This discussion of the emotional development of young children is structured upon Erik Erikson's schemata of psycho-social development. Stage 1, which involves trust versus mistrust, includes references to Erikson's theory and the work of Melanie Klein, Berry Brazelton, Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas, John Bowlby, Anthony Stevens, and D. W.…

This report accompanies House of Representatives bill 2088 and recommends passage of the bill to revise and extend programs established in the Temporary Child Care for Handicapped Children and Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986. The bill extends the programs for 2 years, strengthens reporting requirements, and requires the states to provide interagency…

The overwhelming majority of research on environmental influences has concentrated on the social environment, to the relative neglect of the physical environment. This neglect is justified by an unvalidated hypothesis, namely that the physical environment must be mediated by social parameters in order to influence development. Two studies were…

The general proposition of attachment theory is that attachment is grounded in an independent, biologically based system. The quality of primary attachment relationships strongly influences a child's early personality organization, particularly the concept of self and others. The theory emphasizes the primary status and biological function of…

This report describes the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) program which operates in Appalachia and rural Western Tennessee. The program, which constitutes a partnership between community organizations and the Vanderbilt University Center for Health Services, trains local women to use home visitations to educate and support other…

This practicum was designed to help adolescent mothers understand the cognitive, physical, and emotional development of their children and create appropriate expectations of child development from birth to one year of age. Twenty adolescent mothers attended six classes which covered the development of the young child during the first 12 months of…

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…

Children may cognitively know that an object of fear is pretend, not real, but still feel fear and anxiety. A review of the development of reality from the psychological and cognitive perspectives shows that the growing child's interaction with mother, family, and environment helps the child gradually develop an understanding of reality. Teachers…

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'…

The role of play in disabled and nondisabled toddlers was investigated and the impact of maternal stress on the dynamics of mother-child interactions was evaluated in a study involving 20 mother-toddler dyads (10 of which consisted of physically disabled toddlers and their mothers). Results of interviews revealed that mothers of disabled children…

It is a common article of belief that each child is unique. Action based on this belief, though, is rare. Researchers have largely neglected the question of the causes of children's individual uniqueness. But, when difficulties and serious problems arise in the course of child rearing, causality is located in the dynamics of family functioning.…

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 restatement of policy, which updates a 1984 edition, offers a framework for thinking about issues in child care for infants and toddlers. The statement discusses: (1) the particular needs of infants and toddlers; (2) public policies supporting parents who remain at home to care for infants and toddlers; (3) professional recognition and…

The paper describes issues in integrating handicapped children into early childhood education programs. Experiences of the Northwest Center Infant and Toddler Program (Seattle, Washington) are noted to illustrate philosophical considerations (particularly the isolation of handicapped children) and program planning and development issues. Beginning…

The project was designed to develop an alternate testing method for the visual acuity assessment of preschool children with handicaps. Additional project objectives included evaluation and modification of existing experimental procedures for discrimination training and visual acuity testing of preschool handicapped children; establishment of a…