When trauma precedes a child's placement in the foster care system, it can lead to lasting mental health difficulties. Often, children who experience extreme, chronic trauma prior to age 5 develop Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). This article discusses the characteristics of RAD as well as diagnostic criteria and possible etiology. (Contains 26…

Children and adolescents who are diagnosed as conduct disordered and violent have less physically intimate relationships. This may be a factor in the development of their disorder. Physical contact treatments like massage therapy may help reduce their aggressive behavior and normalize their EEG and biochemical profiles. (Contains 79 references.)…

Suggests that those with different attachment styles will react to nonverbal involvement change in a manner consistent with their approach/avoidance orientations and mental working models of self and others. Finds that regardless of attachment style, targets reciprocated confederate behavior in increase-involvement conditions and displayed…

Assessed maternal characteristics by questionnaire and observed mother-child interactions when children were 3.5 years old. Determined children's attachment classification at 4.5 years. Found that, compared to mothers of insecure children, mothers of secure children were rated higher on positive mood and enjoyment of child and had a higher…

No main effect relations between infant proneness-to-distress temperament at 9 months and attachment classification at 13 months were found. Proneness-to-distress temperament was associated with maternal behavior and personality. (PCB)

The current literature on 10 measures of attachment (including a psychometric analysis) is reviewed. Adult attachment and parent-adolescent attachment measures, which include two interview protocols, are considered. A comparison of the theoretical structure and basic properties of adult attachment measures is presented. Selection and use of these…

Investigates the extent to which adolescents' marital expectations are related to the marital expectations of their parents. Examines the extent to which the nature of attachment to the parent and the level of adolescent individuation moderate the carryover of marital expectations model from parents to children. Sex differences are discussed.…

Presents a developmental model integrating attachment theory and cognitive developmental approaches in order to further understanding of the processes involved in loss and grief. Considers the relevance of attachment theory to understanding grief and research evidence for the role of continuing attachment bonds after death as a strategy for…

Evaluates risk factors in African American adolescent suicide attempters (n=51) and nonsuicidal (n=124) adolescents. Results show that threat of separation from a parental figure, insomnia, neglect, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and failing grades were the strongest predictors of suicide attempt. Unexpected findings include high levels of…

Examined concordance between foster mothers' attachment state of mind and infants' attachment quality. Found that two-way correspondence between maternal state of mind and infant attachment quality was similar to that of biological mother-infant dyads. Age at placement was not related to attachment quality. Concordance between maternal state of…

Argues that undergraduate students' attachment styles combine with that of their partners to create approach and avoidance tendencies and ensuing nonverbal involvement style during interactions with their significant others. Reports findings regarding role-reversed females paired with avoidant partners, females with preoccupied partners,…

Using K. Bartholomew's (1990) 4-dimensional model of adult attachment as an organizational framework, 10 developmental personality styles are differentiated regarding their unique attachment experiences, working models of self and other, and feedforward beliefs. Implications of an attachment theory framework for counseling clients with problematic…

Objective: To determine whether published subtypes of attachment disorder can be reliably identified by trained clinicians reviewing data from high-risk populations and to investigate the relationship between disorder classification and standardized measures of attachment behavior. Method: Twenty or more children aged 18 to 48 months and their…

Using attachment theory as a framework, this paper examines how pregnant adolescents' experiences of physical maltreatment during childhood influence the subsequent mother-infant relationship in 203 low-income adolescents followed from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy through the 1st year of parenthood. The relation between physical maltreatment…

This study explored the dynamic interaction between a mother and her 11-month-old visually impaired infant before and after the mother was taught infant massage. After the mother learned infant massage, she had more appropriate physical contact with her infant, engaged with him within his field of vision, directly vocalized to him, and had a…