Familiarity of the setting, the mother's presence, sex of the stranger, and the distance separating the infant and the stranger were varied to examine the expression of stranger fear in 32 infants from 6 to 11 months of age. (Author/JMB)

Examined emotional closeness between mothers and their children to determine whether mother-daughter pairs exhibit closer emotional relationships than mother-son pairs. Results with 41 mother-child dyads show girls to be physically closer to their mothers, engaging in more eye contact and higher in global enjoyment. (SLD)

Thirty-eight mothers completed questionnaires that assessed their attachment to their infant, stress level, and infant's temperament. Mothers were also observed interacting with their infant at six weeks and again at nine months. Found that stressed mothers felt less attached to their infant at six months than nonstressed mothers, and mothers of…

Pooled sibling attachment data to compare attachment relationships to mothers for 138 sibling pairs. Found that sibling relationships were significantly concordant when classified as secure/nonsecure but not when further subcategorized. Maternal insensitivity to both siblings was associated with concordance of sibling nonsecurity. Same gender…

Twenty 18-month-olds were observed with their mothers and 20 with their fathers in laboratory free-play, departure, and separation situations. Findings were analyzed in terms of the differential roles of mothers and fathers, the development of sex differences, and determinants of separation distress. (JMB)

The relation between resumption of full-time employment by mothers of infants, and subsequent infant-mother and infant-father attachments, was examined. No relation emerged between maternal work status and the quality of infants' attachments to their mothers. (PCB)

Examined the stability of infant-parent attachment security in samples of 90 infant-mother and 120 infant-father dyads who completed the Ainsworth and Wittig Strange Situation procedure at 6- to 7-month intervals. Significant stability was not discerned in attachment security, with rates of stability ranging from 46% to 55%. (MDM)

Mothers and fathers of 62 children were seen separately in the Strange Situation procedure, and their caregiving behaviors were separately assessed using several measures. Results revealed only one effect, that mothers of securely attached children were more responsive to their children than other mothers. (BC)

Attempted to replicate findings of a previous study which found that mother-toddler interaction during problem solving was related to the child's prior attachment security. Examined the relationship between problem-solving interactions on the one hand, and mother-child interactions at home and infant temperament on the other. (PCB)

This paper presents results of the first part of a research program designed to test the hypothesis that an hour of extra contact between mother and infant beginning about one half hour after delivery would be associated with more secure attachment of an infant to its mother at one year. In the overall study extra contact infants were also…

Social behaviors of 10- and 12-month-old infants were studied as a function of experimental context (home and laboratory) and experimental history (home rearing and day care). Results suggested that the experimental context influenced infant social behaviors. No differences attributable to rearing condition as a main effect were found. (Author/SB)

Examined continuity and discontinuity in maternal sensitivity of 135 disadvantaged mothers and their first-born children from 6 and 24 months to 42 months. Results indicate that sources of stress originating from the child or environment result in decreased sensitivity over time, whereas sources of support increase sensitivity.(RJC)

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…

Examined relationship of maternal sensitivity and infant temperament to attachment security among Korean 1-year-olds. Found that securely attached infants showed more secure-base behaviors and compliance, enjoyed physical contact, and showed fewer fussy/difficult behaviors than did other infants. Infant gender, but not security status, related to…

The preference of the infant for mother versus father as an attachment figure and as a secure base for exploration is examined in this study. Subjects were fifteen 15-month-old infants whose mothers were their primary caregiver. The Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure was modified to permit both parents' simultaneous presence during separation…