This study aims to address gaps in the literature on continuity of care through focus group interviews with teachers at public early care and education programs in San Diego County, California, USA. To better understand various perspectives on continuity of care, focus groups were conducted at programs that currently practice continuity of care,…

This study traces patterns of attendance, times of arrival and departure, and policies and practices surrounding enrollment and moving children from classroom to classroom in a child care center. It appears that children's efforts to acquire competence in developing friendships with their peers not only depends on their own capacities, but is also…

The conceptualizations of morphogenic processes suggested by systems theorists provide a useful framework for describing growth and development in complex adaptive self-directing organisms. These processes involve changes in (1) a system's structure, state, or functioning; (2) discontinuities in development; and (3) at least two kinds of…

Continuity over time in parent-child attachments and the relationship between these attachments and current self-esteem were studied for 218 nonparent college students. Results indicate continuity over time of attachment. Self-esteem is related to childhood and adolescent styles of attachment and dimensions of independence encouragement and…

Thirty-two preadolescents were observed in a longitudinal study of attachment and subsequent social development, and case studies of four friendship pairs were conducted. Findings suggest a process model of friendship formation based on repetition of infant attachment history in establishing children's preadolescent friendships. Proposes a 3-stage…

Part of a prospective longitudinal study examining factors that account for developmental outcomes for high-risk children, this investigation focused on how successful adaptation at 12 and 18 months is related to adaptation at 24 months, 42 months, and 4.5 to 5 years of age. Assessments at each age were designed to indicate how the child was…

Considers evidence for continuity and discontinuity of attachment in four major longitudinal studies. Discusses the difficulty of constructing a critical test of the prototype and stable environment hypotheses for attachment continuity. Notes that intergenerational transmission of attachment has been only indirectly addressed. (KDFB)

This document provides data from an ongoing longitudinal study of the degree of continuity in individual development over time and describes the complexities involved in efforts to determine the nature of individual continuity. Findings from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of children in a day camp provide evidence for continuity in individual…

Reviews the research presented in the preceding articles in this issue. Discusses (1) continuity versus discontinuity in child development; (2) the effect of child care and school settings on child development; and (3) child care and school as contexts in which children develop attachment relationships with adults. (BC)

Using a question-answer format, this paper examines the concept of attachment and its importance for parents and caregivers of young children. Twenty topics are addressed through an examination of relevant theory, research findings, and clinical evidence: (1) a "who's who" list of researchers on attachment; (2) definition of attachment;…