The role of early child care experiences on the development of the mother--child attachment relationship has been studied extensively. However, no prospective studies of early child care have addressed how these experiences might be reflected in the content of attachment representations during adolescence and beyond. The goal of this study was to…

There is increasing evidence that attachment representations abstracted from childhood experiences with primary caregivers are organized as a cognitive script describing secure base use and support (i.e., the "secure base script"). To date, however, the latent structure of secure base script knowledge has gone unexamined--this despite…

Based on a subsample (N = 673) of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) cohort, this article reports data from a follow-up assessment at age 18 years on the antecedents of "secure base script knowledge", as reflected in the ability to generate narratives in which attachment-related difficulties are…

Attachment theorists suggest that attachment security with parents supports the quality of social adaptation in peer groups during early childhood, and numerous studies supporting this conjecture have been published. Most of these studies used enacted representations rather than mental representations of attachment security, and most studies…

Attachment research suggests that children with secure attachments are more able to construct meaningful relationships with peers. Few studies, however, have attempted to map early attachment security to the formation and maintenance of preschool friendships. Special attention has been paid to affiliative relationships (particularly friendships)…

The secure-base phenomenon is central to the Bowlby/Ainsworth theory of attachment and is also central to the assessment of attachment across the lifespan. The present study tested whether mothers' knowledge about the secure-base phenomenon, as assessed using a recently designed wordlist prompt measure for eliciting attachment-relevant stories,…

To assess the effects of the onset of mothers' inaccessibility to their infants, infant-mother pairs were observed in the Ainsworth strange situation at both 12 and 18 months and were classified as secure, anxious-avoidant, or anxious-resistant. Children of mothers who had returned to work/school before their child was 12-months-old were more…

Relations between temperament dimensions and attachment behaviors were evaluated. Results were consistent with previous findings that temperament measures do not predict attachment security. (PCB)

Discusses young children's adaptation to out-of-home care with regard to both immediate and long-term effects. Presents results of two studies that illustrate alternative research strategies and address substantive issues concerning the effects of out-of-home care on the behavior and quality of adaptation of young children. (Author/NH)

A total of 101 mothers from Montreal and Chicago used the Attachment Q-Sort to describe their two- or three-year-old children. Analyses indicated some group differences on derived item scales and criterion scores. Analyses accounting for maternal variables indicated that only the criterion score for attachment security differed across the groups.…

Three samples of 24- to 54-month-old children with Down's syndrome were assessed using the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure (ASSP) of attachment security and scored according to traditional protocols. Found that developmentally younger subjects were more difficult to classify using the standard scoring rules and that the ASSP may be measuring…

Assessed temperament of children of 5-42 months of age. A Q-sort measure was used to assess children's attachment security between 12 and 45 months. Analysis of results revealed an association between temperament and attachment security at all ages. (BC)

Two studies tested a model relating social competence to social support and child-parent attachment for Head Start children. Results supported the conjecture that social competence should be viewed as hierarchically organized. A model consistent with causal pathways from attachment security to support networks and social competence, and from…

Investigated the influence of child intellectual/adaptive functioning and maternal sensitivity on attachment security, using a sample of children with Down syndrome. Found a relationship between attachment security in DS related to the interaction of maternal sensitivity and cognitive competence. (JPB)

Infants' home-based Q-sort scores of security, dependency, and sociability were compared to laboratory Strange Situation classifications of secure, anxious-resistant, and anxious-avoidant. Secure classification was associated with Q-sort security and sociability, but not dependency. (BC)