-based programmes outperformed long, broad ones
2003 · Meta-analysis
Strong confidence
Why it matters
Depth of insight is not the active ingredient. Concrete, observable changes in how a parent responds are.