This study examined father-infant and mother-infant relationships by observing infants and parents in their homes. The subjects were 20 infants, 10 boys and 10 girls, 7 and 8 months of age. Each infant was visited twice when both parents were at home. All visits were made by the same two persons: a male observer, who maintained a narrative account…

This research project was designed to determine whether 1-week-old neonates would indicate biological recognition of their mothers. Biological recognition is defined as the particular configuration of sensory, kinesthetic, and motor cues and the temporal patterning of these cues which characterizes infants' exchange processes with their…

According to a questionnaire study of 127 lesbians, differences in values regarding relationships reflect two distinct dimensions: dyadic attachment and personal autonomy. These relationship values were associated with women's social characteristics and feminist involvement. (Author/WI)

Examined with 15 mothers and their handicapped infants was the influence of infant behavioral expressions of affect on maternal caretaking behaviors. (IM)

Presents a developmental study of changes in infant attachment behaviors. Five groups of female infants, 8, 11, 14, 19, and 24 months of age, were observed during varying types of separation experiences. Changes in proximity behaviors and contact behaviors were analyzed. (BD)

Examines some of the ways in which communal living tests the strength and durability of couple relationships and proposes a model of the separation process based on these experiences. (Author/AM)

Reports relationship between asymmetries in frontal-brain electrical activity and individual differences in affective response in 35 ten-month-old females. Stranger-approach, mother-approach, and maternal-separation experiences were presented while an electroencephalogram (EEG) from scalp regions was recorded and facial and other behavioral…

Disputes claims concerning the association between strange-situation behavior around 12-20 months of age and subsequent child performance. Maintains studies have precluded causal inferences about the direction and nature of effects, finding associations only when the quality of care received was stable, thus, precluding inferences about the…

Ethnic loyalty in 140 Mexican women who immigrated to the United States at age 14 or older, and have lived there for an average of 7.5 years, was examined. Those remaining strongly attached to their traditional culture have a higher risk of psychological conflicts than those with lower ethnic loyalty scores. (JMM)

Children classified as securely attached at 12 months interacted faster and more smoothly with the stranger than did avoidantly-attached peers. Microanalyses revealed different styles of interaction. Failure feedback increased efforts of securely-attached and decreased efforts of insecurely-attached children. After failure, securely-attached…

Investigates factors associated with outcomes in attachment relationships between 30 well-educated, full-time working mothers and their 18-month-old firstborn sons. Suggests maternal employment effects on mother-son attachment are mediated primarily by a woman's affective state, which becomes manifested in her style of caregiving and child-care…

Using the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure, a study examined the interrelations between dimensions of emotion and social interactive behaviors to explore the regulatory role of each in mother-infant interaction and how these roles may change in the second year. (HOD)

Reports use of the strange situation procedure to explore the effects of Israeli kibbutz child-rearing practices on the development of infant-mother, infant-father, and infant-caretaker attachment. (Author/NH)

Discusses the potential role of temperament dimensions for the development of mother-infant attachment relations as measured by the Strange Situation Assessment. (HOD)

Distinguishes between attachment (the relationship between infant and caregiver) and dependency (the reliance of the child on adults for nurturance, attention, or assistance). Assesses preschool children with varying attachment histories and suggests that the roots of overdependency lie in the quality of the early infant-caregiver relationship.…