Objective: To determine whether foster children showed different autonomic nervous system activity on separation and reunion than control children. Autonomic nervous system activity in foster children was examined in relation to time in placement and disinhibited attachment. Method: The sample included 60 foster and 50 control children between 2…

Research on moral behavior in children is sorely lacking in the behavioral literature. Yet, behavioral research documenting effective treatment of children with behavioral and emotional problems has often failed to generalize or to focus on moral behavior. Developmental psychologists have researched moral behavior and have provided models of moral…

Attachment theory provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding trauma and the treatment of abuse in children. This article examines attachment theory and traditional models of family therapy from the perspective of behavior analysis, and provides a rationale for a behavioral treatment approach for abused children and their foster or…

This article reviews current literature examining associations between components of the family context and children and adolescents' emotion regulation (ER). The review is organized around a tripartite model of familial influence. Firstly, it is posited that children learn about ER through observational learning, modeling and social referencing.…

There are many postulates of a relation between quality of attachment with theory of mind and language functions (e.g., de Rosnay & Hughes, 2006). The current study examined in longitudinal design how different patterns of attachment are associated with usage of internal state language at ages 17, 23, 30 and 36 months. Transcripts of mother-child…

The relation of attachment security to multiple domains of psychosocial functioning was examined in a community sample of 167 early adolescents. Security of attachment organization, assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview, was linked to success in establishing autonomy while maintaining a sense of relatedness both with fathers and with…

Attachment insecurity and maladaptive coping are associated with depression in adolescence; however, it is unclear whether these links primarily reflect stable individual differences among teens (trait influences), experiential differences in their interactions with relationship partners (social influences) or both. In this study, teens (ages…

The focus of this chapter is continuity and change in attachment representations in a sample at risk because of early poverty. Its particular emphasis is adolescence and reasons that adolescence may be a period of attachment security change in the at-risk population. The authors begin with an overview of key issues in adolescent attachment,…

The internal working model of attachment can be conceptualized as a cognitive schema to provide testable hypotheses. Thus, this study predicts a relationship between attachment and attentional bias toward the mother using an emotional modification of the exogenous cueing task. The content of the cues (mother vs. unknown women) and the duration of…

Introduced by Jonathan Bowlby in the early 1960s, attachment theory seeks to explain an individual's depth of bonding with others throughout one's life. Attachment styles can affect family life, life interactions, career choices, friendships, relationships, marriage, and parenting (Turner, 2005). Attachment theory is composed of four different…

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the distinct developmental experiences associated with child sexual abuse and rape. Method: For 269 sexual offenders (137 rapists and 132 child sexual abusers), developmental experiences were recorded from a behavioral checklist, a parental-bonding survey, and a sexual history questionnaire. Offender…

Attachment and separation are concepts that depict the struggle within individuals between isolated self and involvement with others. Many authors have written about this struggle in a variety of terms. The theory evaluated by this study was elaborated by C. Gilligan (1982). It postulated that there existed two views of life experiences: one based…

Children of alcoholics are at risk for socioemotional and behavioral problems. Adult children of alcoholic parents (ACAs) are at risk for problems in interpersonal relationships. ACAs have been found to have decreased self-esteem and self-acceptance in comparison to adults whose parents are not alcoholic (NACAs). College students who were young…

This study examined mothers' conceptualizations of their relationships with their children in relation to the quality of their attachment with them. In a brief interview, 58 mothers were asked about their satisfaction with their relationship with their child and with a non-attachment topic (division of household chores). Mother-child attachment…

The mother/daughter relationship is probably one of the most enduring affectional bonds. Addressing the assumption that family members differ in their orientation to and dependence on other generations by virtue of their unique roles, three generations of women, 254 mother and daughter pairs, were studied for role convergence and the effect of…