Attachment and sleep training

Attachment describes the emotional bond that the child develops towards their caregiver. A secure attachment develops through responsive and consistent care over time.¹ Attachment quality is often measured using an observation test called the "Strange Situation", which studies how the child reacts to brief separation from the parent and upon reunion.² It is not individual situations but the overall pattern of interaction that shapes attachment.

Studies examining extinction-based methods, where the child is left to cry for shorter or longer periods, have generally not found negative effects on attachment. The longest follow-up (2012) tracked children for five years after sleep training without finding differences in attachment.³ A controlled study (2016) measured attachment after 12 months without negative effects.⁴ A study of 328 families (2007) likewise found no negative effects.⁵ An analysis of over 1,000 children (2020) showed that the degree of responsiveness to crying did not affect attachment or behavioural problems.⁶

The number of studies is still limited. Most use standardised measurement instruments that may not capture subtle effects, and most have been conducted in Western contexts.⁷ More well-designed studies with more sensitive measurement methods are needed.