While associations between exposure to marital conflict and child development have been documented extensively in middle childhood and adolescence, few studies have examined the developmental consequences of conflict exposure in infancy. Moreover, those that have examined marital conflict in infancy tended to focus on consequences of conflict…

Research Findings: This study investigates the effect of the early home environment on self-regulation in preschoolers, and how self-regulation relates to later school achievement, while taking into account family resources. Participants were part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth…

Psychologists have long debated the role of early experience in social and cognitive development. However, traditional approaches to studying this issue are not well positioned to address this debate. The authors present simulations that indicate that the associations between early experiences and later outcomes should approach different…

There are many postulates of a relation between quality of attachment with theory of mind and language functions (e.g., de Rosnay & Hughes, 2006). The current study examined in longitudinal design how different patterns of attachment are associated with usage of internal state language at ages 17, 23, 30 and 36 months. Transcripts of mother-child…

This longitudinal study examined the interrelationship between sex of the child and sex of the parent on the expression of attachment behaviors during the child's first 2 years. Special consideration was given developmental changes in the attachment structure and the relationship of attachment to cognitive development. Ten boys and 10 girls were…

This study investigated relations between social interaction during infancy and children's subsequent theory of mind (ToM). Findings indicated that children's performance on ToM tasks at 45 and 48 months positively correlated with mothers' appropriate comments on her infant's mental state, but not with attachment security. Mothers' appropriate…

This methodology report documents the design, development, and psychometric characteristics of the assessment instruments used in the second wave of the ECLS-B. The assessment instruments discussed measure children's cognitive development (BSF-R), socioemotional functioning (Two Bags Task), security of attachment (TAS-45), and physical development…

Followed from infancy to age 7 internationally adopted children placed before 6 months. Found that girls were better adjusted than boys, except in cognitive development, and that easy temperament related to higher levels of social, cognitive, and personality development and fewer behavior problems. Attachment security and maternal sensitivity…

Considers the implications of nonparental care for cognitive development and behavior problems in Swiss young children. Finds that the effect of nonparental care on behavior problems was mediated by the pattern of attachment to the mother and that the effect on cognitive development was mediated by the quality of care. (DSK)

A prospective, longitudinal investigation was made of psychological aspects of pregnancy, birth, and the first year postpartum. The majority of participants were Caucasian (90 percent) and Chinese-Canadian (5 percent) men and women and their infant children. Adult participants completed a series of psychological and attitude measures selected to…

Studies on the effects of early day care can be characterized according to two distinct research trends. In the first, which occurred during the 1960s and 1970s, the principal issue was whether day care had any inevitable and negative consequences for the child and, particularly, the mother-child attachment. The second, more recent, trend has been…

This intensive longitudinal study of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life focuses on the development of attachment. Data on 26 middle-class families were collected by five methods: (1) naturalistic observation of each mother-infant pair during 4-hour home visits, which occurred at 3-week intervals from the infants' 3rd to 54th…

Identified predictors of outcomes for 30-month-olds with developmental delays or biomedical risk factors in child care. Found that after accounting for selection effects, child characteristics at 12 months, and home caregiving quality, no child-care variables predicted development or attachment security. Older entry age predicted greater…

This is a partial report of a longitudinal investigation designed to assess the psychological effects of an experimentally conducted day care program on children during the first 30 months of life. The experimental subjects were Chinese and Caucasian children from working and middle class families who were cared for at a special group care center…

During the early 1980s, use of crack cocaine by expectant mothers introduced U.S. schools and social agencies to a large cohort of children with attachment problems, attention and learning difficulties, hyperactivity and other abnormal behaviors. Research focused on the early characteristics and needs of so-called "crack kids," but little…