The aim of this study was to examine if an insecure coercive attachment pattern is associatedwith disruptive behavior in preschoolers, as well as to examine the concurrent and joint effects ofattachment pattern, marital dissatisfaction, and ineffective parenting practices on disruptivebehavior. Participants included 60 preschoolers and their mothers, recruited from three sites toensure an adequate range of disruptive behavior. The Preschool Assessment of Attachment(Crittenden, 1992) was used to measure attachment pattern. Results of an analysis of variancerevealed that children in the coercively attached dyads scored significantly higher on the measureof disruptive behavior than either the defended or secure children. Results of a hierarchicalregression analysis indicated that the combination of a coercive pattern of attachment, maritaldissatisfaction, and permissive parenting practices accounted for a significant proportion of thevariance in disruptive behavior in preschoolers. These data suggest that a specific type of insecureattachment, a coercive pattern, is associated with disruptive behavior in preschoolers. Also, thedata are consistent with previous findings of associations among marital dissatisfaction, ineffectiveparenting practices, and disruptive behavior.