Disoriented, punitive, and caregiving/role-confused attachment behaviors are associated with psychopathology in childhood, but have not been assessed in adolescence. A total of 120 low-income late adolescents (aged 18-23 years) and parents were assessed in a conflict-resolution paradigm. Their interactions were coded with the Goal-Corrected…

To test proposals regarding the hierarchical organization of adult attachment, this study examined developmental origins of generalized and romantic attachment representations and their concurrent associations with romantic functioning. Participants (N = 112) in a 35-year prospective study completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and Current…

This study examined early observed parenting and child-care experiences in relation to functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis over the long term. Consistent with the attenuation hypothesis, individuals (n = 863) who experienced: (a) higher levels of maternal insensitivity and (b) more time in child-care centers in the first…

This multimethod study of 101 mothers, fathers, and children elucidates poorly understood role of children's attachment security as "moderating" a common maladaptive trajectory: from parental power assertion, to child resentful opposition, to child antisocial conduct. Children's security was assessed at 15 months, parents' power assertion observed…

This study examined the effect of a mother-baby intervention on the quality of mother-child interaction, infant-mother attachment security, and infant socioemotional functioning in a group of depressed mothers with infants aged 1-12 months. A randomized controlled trial compared an experimental group (n = 35) receiving the intervention (8-10 home…

Assessed parent-child interaction in 2-parent families with 12- and 18-month-old infants through questionnaires, interviews, family observations, and the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure. Found no effect of family stress and marital adjustment on infants' attachment classification. Parents of 12 month olds reported greater marital adjustment…

Explored long-term effects of different childrearing contexts on attachment and separation representations of Israeli 16- to 18-year-olds. Found that adolescents raised in a kibbutz communal setting showed higher incidence of nonautonomous attachment representations and less competent coping with imagined separations than adolescents raised in a…

The attachment behavior of 35 white, middle-class 3 1/2- to 4-year-olds who had experienced different rearing histories was observed through a series of standardized episodes involving separations and reunions with the mother and a stranger. (Author/JMB)

Focuses on definition of sensitivity, developmental changes in sensitivity, and clinical implications of attachment. Maintains that promptness, consistency, and appropriateness are the main components of sensitivity across parenting dimensions. Suggests that studying infant antecedents to attachment security is equally important to that of parent…

Maintains that it is important to distinguish theory testing from effect-size evaluation when considering the impact of mothering on attachment security. Contends that it is possible that the De Wolff and van IJzendoorn meta-analysis both over- and underestimates mothering effects, as would be the case if infants varied in their susceptibility to…

In a middle-class sample of mothers of 2-year-olds, adult attachment classifications measured in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) were related to maternal self-reported emotional well-being and observed parenting behavior, and the potential mediating and moderating roles of maternal emotion were tested. Mothers classified as dismissing on the…

Assessments of parent and sibling attachments were made when the firstborn child of a two-child family was one, three, and six years old. Sibling conflict and aggression were related to maternal conflict with both children at six years. Affectionate fathering was associated with prosocial sibling interaction. (BC)

Based on data collected prenatally and during infants' first 2 years of life, this study attempted to discriminate among three major attachment classifications and to account for qualitative changes in attachment relationships. Data included maternal and infant characteristics, mother-infant interactions, life-stress events, and family living…

Explored the antecedents of the ambivalent attachment pattern in Israeli infants. Found that mothers of ambivalent infants showed lower education level, higher separation anxiety, and higher parenting stress than mothers of secure infants. Infants' perceived difficult temperament did not discriminate between the two groups. Longer maternal work…

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)