Highlights three longitudinal studies examining the hypothesis that attachment security during infancy influences individual differences and adult representations of attachment. Notes that attachment security was significantly stable in two studies, with discontinuity in all three studies related to negative life events and circumstances.…

Assessed attachment security in 60 white middle-class infants at 12 months and conducted Adult Attachment Interview 20 years later. Found that 72 percent of infants received same attachment classification in early adulthood. Forty-four percent of infants whose mothers reported negative life events changed attachment classifications by adulthood,…

Examined relations between infant security of attachment, negative life events, and adolescent attachment classification in sample from the Family Lifestyles Project. Found that stability of attachment classification was 77 percent. Infant attachment classification predicted adolescent attachment classification. Found no differences between…

Maintains that the preceding studies extend a long line of research demonstrating the coherence of individual development in attachment security. Notes that the studies clarify that attachment security can be stable from infancy through early adulthood and that changes in security are meaningfully related to changes in the family environment.…

This study investigated relations among preschoolers' attachment security to mothers, family stress, and peer and teacher relationships. Less family stress was related to more secure mother-child relationships. Less securely attached children expressed more anger-aggression in preschools. Boys' family stress was related to anger- aggression and…

Examines certain characteristics of teachers and children that are unique to the child-teacher relationship. Preservice teachers (N=138) reported on their relationships with 903 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Results indicate that preservice teachers' perceived attachment history was a significant predictor of the quality of…

Examines older adolescents (N=167) perceived levels of attachment to parents and peers, along with their self-image. Results indicate that attachment to parents continues to remain strong into late adolescence for both males and females. Females had stronger attachment to peers whereas males had higher levels of self-image. (RJM)

Analyzed relationships between the quality of parental attachment and preschool children's behavioral characteristics, including social skills, productivity, behavior problems, neurosis, anxiety and self-evaluation. Found a positive relationship between parental attachment and the child's adaptation, but failed to confirm the hypothesis regarding…

Studied mothers' behavior toward their infants with disorganized (type D) attachment strategies. Found that mothers whose infants are classified disorganized exhibit an elevated level of atypical maternal behaviors in the Strange Situation test. Mothers of type D Forced Insecure infants showed more negative-intrusive behaviors and role confusion…

Examined role of parent-child discourse within a supportive relationship in children's early conscience development. Found that children's attachment security predicted maternal and child references to feelings and moral evaluatives in narratives about previous behavior incidents. Attachment security, shared positive affect between mother and…

Examined the association between attachment and emotional understanding in 2.5- to 6-year olds. Found that age and attachment security predicted a child's aggregate score on emotional understanding tasks. When the score was separated by valence of the emotion, attachment security and age predicted a child's score for only emotions with negative…

Examined validity of the California Attachment Procedure (CAP), which does not involve mother-child separations. Overall, toddlers were more likely to be classified as secure in the CAP than in the Strange Situation (SS) test. The CAP yielded higher rates of security, particularly for children in day care, and security in the CAP correlated more…

Analyzed influence of diverse variables on theory of mind development in preschoolers. Assessed development levels in diverse areas, along with the quality of family interaction, quality of attachment, and the children's performance with a series of mind tasks. Developed a multi-causal model to aid research into the optimum family environment for…

Videotaped infants with extensive day-care experience, and their mothers during "Strange" situation procedures. Compared behavior with profiles published in Ainsworth et al. (1978) for differences. Found three distinct groups of infants: securely-attached (largest group), insecurely attached (smallest group), and infants not disturbed by…

Examined processes whereby attachment and other factors contribute to social/emotional adjustment among African-American children. Found that attachment assessed at 4.5 years uniquely predicted perceived social support two years later. Insecure attachment predicted self-reported behavior problems and parental report of internalizing problems.…