In this article, the author synthesizes research from several disciplines to shed light on play's central role in healthy development. Gordon builds on research in attachment theory that correlates secure attachment in infancy with adult well-being to demonstrate how playfulness might be a lifelong outcome of secure attachment and a primary…

Reviews recent research advances in the areas of individual differences in the way maternal-infant attachment behavior becomes organized, differential experiences associated with various attachment patterns, and the values of such patterns in forecasting subsequent development. (Author/GC)

Reviews literature on attachment process between adopted children and their mothers. Explains empirical research in relation to Bowlby's theoretical formulation of attachment, basic thesis of which is that infants develop affectional bonds at specific ages of their development and, therefore, child's age at time of adoption is important…

Critically evaluates knowledge about relations between early interaction, the "strange situation," and later social behavior in normal and atypical infants including premature infants, abused or neglected infants, and the infants of depressed mothers. Attributes equivocal relations between early interaction behaviors and later attachment…

Examines two models of the compelling nature of the infant cry and its effectiveness in eliciting caregiving behavior. (MP)

The second of a four-part series on the development of infants and toddlers, this article reviews current research on social and emotional development during the first two years and provides a selected list of activities designed to promote infants' optimal development. Attachment behavior and affective behavior are two major topics explored. (EV)

Reviews the construct of attachment, its role as a motivational system in infancy, and its development in the first three years. Emphasizes that attachment must be assessed in the context of particular infant-parent relationships, and reviews specific infant and caregiver behaviors salient to the assessment of attachment. (Author/CR)

Examines strategies for studying individual differences in infant behavior from the standpoints of the distinction between individual differences and developmental function and the need to study change with multivariate techniques. These themes are applied to the study of mental development, behavior genetics, temperament, and attachment. (RJC)

In his article "The 'Effects' of Infant Day Care Reconsidered," Jay Belsky (see PS 017 108) concludes that maternal employment puts infants at risk for developing emotional insecurity and social maladjustment. After a review of Belsky's and other research, a different conclusion is offered in this paper. It is agreed that infants whose…

Provides evidence that the significance given to the infant-mother attachment and personality and social development is not warranted. Infants normally develop attachments to more than one person. Their interpersonal world is complex and includes fathers and other caretakers. (Author/JAC)

The interactive creation of an attachment bond of affective communication between the psychobiologically attuned primary caregiver and the infant is central to human emotional development. These emotional transactions directly influence the experience-dependent maturation of the infant's early developing right hemisphere, which is in a growth…

Reviews research on infants classified by Ainsworth's "Strange Situation" assessment as insecure/ambivalent, and examines studies exploring attachment theory beyond infancy. Presents a theoretical discussion of the ways in which patterns of mother and child behaviors associated with the insecure/ambivalent pattern may work together to…

Analyzed data from 11 studies of concordance of mother/father attachment to an infant based on the Strange Situation. Found that security of attachment, type of insecurity, and subcategory classification of security to one parent depended on the other parent. Discussed parenting styles and infant temperament. (BC)

Parent/infant bonding is discussed in this study review. Bonding is defined prior to a discussion of research that places the concept in historical perspective. The discussion of research since 1950 focuses on Bowlby, Klaus and Kennell, Helfer, Mahler and Rheingold, and Brazelton. Attention is given to the capacities of the newborn, child abuse,…