Notes how preceding articles expand the repertoire of theory-relevant assessments of attachment, with a special emphasis on Ainsworth's concept of the secure base. Focuses on a number of issues raised by this collection that are particularly promising for theory development, including assessment of secure-base behavior and maternal sensitivity,…

Examines two illness trajectories, Alzheimer's disease and stroke, to illustrate emerging changes in human development over each course of illness and the increasing importance of attachment behavior among ill elders and their family members. Argues that attachment links ailing older people to their environment, and that attachment is vital if…

Examined associations between attachment quality and children's friendships at 4 and 5 years of age as a follow-up of the sample used in an earlier study by Park and Waters (1989) of secure-secure and secure-insecure friend pairs. Found that the pattern of relations between friendship and attachment changed over time, but attachment pairing…

Two- and three-year-old children differed in their recognition of their own and their mother's features. One year olds, and securely and insecurely attached infants, did not differ. At all ages, securely attached infants exhibited greater complexity than did insecurely attached infants in tasks relating to themselves and their mothers. (BC)

Examined relationship between levels of attachment and separation and women's adjustment to college. Findings from 162 first-year college women revealed that freedom from guilt and anxiety toward parents, feelings of positive parental attachment and attitudinal similarity with parents, were associated with personal and academic adjustment.…

Examined the relationship between nonmaternal care and infant-mother attachment. Results indicated that full-time, nonmaternal care was not associated with increased insecure attachment and did not negatively affect the associations between infant-mother attachment and the mother's involvement with her infant during the infant's first year of…

Explains attachment theory and posits that, if proper bonding and subsequent attachment, usually between mother and child, does not occur, the child develops mistrust and deep-seated rage. Presents evidence of the problem of attachment disorders, lists symptoms of unattached children, examines treatment of attachment disorders, and discusses…

Notes that interest in attachment theory among counselors and researchers has led to development of measures of attachment-related constructs. Presents overview of theoretical foundations of attachment theory as conceptualized by Ainsworth (1989) and Bowlby (1988). Reviews four self-report measures of adolescent and adult attachment. Discusses…

Examined the effects of maternal employment and separation anxiety on maternal interactive behavior and infant attachment in 73 mother-infant pairs. Employed mothers who reported high levels of separation anxiety were more likely than low-anxiety mothers to exhibit intrusive behaviors. Although employment was not directly related to attachment,…

Videotaped 12 breastfeeding mothers and their babies during breastfeeding sessions to investigate maternal-infant interactions occurring during breastfeeding sessions. Presents four case studies to examine differences in breastfeeding interactions, as well as benefits and disadvantages that breastfeeding provided different mother-child pairs. (MM)

This article presents various techniques for improving parent-child relationships during infancy and early childhood. It covers assessment of the parent-infant relationship and discusses interaction-focused intervention, which involves sensitivity to social cues, reciprocity, and enhancement of quiet states; and knowledge-focused intervention,…

Examined time limited (10 sessions) counseling treatments to explore history of working alliance over time. Two counselors working with four clients reported similar patterns of working alliance development. Initial development phase of working relationship appeared to be followed by period when relationship decays, but it appeared that the…

When choosing permanent homes for foster children, attachment, permanence, and kinship can be used as criteria for selection. Each of these criteria represents an established value in child welfare theory. Reports a case study of three siblings entering adoption in which the three criteria formed the basis for a placement recommendation that…

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)

Mothers of secure one year olds were more sensitively responsive to their infants at one and four months and less rejecting at one and nine months than mothers of insecure infants. Mothers of insecure-resistant one year olds were less sensitively responsive to their infants at one month than were mothers of secure and insecure-avoidant infants.…