Discusses general conclusions for which evidence is provided by the research presented in this issue. Conclusions relate to (1) child-teacher relationships and attachments; (2) concordances between children's relationships with their teachers and parents; (3) children's internal representations of their relationships; (4) factors underlying…

Argues that reading children's picture books to babies is an underestimated resource for addressing parenting skills and developmental issues, for providing emotional attachment and satisfaction, and for promoting basic literacy. The program "Read to Me" is described as an inexpensive, nondidactic and pleasurable intervention model for use with…

Examined how attachment relationships and cognitive attributes and sociodemographic characteristics functioned as protective and risk factors across a range of violent behaviors. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health highlighted the importance of attachment to family and school as protective factors. While an intact family…

Research indicates that insecurely-attached adolescents are at risk for depression, but little is known about factors that may influence or explain this vulnerability. The present study focuses on close relationships during adolescence and their association with depression. Specifically, the objectives were to investigate (1) the role of working…

Conduct disorder is a childhood disorder that is often resistant to treatment. Current treatment methods often focus on separate interventions for each environment that the child or adolescent is exhibiting antisocial behavior. Additionally the focus is on the behavior of the child and often does not focus on the family unit or the biology behind…

This study examined the effectiveness of 11 strategies designed to ease separation anxiety in preschool children. Subjects were 10 preschool children enrolled in a public school early childhood classroom for their first school experience. Each child was delayed in at least two of six developmental areas (social, emotional, cognitive,…

This study examined the relationship between varying patterns of maternal employment, the use of child care, and the infant's establishment of a reciprocal, responsive relationship with the mother. Parental and non-parental caregivers were located within a family system to examine attachment theory within an ecological framework. The subjects were…

Research on determinants of parenting behavior has traditionally focused on parents' goals and beliefs about child rearing or on the effect of parents' own attachment experiences. In an effort to relate these two approaches, a study was conducted to examine parent behaviors and attitudes in 94 parent-child dyads. Dyads consisted of 20 fathers and…

Research has shown contradictory results on the relationship of infant attachment security to play and mastery behavior, at times predicting the cognitive quality of play and at other times predicting the affective quality of play. In order to test the hypotheses that, during play, attachment security would predict only positive affect,…

Children's responses toward strangers, qualities of mother-child interaction, and maternal stresses were examined in 38 mother-child pairs, with children from single and two-parent families. Responses to female and male strangers were observed in a modified Strange Situation. Mother-child interaction was assessed with a modified version of…

This study was intended to determine whether differences in maternal attitude and behavior relate to differences in infants' Strange Situation security classification. Subjects for the present study were 38 white middle-class mothers and their normal, 1-year-old infants (20 male, 18 female). Infants who were classified as to the quality of their…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the organization of associations among college-aged women's perceptions of individual and family-level separation-individuation difficulties and two subtypes of depressive vulnerability proposed by Blatt. One type is focused on achievement and issues of self-worth; the other type is focused on…

Nearly 30 years ago, research showed that preschool children reared by parents with differing parenting attitudes or styles, differed in their degrees of social competence. To test this theory, a two-year study was conducted. During "Year 1," 2,250 high school seniors and 406 university freshmen from the middle South were surveyed…

Intended for parents with infants, this book is a collection of 230 simple, fun-filled games that can be played with infants from birth to age 1 year. The book begins with guidelines for growth in motor, auditory, visual, language, cognitive, and self-concept skills from birth to 6 months and from 6 to 12 months. The remainder of the book presents…

Noting that there has been little research attention on the ability of foster children to form emotional attachments, this literature review looks at available research related to attachment and children in foster care. The review suggests that foster children are at risk for insecure attachment due to experiences of abuse and neglect, parental…