Breaking the Cycle (BTC), founded in 1995, is an early identification, prevention, and treatment program for pregnant and parenting women who abuse substances. The authors explore the impact of substance abuse on early attachment relationships and on infant regulatory functioning. BTC focuses on building and enhancing the mother's relationships,…

This study investigated early parent-child relationships and how children's use of relational and physical aggression varies with aspects of those relationships during the preschool years. Specifically, parenting styles, parents' use of psychological control, and parents' report of their children's reunion behaviors were assessed. Analyses…

The aim of this study was to examine the role of attachment in the link between parenting behaviors (including positive parenting and negative control) and problem behaviors during adolescence. Using questionnaires, we examined 511 Flemish, Dutch-speaking adolescents ranging in age from 10 to 18 years. We distinguished 3 age groups (10-12, 13-15,…

This practicum was designed to enhance the parenting skills of drug-addicted recovering women (N=8) and to give opportunities for successful family experiences in a half-way house setting. A curriculum was developed, weekly group meetings were held, guest speakers were presented, mothers were assisted with individual problems, and the program was…

Surveys early brain development research. Discusses the importance of attachment, windows of opportunity, and the importance of quality in care. Suggests 6 ways to promote healthy development, lists 10 things every child needs, and poses 12 questions to ask about early brain development. (DLH)

Describes the development of attachment of infant to parent or caregiver during infancy. Explores the impact of attachment, whether good or poor, on later development, and factors contributing secure or insecure/anxious attachment. Notes that obstacles to secure attachment can often be overcome with counseling. (HTH)

Contributions of 3 dimensions of parenting (psychological control, warmth, and behavioural control), marital conflict, and attachment style (anxiety and avoidance) to adjustment from early to middle adolescence were assessed. Mediation of marital conflict effects by parenting, and of parenting effects by attachment were examined. Adolescents (n =…

This study examined relations among mothers' discourse about experiences in their families of origin and with child protective services (CPS), attachment-related and current risk factors, and the quality of mothers' parenting behavior with their young children during supervised visits. Twenty-nine 2- to 6-year-old children in foster care and their…

A clinical intervention based on behavioral items from the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS) was implemented at a hospital among 40 lower middle class Portuguese mothers between 18 and 35 years old 3 days after delivery. The intervention aimed to promote mother-infant attachment by increasing mothers' awareness of the…

A separation-reunion paradigm and Ainsworth classification procedures were used to assess security of attachment of Kenyan Gusii infants to mothers and caretakers. Correlates of attachment security were specific to mothers and caretakers, suggesting that the association between security of attachment and infant functioning in American studies…

Descriptions of the development of three families show the specific impact of pre-birth parental characteristics on the quality of the parent-infant transaction of infant soothability-responsiveness to need. As well as linking the parent's responsiveness to the infant, to the emergence and resolution of ambivalent feelings about caring for the…

Results of animal imprinting studies were generalized to attempt prediction of development of attachment in 28 polymatrically reared Kenyan Gusii infants, ages 6 to 30 months. While results provide evidence against a sensitive phase for attachment, an association was found between age of attachment and developmental level/caregiving history.…

Mothers and fathers of 62 children were seen separately in the Strange Situation procedure, and their caregiving behaviors were separately assessed using several measures. Results revealed only one effect, that mothers of securely attached children were more responsive to their children than other mothers. (BC)

Defends attachment theory and its relation to parental investment. Misunderstandings of the rationale for Parental Investment in the Child Questionnaire (PIC) and the measurement of attitudes in Sharon Hays's article are discussed. Parental and cultural issues are discussed with particular attention to data on fathers and applicability across…

Explores the attachment relationship of fathers to their infant children. Highlights the ways fathers parent differently from mothers, and the positive effects on child outcomes of fathers' participation in caregiving. (HTH)