Characteristic patterns of infant-parent relationships were examined in a sample of Black infants presumed to be at low risk for psychopathological development. Infant responses toward parents and a stranger in a structured laboratory play session were analyzed to determine normative patterns of Black infant-parent attachments. Infant exploratory…

To assess the effect of early mother-infant proximity on later stress and behavior, two studies were made which involved a sample of mother-baby pairs that was larger than samples utilized in previous studies. In Study 1, involving 300 consecutive mother-baby couples at the Maternity Hospital in Plymouth, England clinical medical officers used a…

Examining relationships in the data from assessments conducted when Japanese infants were 7.5, 12, 23, and 27 months of age, this study provides evidence of an interaction between early attachment and temperamental dispositions. Specifically examined were 7.5-month-olds' stranger and separation distress and general fearfulness; 12-month-olds'…

Love and loneliness hold special interest at a time when divorce and geographical mobility pull so many people apart. Attachment theory offers a useful integrative framework to study adolescent and adult love and loneliness. Attachment theory has three propositions: (1) when an individual is confident an attachment figure will be available when he…

This follow-up study, which was part of a larger ongoing longitudinal project, compared early infant-parent attachment relationships to aspects of both parents' and children's mental representations of attachment when children were 6 years old. The sample consisted of 50 mothers, fathers, and children of predominantly upper-middle class social…

This paper explores important conceptual issues that confront researchers who wish to study the role of empathy in parent-child interaction. Part I reviews the major existing theories of parent empathy offered by the psychoanalytic-object relations and the client-centered schools of thought. In part II, a new processing model derived from the…

To examine the way in which mentally retarded children and adults in community living arrangements view notions of home and family, questionnaires were administered to direct care staff working with 151 retarded children and adults. Questionnaire items touched on such aspects as residents' age, sex, length and type of institutionalization,…

Reactions of foster children to separation from their families of origin were identified from case materials of 36 Canadian protective service workers. A broad range of reactions was apparent. Discussion focuses on anxiety, regression, physiological symptoms, denial of feelings, persistent attachment to rejecting or unreliable parents, rebellious…

The phenomena of fusion within a lesbian relationship is described in a six-phased model. Fusion in relationships is defined as two incomplete people coming together in an attempt to make one more complete whole, the merging of two ego boundaries. The six phases discussed include ecstacy, getting married, the routine, depression/withdrawal,…

In an effort to understand the emotional impact of abuse, many studies have been conducted to investigate the type of emotional problems suffered by abused children and to identify variables which may make them susceptible to damage. For example, studies have correlated emotional problems with age at which abuse occurred and with the type and…

To assess the validity of attachment scores derived from the Ainsworth "strange situation", 56 1-year-olds and 79 2-year-olds accompaned by either the mother, the father, or a brief acquaintance were studied. Proximity to the adult, duration of play, crying, activity, and the incidence of looks and distance bids were measured. (Author/CS)

Sharing behaviors of infants who had experienced early separation through hospitalization from their mothers were compared to behaviors of infants who had experienced no such separation. Responses of the mothers to their infants' prosocial behavior were also analyzed. Subjects were twenty 1-year-old infants and their mothers. On the basis of the…

Premarital dating couples (N=61) were asked to answer questions concerning their perceived commitment to their relationship, the amount of time they spend with their partner, the amount of time they spend arguing, their partner's attractiveness, the length of their relationship, and their desire to continue the relationship. Time spent together…

This study identifies elements in the attachment behaviors of 7-month infants which predict the quality of their attachment to their mothers at 13 months. At 7 months 147 infants were observed (and videotaped) during a free play period with their mothers present, during a separation from their mothers and then during a reunion period. At 13 months…

A study was conducted to investigate the degree to which both object familiarity and motivational factors influence infants' search behavior in an object permanence test. Infants' search behavior for an unfamiliar test object was compared with search behavior for (a) an experientially familiar object that each infant had played with daily for a…