Examined validity of the California Attachment Procedure (CAP), which does not involve mother-child separations. Overall, toddlers were more likely to be classified as secure in the CAP than in the Strange Situation (SS) test. The CAP yielded higher rates of security, particularly for children in day care, and security in the CAP correlated more…

Analyzed influence of diverse variables on theory of mind development in preschoolers. Assessed development levels in diverse areas, along with the quality of family interaction, quality of attachment, and the children's performance with a series of mind tasks. Developed a multi-causal model to aid research into the optimum family environment for…

Videotaped infants with extensive day-care experience, and their mothers during "Strange" situation procedures. Compared behavior with profiles published in Ainsworth et al. (1978) for differences. Found three distinct groups of infants: securely-attached (largest group), insecurely attached (smallest group), and infants not disturbed by…

Examined processes whereby attachment and other factors contribute to social/emotional adjustment among African-American children. Found that attachment assessed at 4.5 years uniquely predicted perceived social support two years later. Insecure attachment predicted self-reported behavior problems and parental report of internalizing problems.…

Examined relation of early attachment relationships and preschoolers' emotion regulation. Found that preschoolers who ignored younger siblings' distress were more likely to experience personal distress and use avoidant coping strategies. Preschoolers with insecure-resistant infant-mother attachment at 1 year were more likely to seek comfort from…

The case-based research discussed in this article describes the variety of strategies mothers and young children spontaneously used to negotiate the complexities of foster care visits. Mothers and children displayed a variety of responses to visits, particularly separating at the end of visits. (Author)

Adolescents' friendship quality and observed emotional expression with their best friends were predicted from reports of their mother's interpersonal relationships, specifically the quality of her marriage and social network. Two models, Attachment Theory and Social Learning Theory, explaining these relationships received support. (BF)

After reviewing attachment research, this article argues enhancing early child-parent relationships involves two principle tasks: helping parents identify children's needs and parents' responses to these needs; and helping parents gain insight into how their "states of mind with respect to attachment" influence their parenting behaviors and their…

In a middle-class sample of mothers of 2-year-olds, adult attachment classifications measured in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) were related to maternal self-reported emotional well-being and observed parenting behavior, and the potential mediating and moderating roles of maternal emotion were tested. Mothers classified as dismissing on the…

Attachment status of children exposed in utero to cocaine, opiates, and other substances was examined at 18 months (n=860) and 36 months (n=732) corrected age. Children exposed to cocaine and opiates had slightly lower rates of attachment security (but not disorganization), and their insecurity was skewed toward ambivalent, rather than avoidant,…

This study tested predictions from economic and developmental theories that maternal time with an infant is important for mother-child relationships and children's development, using time-use diaries for mothers of 7- to 8-month-old infants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N=1,053).…

The present study investigated beginning kindergarten student teachers' mental models of attachment as a part of their practical knowledge about caregiving. Mental models of attachment (i.e. how students construct their own attachment-related childhood experiences and relationships from their current perspective) were assessed with an Adult…

In the West, institutions are considered the worst environment for rearing young children. It was thus surprising to discover on the 2002 Fulbright Travel Seminar to China that boarding schools for children two years of age and older were popular among affluent parents. This article uses observations of the first author in China, cultural…

Parent-child attachment has been extensively confirmed as a central contributing factor to children's positive developmental outcomes. Theory and research imply that the non-parental caregiver is an important figure that may assist parents in the development of a secure attachment relationship with their infants. Specific practices that increase…

Background: The area of child custody assessments continues to fail to meet the evidence-based threshold now established in clinical practice. This is despite the existence, for many years, of published guidelines governing the practice of custody assessments available from a number of professional bodies. Methods: This article reviews the…