Home1
Psychological tests2
Maternal Secure Attachment Level to a One-Year-Old Child3

Maternal Secure Attachment Level to a One-Year-Old Child Test

Understand the security of your bond with your 1-year-old in about 4 minutes. Get a clear, actionable snapshot of strengths and areas to support healthy connection and exploration.

Start Online Test

Questions: 204 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

31,015 views

2,219 completions

1,863 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

2/5

Support/Ignoring (S)

This scale measures how consistently a mother provides emotional support to her child during challenging moments versus leaving the child to cope alone.

Low support

Moderate support

High support

0 – 1: Low support | 2 – 3: Moderate support | 4 – 5: High support

A score of 2 indicates a moderate level of support, suggesting the mother sometimes offers comfort and help in difficult situations but may not do so consistently.

example score

4/5

Responsiveness/Intrusiveness (R)

Measures how respectfully the mother supports the child’s initiative and independence while avoiding overly controlling intervention.

Intrusive/overcontrolling

Mixed responsiveness

Supportive responsiveness

0 – 1: Intrusive/overcontrolling | 2 – 3: Mixed responsiveness | 4 – 5: Supportive responsiveness

A score of 4 indicates generally supportive, timely involvement that respects the child’s individuality and allows initiative without excessive interference.

example score

2/5

Acceptance/Rejection (A)

Measures how much the mother accepts the child as they are and perceives the child as significant to her expectations and feelings.

Lower acceptance

Mixed acceptance

High acceptance

0 – 1: Lower acceptance | 2 – 3: Mixed acceptance | 4 – 5: High acceptance

A score of 2 falls in the Mixed acceptance range, suggesting acceptance is present but may be inconsistent or more conditional in some situations.

example score

2/5

Sensitivity/Insensitivity (S)

Measures how well a mother notices her child’s signals, understands the underlying needs, and responds in an appropriate, timely way.

Low sensitivity

Moderate sensitivity

High sensitivity

0 – 1: Low sensitivity | 2 – 3: Moderate sensitivity | 4 – 5: High sensitivity

A score of 2 suggests a moderate level of sensitivity, with some accurate responses to the child’s cues but inconsistencies in noticing or interpreting needs across situations.

example score

14/20

Maternal Attachment Level (MAL)

Measures the overall strength and security of a mother’s attachment to her 1-year-old, reflecting sensitivity, acceptance, supportive involvement, and respect for the child’s autonomy.

Low

Medium

High

0 – 12: Low | 13 – 16: Medium | 17 – 20: High

A score of 14 falls in the Medium range, suggesting the mother typically shows sensitivity and acceptance with generally supportive involvement, though these qualities may not be fully consistent across situations.

Start Online Test

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

New mothers seeking reassurance

46%OF USERS

Mothers of 0–1-year-olds who want to check how secure their bond feels and spot small areas to strengthen in everyday interactions.

Mothers facing bonding challenges

33%OF USERS

Mothers experiencing stress, postpartum mood symptoms, or a hard first year who want clarity about sensitivity, acceptance, and responsiveness with their baby.

Perinatal and child specialists

21%OF USERS

Psychologists, family therapists, and early development professionals who use a quick screening to guide counseling and early intervention plans.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Support/Ignore (S)

Average

1.6

Normal range

0.9 — 2.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Responsiveness/Intervention (R)

Average

1.3

Normal range

0.6 — 2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Acceptance/Rejection (A)

Average

1.4

Normal range

0.6 — 2.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Sensitivity/Insensitivity (S)

Average

3.2

Normal range

2.6 — 3.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Level of Maternal Attachment (LoMA)

Average

12.5

Normal range

10.1 — 14.9

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Start Online Test

Featured On

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Dear Mother, please read each statement carefully and select the response option that best reflects your behavior: “Yes” if you more often think and act in this way, and “No” if you hold a different view and behave differently.

- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No

These are 3 of the 20 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

Start Online Test

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Maternal Secure Attachment Level to a One-Year-Old Child Test - Symptoms and Signs

motherhood

attachment

family

This questionnaire is designed to screen maternal perceptions and behaviors associated with secure attachment in early caregiving relationships. Maternal Secure Attachment Level to a One-Year-Old Child is intended for use with mothers of infants around age 1 and focuses on common caregiving situations and emotional responses. It was developed by Mary D. Ainsworth and Everett Waters.

The measure includes 20 items and typically takes about 4 minutes to complete. Scores are organized into domains reflecting caregiver sensitivity, acceptance, appropriate responsiveness versus intrusiveness, and support for the child’s exploration versus ignoring needs, with an overall index summarizing perceived attachment security. Maternal Secure Attachment Level to a One-Year-Old Child may be used in clinical and early intervention settings to inform case formulation and guide discussion of strengths and areas for support; results should be interpreted in context and are not diagnostic on their own.

Author: Everett Waters, Mary D. Ainsworth

Literature: Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. Patterns of attachment: a psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1978.