It has been proposed that early language is acquired in the context of interpersonal interactions, with parent-child interactions serving as an important foundation (Nicely, Tamis-LeMonda, & Bornstein, 1999; Sachs, 2005; Tamis-LeMonda, Cristofaro, Rodriguez, & Bornstein, 2006). The purpose of this article is to review the literature on maternal…

The effect of parental deviance on adolescent deviance has been a source of considerable debate in the criminological literature. Classic theoretical explanations of the relationships between parental and adolescent deviance posit additive effects of parental deviance on youth behavior. Proponents of the Social Development Model have hypothesized…

Despite official endorsement of attachment principles in nursery work, these are often not translated into nursery practice. One possible reason for this is that staff training does not sufficiently address the personal implications and anxieties that children's attachments may entail for practitioners. Working from a psychoanalytic perspective on…

Background: Attachment theory's original formulation was substantially driven by Bowlby's (1969/1982) quest for a meaningful model of the development of psychopathology. Bowlby posited that aberrant experiences of parenting increase the child's risk of psychopathological outcomes, and that these risks are mediated by the quality of the attachment…

Background: Some young children reared in profoundly depriving institutions have been found to show autistic-like patterns, but the developmental significance of these features is unknown. Methods: A randomly selected, age-stratified, sample of 144 children who had experienced an institutional upbringing in Romania and who were adopted by UK…

A theoretical model of children's dependency on teachers and other caregivers in elementary school was tested and supported in this study. Based on attachment theory and social-cognitive theory, parental intrusiveness and children's separation anxiety were hypothesized to heighten dependent behaviors with school caregivers. Families of children in…

Research has demonstrated that experiences with attachment to and psychological separation from parents predict men's reports of masculine gender-role stress and conflict. This article extends the literature by examining possible variations in these links that may be accounted for by men's core personality characteristics. The author hypothesizes…

It was examined whether secure infant-mother attachment contributes to emotionally congruent and organized mother-child dialogues about emotions in later years. The attachment of 99 children was assessed using the Strange Situation at the age of 1 year and their emotion dialogues with their mothers were assessed at the ages of 4.5 and 7.5 years.…

This study on sensitivity and attachment included 55 toddlers and their parents. Samples included children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), mental retardation, language delay, and typical development. Children were diagnosed at 4 years of age. Two years before diagnosis, attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation procedure, and…

In a longitudinal study of 29 middle-class Japanese infants, an attempt was made to identify early temperamental dispositions that predict later attachment classification. Specifically, Ainsworth Strange Situation observations at 12 months of age were preceded by, among others, observation of distress evident in newborns when a nipple was removed;…

The purpose of this study was to clarify and empirically examine the role played by a toddler's self comforting skill in facilitating the separation-individuation process. On the basis of psychoanalytic ideas and empirical findings it was predicted that self comforting would be positively related to both secure attachment and self awareness. It…

It has been reported by previous research that offspring ratings of feelings of closeness to father are more negative for divorced fathers than for fathers in intact marriages. This study investigated the impact of a number of variables on college-aged offspring ratings of feelings of closeness to their fathers. Subjects included college students…

The development and use of the Parent Behavior Progression (PBP), a method to evaluate parent-infant interactions, are discussed. Two forms of the PBP contain six levels, beginning with an affective base providing for parent-infant attachment, and concluding with a more cognitive or growth promoting orientation. Considerations in the use of the…

This article contains a review of recent research on the: (1) effects of immediate post partum mother infant contact; (2) effects of early separation of parents and babies in neonatal intensive care; and (3) facilitation of reciprocal interaction between mothers and their infants in neonatal intensive care. A brief description of a study that…

This study investigated the effects of mother's distance and visual field on some attachment behaviors of children 21-36 months old. Subjects were 20 male and 20 female children, half of each sex being reared primarily at home and half primarily in day care. Each child was observed with his mother in an experimental setting for a total of 16…