School phobia is an irrational fear or anxiety about attending school. Definite distinctions can be made between the school phobic and the truant, both of whom miss school on a regular basis. It appears that the incidence of school phobia is evenly distributed between the sexes and among age levels from 5 through 15 years, and is not significantly…

Parents' reactions to brief separations from their infant children were investigated in this study. Participants included a total of 16 female and 16 male 10-month-old infants, together with their mothers and fathers. From the pool of 64 parents, one parent in each family was randomly chosen to serve as subject. The selection of subjects was made…

Reactions of foster children to separation from their families of origin were identified from case materials of 36 Canadian protective service workers. A broad range of reactions was apparent. Discussion focuses on anxiety, regression, physiological symptoms, denial of feelings, persistent attachment to rejecting or unreliable parents, rebellious…

Patterns of attachment in preschool-age children were investigated in a nonexperimental, naturally occurring stressful situation. The sample included 86 families with at least one child 18 to 54 months of age. In each family, the mother planned to deliver another child in a hospital birthing center. Separation from the mother during admission was…

One of the major challenges to early childhood professionals is to effectively deal with separation anxiety and assist children in the transfer from home to other environments. This article summarizes, from a psychoanalytic perspective, the developmental stages of psychological separation, and describes techniques for practitioners for dealing…

This study examined associations between the quality of adolescent relationships with mothers, fathers, best friends, and boy/girlfriends. One hundred and sixty-two adolescents from three high schools completed questionnaires, in a one-on-one setting in which they rated parent and peer relationships on seven relationship features including…

One of the dramatic changes in the North American family over the past 25 years has been the increase in women with young children working outside the home. This paper addresses cognitive factors related to maternal employment during the transitions to parenthood, factors related to different post-partum occupational profiles and the degree to…

The intial discussion concerns attachment and separation in terms of feelings. It is asserted that the key to dealing with separation anxiety is the acceptance of infants' and toddlers' feelings by both child and adult as a means of building infant and toddler self-confidence and trust. Subsequent discussion provides specific ways child caregivers…

A study was made of how Australian mothers feel about having their children in day care, with particular emphasis on mothers' feelings about separation from their children. A total of 10 mothers and 1 father participated in the pilot study. All but 1 parent had a child in day care at least 3 days per week. The children, who were between 4 and 22…

A new psychometric instrument for measuring the impact of divorce on elementary school age children was developed: the Child's Report of the Impact of Separation by Parents (CRISP). This structured projective test was specifically designed to assess children's postdivorce stress/adjustment. An initial version of the CRISP was administered to 99…

Maternal separation anxiety influences maternal behavior, attitudes about employment, and employment decisions made by mothers. This study examined the relationship between maternal separation anxiety and the number of hours a child was in substitute care. The sample consisted of 44 mothers and their children who ranged in age from 12 to 41 months…

Although children who live in environments of violence and poverty are frequently the subjects of psychoanalysis, much less attention is given to the fears and anxieties of children from more fortunate families. In the case of one San Francisco Bay Area school, the two head teachers in the kindergarten class were going to be absent for two…

A study examined how maternal separation anxiety contributes to the mother's departure actions and how those behaviors affect the child during separation. Subjects were 40 mothers and their toddlers, age 15 to 24 months, who were observed before and during separation. After completing the Maternal Separation Anxiety Questionnaire, mothers were…

Investigated were effects of maternal work status and parity on specific outcomes in maternal psychology and physiology and infant physiology. In addition, the study design and the usefulness of instruments were evaluated, and the feasibility of subject recruitment and retention was assessed. Subjects were 20 women between 18 and 35 years of age…

This study was designed to identify some of the individual physical features of the mother that promote adaptive responding of 2-year-old children in a novel environment. Previous studies have suggested that any ambiguous stimulus configuration might be effective if the child can be led to perceive it as his mother. After being separated from…