The first distribution of Chinese infant-mother (n = 61) attachment classifications categorised by trained and reliability-tested coders is reported with statistical comparisons to US norms and previous Chinese distributions. Three-way distribution was 15% insecure-avoidant, 62% secure, 13% insecure-resistant, and 4-way distribution was 13%…

The association between fathers' adult attachment representations and their recollections of childhood experiences with their caregiving quality with their eight-month-old infants and with father-infant attachment classification was examined in a longitudinal study of 117 fathers and their infants. Sensitive caregiving was related to…

This study examined contributions of maternal sensitivity and maternal representation of childhood experiences to differences in attachment strategies in a cohort of infants from birth to six years. Antenatal maternal attachment representation was assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview. Maternal sensitivity was assessed with the Child-Adult…

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare diagnoses of patients from a special outpatient department for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Specifically, overlap, age and gender differences according to the two classification systems DC: 0-3R and ICD-10 were examined. 299 consecutive children aged 0-5;11 years received both ICD-10 and…

Initial validation data are presented for the Risky Situation (RS), a 20-minute observational procedure designed to assess the father-child activation relationship with children aged 12-18 months. The coding grid, which is simple and easy to use, allows parent-child dyads to be classified into three categories and provides an activation score. By…

Assessed maternal sensitivity and infants' attachment behavior to test validity of a system of classifying attachment relationships at home. Subjects were 47 mothers of preterm and 42 mothers of full-term infants. Results reaffirm Ainsworth's conceptualization of distinct attachment relationships. (HTH)

The study examined the classification scheme of the Ainsworth Strange Situation measure of attachment security with 44 insecurely attached 13-month olds from a high-social-risk sample. Results supported the existence of an additional category of infants whose attachment behavior was "avoidant/ambivalent" and whose families were…

Findings from a study of 109 Israeli day-care providers suggest that they classify, label, and evaluate infant behavior in the Strange Situation procedure much like attachment theorists do. The relatively independent infants were viewed most positively and most providers preferred to interact with these infants. (SLD)

A scheme for classifying attachment patterns is proposed that retains important elements of Ainsworth's system, but extends it to allow for the inclusion of more deviant patterns of behavior. The proposed scheme asserts that attachment relationships can be ordered on a continuum of felt security based upon an organizational interpretation of the…

This study examined associations between infant-mother attachment, assessed using Ainsworth's Strange Situation at 12-months, and mother-child narrative co-construction in 110 Israeli mothers and their 71/2 year-old children to examine aspects of Bowlby's (1973) notion of "Goal-Corrected Partnerships". Narrative co-constructions were…

Described is the development of a method for identifying and classifying differing attachment organizations at six years of age. The system is based on an analysis of children's responses to reunion with parents following a one-hour separation. Sixth year attachment classifications to mother were found to be highly predictable from infancy…

Analyzed attachment relationships of 22 maltreated and 21 nonmaltreated infants of 12 months. Findings indicated a preponderance of disorganized/disoriented (Type D) attachments in the maltreatment group, with boys more likely than girls to be Type D. (RJC)

This follow-up study, which was part of a larger ongoing longitudinal project, compared early infant-parent attachment relationships to aspects of both parents' and children's mental representations of attachment when children were 6 years old. The sample consisted of 50 mothers, fathers, and children of predominantly upper-middle class social…

The relations between early infant-mother attachment and children's social competence and behavior problems during the preschool and early school-age period were examined in more than 1,000 children under conditions of decreasing, stable, and increasing maternal parenting quality. Infants' Strange Situation attachment classifications predicted…

This article discusses attachment problems and disorders among infants and young children, the consequences of attachment problems in child development, and factors leading to attachment problems. It provides the current status of diagnostic criteria and classification systems means of assessment and available empirically supported interventions.…