Using narrative story-completion tasks with a sample of 97 preschool-age Mexican-heritage children from a large urban area, the authors examined differences in children's representations about their mothers and teachers. The authors also looked at teachers' perceptions to determine whether teachers viewed children in the same way as children…

Continuity and intergenerational transmission of representations of attachment were examined in a longitudinal sample of 88 Mexican immigrant mothers and their children who participated in the local intervention group of the Early Head Start Evaluation Study. The authors interviewed mothers with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and Parent…

Eighty-three low-income Mexican-heritage children (44 girls) and their mothers participated in this research. Children were observed with alternative caregivers at 14, 24, and 36 months of age using the Attachment Q-Set. Most children received regular care from infancy through preschool from relatives and childcare providers. Children had high…

The intent of this study was to examine the development of peer interaction in low-income Mexican-heritage families in the United States. Eighty-eight children (44 girls) were observed and mothers interviewed when children were 14, 24, 36, and 54 months old. We used the Attachment Q-Set (Waters, 1990), the Peer Play Scale (Howes & Matheson, 1992),…

The goal of the research reported in this article was to examine the process of forming attachment to caregivers in children new to childcare. We examined child and adult behaviors and the adult's perception of the child at entry, and the ethnic/racial match between the child and caregiver as predictors of attachment relationship quality measured…

Examined mother and teacher correlates of social competence with familiar and unfamiliar peers in 84 children who had entered child care in 4 different waves. Found relationships with initial teachers and those at age four were related to social competence with peers. Maternal attachment relationships at 12 months and at 4 years did not predict…

Children's relationships with their mothers and child care teachers were assessed by means of Q-Set procedures. Children's moods, expectations of adult responsiveness, awareness of adults' location, and reliance on adults for comfort differed in relationships with teachers and with parents. (BC)

The relationships of 441 children with their mother and preschool teacher were assessed and classified in 3 categories. Children in the secure relationship category had more responsive teachers than other children. Children in the ambivalent relationship category had more responsive teachers than children in the avoidant relationship category. (BC)

Assessed the attachment of 101 toddlers to their mothers and day care teachers by the Strange Situation Procedure or Q-Set measures. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that children's relationships with their parents and day care teachers would show similar attachment classifications. (BC)

Observed the social behavior of 27 preschoolers in the in parent-cooperative preschools. Found that when, their parents were working in the preschool, children engaged in less high-level peer play, initiated play with peers less often and expressed more negative emotion and spent much less time in proximity to adults than when their parents were…

Observed children in family and center day care settings, exploring changes in interaction with adults and peers. Found that children who spent more time with peers engaged in more complex peer play than did those who spent less time. Caregivers influenced amount and complexity of peer play, but indirectly, through the degree to which they helped…

Examined thresholds for two aspects of child care: adult-child ratio and group size. Investigated associations among different levels of these variables and with quality of care and children's social development. Findings suggest that meeting licensing standards for ratios and groups has a positive effect on ratings of the quality of care provided…

Examined the processes and outcomes of teacher-child attachment relationship formation in a therapeutic preschool. Twenty-one children were sorted with the same teacher three times using Attachment-Q Sort (AQS). Results indicated that children who were least secure, most avoidant, and most resistant in their initial teacher-child relationship were…

Reviews studies of maternal employment, processes in child care settings, and the link between children's development and family and child care influences. Critically evaluates the risk for children's social and emotional development that may result from infant child care. (BB)

Children's attachment to their mother, measured by the Strange Situation procedure, reunion behavior at four years of age, and the Attachment Q-Set, was stable from infancy through preschool. The quality of teacher-child relationships, measured by the Attachment Q-Set, was stable if the teacher remained the same. (BC)