The developmental trajectory of body image dissatisfaction is unclear. Researchers have investigated sociocultural and developmental risk factors; however, the literature needs an integrative etiological model. In 2009, Cheng and Mallinckrodt proposed a dual mediation model, positing that poor-quality parental bonds, via the mechanisms of…

This study examined the developmental significance of adult attachment security--as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview--for romantic relationship functioning concurrently and approximately 1 year later in a sample of heterosexual dating couples between the ages of 18 and 25 (115 dyads at Time 1 [T1] and 57 dyads at T2, 74% White). The…

This article examines the extent to which secure base script knowledge--as reflected in an adult's ability to generate narratives in which attachment-related threats are recognized, competent help is provided, and the problem is resolved--is associated with adults' autonomic and subjective emotional responses to infant distress and nondistress…

Utilizing data from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we investigated mothers' talk about mental states during play with their 24-month-old children as a mechanism though which infant-mother attachment was associated with children's later…

In this longitudinal study, a quantitative and qualitative examination of the associations among parent-child relations, adult attachment styles, and relationship quality and theme in romantic narratives was conducted. Parenting and adult attachment style were assessed through questionnaires, whereas overall quality of romantic relationships…

The current study is one of the first prospective examinations of longitudinal associations between observed father caregiving behaviors and child cortisol reactivity and regulation in response to emotional arousal. Observations of father and mother caregiving behaviors and child cortisol levels in response to challenges at 7 months and 24 months…

Two generations ago, Latino children and families were often defined as disadvantaged, even "culturally deprived," by psychologists, social scientists, and pediatric researchers. Since then, empirical work from several disciplines has yielded remarkable discoveries regarding the strengths of Latino families and resulting benefits for children.…

Research on antecedents of organized attachment has focused on the quality of caregiving received during childhood. In recent years, research has begun to examine the influence of genetic factors on quality of infant attachment. However, no published studies report on the association between specific genetic factors and adult attachment. This…

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 6-month-olds (N = 30) as they looked at pictures of their mother's face and a stranger's face. Negative component (Nc) and P400 component responses from the ERP portion of the study were correlated with behavioral responses of the infants during a separation from their mothers. We measured the…

This article presents a multimethod, multi-informant comparison of community samples of committed gay male (n=30) and lesbian (n=30) couples with both committed (n=50 young engaged and n=40 older married) and noncommitted (n=109 exclusively dating) heterosexual pairs. Specifically, in this study the quality of same- and opposite-sex relationships…

Drawing from transactional models, the authors examined whether attachment security measured at age 3 (a potential source of differential vulnerability) interacts with the course of maternal depressive symptoms over an 8-year period (a potential source of differential exposure) in predicting children's self-reported depressive symptoms at age 11.…

Based on the idea that believers' perceived relationships with God develop from their attachment-related experiences with primary caregivers, the authors explored the quality of such experiences and their representations among individuals who differed in likelihood of experiencing a principal attachment to God. Using the Adult Attachment Interview…

Longitudinal studies have shown how early developmental contexts contribute significantly to self-development; their influence extends through adulthood, informs sociality, and affects resilience under severe stress. While the importance of sociality in trauma recovery is recognized, the relationship between developmental and posttrauma contexts…

This study is the first to examine the latent structure of individual differences reflected in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985), a commonly used and well-validated measure designed to assess an adult's current state of mind regarding childhood experiences with caregivers. P. E. Meehl's (1995)…

A number of relatively small-sample, genetically sensitive studies of infant attachment security have been published in the past several years that challenge the view that all psychological phenotypes are heritable and that environmental influences on child development--to the extent that they can be detected--serve to make siblings dissimilar.…