This review of the literature regarding the impact of maternal speech on the formation of a child's sense of self compares the speech of well mothers to that of depressed mothers. The review finds that maternal speech has a strong influence on the formation of symbolic self-representations during the toddler period. However, depressed mothers'…

This document consists of a compilation of three separate 4-page brochures by the same authors: (1) understanding babies and toddlers; (2) understanding three to six-year olds; (3) disciplining preschoolers. The first brochure covers bonding and attachment, infant temperament, patterns of growth, and the characteristics of children during the…

Reviews the major transitional object (TO) theories in terms of origin, development, and psychological meaning. Examines the validity of TO (intense, persistent attachments young children develop for blankets, soft toys, and bits of cloth) theory in light of current empirical knowledge of TO behavior. (HOD)

Suggests future directions for study of sensitivity and its impact on early psychosocial development: (1) renewed attention to growth of attachment in context of other developing features of the parent-child relationship; (2) factors that moderate impact of sensitivity on developing security; (3) origins of individual differences in sensitivity;…

This paper will present evidence to support ontogenetic and phylogenetic parallels and draw from these comparisons to further illuminate our understanding of micro and macro human development. Individual and collective stages of physical, psychological and spiritual development will be compared and their homologous structures examined.…

The main purpose of this essay is to articulate a conceptual framework for early mental development. The content of the essay is based on a review of psychoanalytic literature and includes an attempt to integrate preverbal developmental data with the constructs of psychoanalytic theory. The view is taken that object constancy and the capacity to…

Reviews and discusses the debate between the traditional psychoanalytic perspective on separation-individuation and the newer "rational" view of self-development. Finds each have equal importance both for understanding psychopathology and for providing effective and empathically-attuned psychotherapy. Provides clinical vignettes derived…

Work in developmental psychiatry and psychology has increasingly focused on how internal representations of early experiences with primary figures of childhood affect relationship formation in later childhood and adulthood. Investigations of the reflective self function, which involves mental states in which individuals become the subject of their…

Using a comparative-cultural perspective, this collection of essays examines the co-constructivist nature of human development in culturally organized environments. The contributions also cover a large age span--infancy to adulthood. Chapters in part 1 cover two different directions in the study of early adult-infant interaction from a comparative…