It has come to be generally accepted that the psychopathological effects of psychosocial stress and adversity are diagnostically nonspecific. There is a good deal of supporting evidence in support of this assumption, even though it may be that the nonspecificity has been exaggerated through a failure to take account of comorbidity. This chapter…

The present study aimed to explore social origins of peer interactions from the perspective of attachment theory. After five months of experience in child care, 34 infants averaging 15 months of age were videotaped with their peers during free play in the group without care providers involved. Four types of interactional tendencies, i.e. contact…

This is the sixth in a series of papers issued by the American Association of Children's Residential Centers (AACRC) regarding emerging and best practices in the field of residential treatment for children, youth, and families. AACRC is a long standing national association focused exclusively on practice and policy issues related to the provision…

This case study describes the counseling experience of a college woman undergoing treatment to address self-injurious behavior. The article presents and illustrates a counseling approach that is conceptually based on attachment and object relations theory. The approach emphasizes the client-counselor relationship and the need to establish a…

Self-reported attachment styles with mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner were assessed longitudinally across adolescence. Three cohorts (ages 13, 16, and 19 years; N = 373) from a community sample were followed across 2 years. There was only one change in attachment styles with age: the oldest adolescents were more dismissive than…

Using a sample of biological resident fathers and their children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) 9- and 24-month surveys (N = 5,300), this study examines associations and the direct and indirect pathways through which men's pregnancy intentions influence toddlers' mental proficiency and attachment security.…

The purpose of this study is to compare Mexican American adolescent mothers with and without childhood sexual abuse (CSA) histories to examine the influence of CSA on dissociation, selection of infant feeding method, and intimate parenting anxiety. Participants are 78 English-speaking adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age and recruited from…

This study investigated the mediating role of adolescents' global self-esteem, based on the relationship between adolescents' mother or father attachment and their career indecision; as well as the mediating role of adolescents' career indecision on the relationship between mother or father attachment and self-esteem. Two hundred and forty-one…

The attachment patterns of younger and older adults were studied using two-dimensional self-report measures of adult attachment. Community-dwelling younger (n = 144, M = 22.5 years, SD = 3.6) and older (n = 106, M = 68.6 years, SD = 8.3) adults completed the Measure of Attachment Qualities (MAQ; Carver, 1997) and the Relationship Style…

Research on antecedents of organized attachment has focused on the quality of caregiving received during childhood. In recent years, research has begun to examine the influence of genetic factors on quality of infant attachment. However, no published studies report on the association between specific genetic factors and adult attachment. This…

This article reminds infant care teachers of the ways thoughtful interactions between adults and very young children teach babies and toddlers who they are as individuals. "When teachers take the time to respond respectfully and thoughtfully, babies and young children learn and thrive."

This paper reviews the medical (salutogenic) effect of interventions that aim to improve quality of life. Review of studies where the global quality of life in chronically ill patients was improved independently of subjective and objective factors (like physical and mental health, yearly income, education, social network, self-esteem, sexual…

The current study was designed to test specific hypotheses associated with W. J. Lyddon and A. Sherry's (2001) attachment theory model of developmental personality styles. More specifically, 4 adult attachment dimensions were correlated with 10 personality scales on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (T. Millon, R. Davis, & C.…

Elementary and special education teachers and school counsellors currently provide support to children presenting learning disabilities and behavioural problems symptomatic of the more hidden diagnosis of complex trauma resulting from abuse or severe attachment disruption. Specific disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD)…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between students' quality of attachment to their primary caregivers and the frequency with which they bully others and are the victims of bullying. One hundred and five students in Grades 4, 6, and 8 (46 girls, 59 boys; M = 10.5 years) completed paper and pencil surveys. Results indicated…