In recent years many researchers, clinicians, and testing companies have shifted from paper-and-pencil to computer administrated tests of psychological measures. This paper explores the feasibility of using the Internet to collect data from the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), the Negative Mood Rating Scale (NMRS), and the Trait…

This essay reviews research on mother-infant roles during early interactions and how these serve to foster the development of infant emotion regulation. It provides illustrations of the ways in which physical unavailability (resulting from hospitalization or other separation) and emotional unavailability (resulting from mental illnesses such as…

The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program promotes school readiness by providing services directly to parents through home visitation. This study describes the outcomes of the HIPPY program for Latino immigrant families in a large Southwestern city. A quasi-experimental design compared 48 families on the program…

This study examined three elements of the mother-child relationship that have been found to influence cognitive development: (1) the child's security of attachment to the mother; (2) the sensitivity of the mother to her child's cues; and (3) maternal work status during the child's first year of life. Considered are the relationship of each of…

This study examined the relationship between maternal stress, changes in stress, specific stressors, and social support and quality of mother-infant attachment. Life stress of 132 mothers was assessed prenatally and when the child was 13 months old. The mothers' social support and the quality of infant-mother attachment were also measured at the…

The conditions of day care quality under which infants direct secure attachment behaviors toward their day care providers were examined. Two groups of 12- to 18-month-old infants, who were experiencing either 1:4 or 1:7 caregiver-to-infant ratios, and their day care providers, were observed while they interacted in their day care centers.…

Data from the longitudinal Berkeley Becoming a Family Project were used to evaluate the possibility that husbands' and wives' working models of attachment are related to the quality of their marital relationship. The main issue investigated was that of whether there are connections between working models of childhood attachment relationships and…

Findings of a study on the relation between 6-year-olds' attachment security and their mental representations of attachment relationships are reported. It was expected that infants whose attachment behavior seemed disorganized would be fearful of their attachment figures and experience themselves as helpless, and that these conditions would be…

This study tested the hypothesis that social competence of mother-infant play reflects both secure mother-infant attachment and more advanced cognitive development. Subjects were 58 toddlers between 16 and 19 months of age and their mothers. Two general methods were used: observation and maternal report. Standardized developmental assessments were…

The conceptualizations of morphogenic processes suggested by systems theorists provide a useful framework for describing growth and development in complex adaptive self-directing organisms. These processes involve changes in (1) a system's structure, state, or functioning; (2) discontinuities in development; and (3) at least two kinds of…

Family solidarity runs strong in Appalachia, where young adults typically settle near their parents in kin-based rural neighborhoods. One child rearing practice that may contribute to this closeness is parent-child co-sleeping. Interviews with 107 mothers in eastern Kentucky focused on the sleeping location history of one child. Most subjects were…

The extent, nature, and sources of alienation among students and teachers in high school are being examined at two inner city comprehensive high schools in each of five large urban districts. Research methods include interviews with staff (over 300 individuals) and collection of statistical data. A conceptual framework for studying these issues is…

The paper reviews research on parental effects on the child, child effects on the parent, and reciprocal effects for the child's characteristics in general and for conduct disorder in particular. Evidence is cited which suggests validity of both the adult-to-child and child-to-adult effects model. Addressing the question of where the preponderant…

The effects of level of interpersonal attraction (or friendship) on young children's language production were examined during a 15-minute play episode, in which 40 pairs of 3-5 year-olds were separated and then reunited. Friendship was measured by a picture sociometric test validated against free play choices. Language measures focused on…

Attempts to assess maternal and neonatal behavior and subsequent mother-infant interactions as potential determinants of the quality of attachment between mothers and their infants provide the focus of this paper. Several instruments and procedures that focused on (1) maternal and infant characteristics, (2) mother-infant interaction, and (3) life…