Running head: ATTACHMENT AND EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS The Significance of Insecure Attachment and Disorganization in the Development of Children’s Externalizing Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Study

This paper addresses the extent to which insecure and disorganized attachments increase risk for externalizing problems using meta-analysis. From sixty-nine samples (N= 5947), the association between insecurity and externalizing problems was significant, d = 0.31 (95% CI 0.23, 0.40). Larger effects were found for boys (d = 0.35), clinical samples (d = 0.49), and from observation-based outcome assessments (d = 0.58). Larger effects were found for attachment assessments other than the Strange Situation. Overall, disorganized children appeared at elevated risk (d = 0.34, CI 0.18, 0.50), with weaker effects for avoidance (d = 0.12, CI 0.03, 0.21) and resistance (d = 0.11, CI -0.04, 0.26). The results are discussed in terms of the potential significance of attachment for mental health.