To examine whether there was a significant decrease in disorganized
attachment classification, we created the disorganized and
organized categories by collapsing the relevant attachment classifications
into their respective groups. Disorganized (infant classification),
disorganized– controlling (preschool classification), and
insecure– other (preschool classification) groups were collapsed to
form the disorganized group. Secure, avoidant, and resistant were
pooled to form the organized group. We used the McNemar test to
examine the null hypothesis that shifts from organized to disorganized
attachment or from disorganized to organized attachment
would be equally likely. As can be seen from Table 2, the null
hypothesis was rejected: Shifts from organized to disorganized and
from disorganized to organized were not equally likely, M
2 (1, N
65) 17.06, p .001. Movement from disorganized to organized
classification was more likely than movement from organized to
disorganized classification: Sixty-nine percent of the 39 children in
the preintervention disorganized group moved to the postintervention
organized group, whereas only 15% of the 26 children in the
preintervention organized group moved to the postintervention
disorganized group. In other words, based on the McNemar test,
there was a significant decrease in disorganization after intervention