Two studies assessed the positive affective correlates of secure attachment in infancy and the relation between secure attachment in infancy and competence in the peer group at 3 1/2 years of age. (JMB)

Examines two models of the compelling nature of the infant cry and its effectiveness in eliciting caregiving behavior. (MP)

Examined a parent inventory measure of attachment for young children, based on observed child reunion behaviors. Factor analysis of maternal inventory responses for low income 5-year-olds yielded six factors. Sixteen of the 20 behaviors could be classified into previously established attachment categories. Discussed advantages of measure in…

Examined the attachment status of infants in the home and laboratory by observing infant temperament and maternal parenting sensitivity, as well as parent reports of infant temperament. Subjects were 49 families and their infants. Results highlighted the need to consider other factors besides maternal sensitivity to explain the variability in the…

Examined the antecedents of infant-father attachment among 136 father-son dyads using the Ainsworth and Wittig Strange Situation procedure and questionnaires. Found that fathers of secure infants were more extroverted and agreeable than fathers of insecure infants, tended to have more positive marriages, and experienced more positive emotional…

Children's sense of relatedness is vital to their academic motivation from 3rd to 6th grade. Children's reports of relatedness predicted change in classroom engagement over the school year and contributed over and above the effects of perceived control. Analyses revealed that relatedness to parents, teachers, and peers each uniquely related to…

Advances debate on the causal mechanism involved in the link between marital conflict and children's development by addressing three issues: (1) identifying basic processes in emotion; (2) operationalizing theories in order to differentiate between their predictions; and (3) designing research to identify causal mechanisms. Asserts that Davies and…

The second of a four-part series on the development of infants and toddlers, this article reviews current research on social and emotional development during the first two years and provides a selected list of activities designed to promote infants' optimal development. Attachment behavior and affective behavior are two major topics explored. (EV)

Examined the relationship between mothers' reports of their early attachment experiences and the quality of their current relationships with their youngest child, partner, mother, and father. Evaluated the argument that early attachment experiences provide mental models for all future relationships. Found that memories of early attachment…

This research, based on attachment theory, examined the relationships between romantic attachment styles, romantic attitudes and well-being among 461 tertiary students, aged 17-21 years. Those with secure romantic attachment styles were less stressed, less lonely and more satisfied academically than those with clingy or casual/fickle styles,…

Changes in the parental bond and the well-being of adolescents and young adults were investigated in this longitudinal study among Dutch adolescents. General results reveal that adolescents and young adults maintain a rather good and reasonably stable relationship with their parents. Parents prove to be of lasting importance for the well-being of…

Examines reasons that the care of infants in day nurseries often becomes impersonal rather than intimate, and suggests ways of counteracting this. (DE)

Observations of mothers of 47 6-month-old infants with early histories of nonorganic failure to thrive indicated these mothers demonstrated less adaptive social interactional behavior, less positive affective behavior, and more arbitrary termination of feedings when compared to mothers of physically normal infants. (DB)

Found that secure-secure dyads were more harmonious, less controlling, and more responsive than secure-insecure dyads. There were no differences between secure-secure and secure-insecure dyads on measures of coordinated play, cohesiveness, self-disclosure, or play tempo. (RH)

Examines patterns of social interactions and their relationship to quality of attachment to mother in 33 children of 2 and 5 years. Balanced patterns in interactions with mothers reduced opportunities for interaction with peers. Insecure attachment to mothers predicted decreased responsiveness to mothers and peers at 2 years. (RJC)