A total of 48 mother-infant pairs were observed and rated in face-to-face interaction when the infant was 4 months old, and in the Ainsworth Strange Situation when the infant was 12 months old. Mothers' marital satisfaction and social support, and the involvement and support of the child's father, were assessed. The mothers constituted a low…

This study examined sequential dependencies in behavior of 10 mother-infant dyads recorded when the infants were at 7 and 20 weeks of age in an effort to determine the extent to which individuals behave responsively to their partners during interactions. Ten maternal actions and 10 infant actions were selected in face-to-face interactions. Actions…

This paper focuses on difficulties and possibilities of theory and research on emotional attachment in humans and problems associated with exclusive reliance on the Strange Situation procedure in cross cultural research. After specifying emotional consequences of qualitatively different attachment histories and appropriate ways of assessing their…

Bronfenbrenner's ecological model--consisting of the microsystem (setting in which the child experiences reality), the mesosystem (relationships between settings), the exosystem (situations impacting the child's development), and the larger, encompassing macrosystem--serves as the basis for a theory of sibling and stepsibling bonding. Although…

The specific aim of the hearing was to define the nature of the problem of parental and disability leave prior to exploring the establishment of a national leave policy. After opening statements were heard, three panels testified. Panel 1 provided information about problems that families intending to adopt children have experienced in obtaining…

This study investigated: (1) effects of teaching mothers the unique behavioral cues of their adopted infants and (2) potential differences between the mothering practices of adoptive and birth mothers. A pretest, posttest experimental prospective design was used with random assignment of mother-infant dyads. Mother-adopted infant dyads were…

The paper describes the rationale behind the Charlotte Circle Project, a program which is developing and implementing a social reciprocity curriculum for very young severely handicapped children and their parents. The normalization principle suggests that interventions be age appropriate and functional. For children younger than 3 years an age…

Attachment theorists argue that the nature of children's bonding with their parents has a significant impact on their adjustment throughout life, affecting ease of socialization and susceptibility to anxiety and depression. To examine the relationship between parental attachment, social support, and current life satisfaction, 251 college students…

The paper offers a play therapist's evidence for the curative power of intensive mother-child holding of children with emotional problems resulting from separation from the parent and emotional disturbances including autism. Dramatic improvements were observed in the play behaviors of autistic children after enforced cuddling--and these were…

In his article "The 'Effects' of Infant Day Care Reconsidered," Jay Belsky (see PS 017 108) concludes that maternal employment puts infants at risk for developing emotional insecurity and social maladjustment. After a review of Belsky's and other research, a different conclusion is offered in this paper. It is agreed that infants whose…

This study designed and tested the Relationship Self Inventory (RSI) intended to measure the self-descriptive value of Gilligan's "connected self-in-relation-to-others" model. Gilligan's research indicates that the formation of self based on connection with others and an orientation to care (connected self) is associated primarily with…

Residents in several states and communities ranging in size from farms to inner cities of more than 500,000 people were surveyed to further explore the strong relationship between community ties and newspaper readership indicated by results of a previous study sponsored by the American Newspaper Publishers Association. The findings revealed that…

Love which focuses on an emotional relationship involving some sense of commitment and either an ongoing sexual relationship or the potential for such a relationship is viewed and defined in a variety of ways. Despite the fact that the major portion of a treatise on love devotes itself to a consideration of tendance in love (i.e. aquisitive,…

To investigate the relationship of differences in 2-year-old children's reactions to strangers to differences in their temperaments and their security of attachment with their mothers, a correlational study was conducted with 47 infants and their parents. In the first component of the study, both parents completed a child temperament rating…

The preference of the infant for mother versus father as an attachment figure and as a secure base for exploration is examined in this study. Subjects were fifteen 15-month-old infants whose mothers were their primary caregiver. The Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure was modified to permit both parents' simultaneous presence during separation…