The study aimed to examine possible association between degree of maternally reported eight-month-old infants' separation anxiety and their bedtime resistance. It comprised 114 apparently healthy babies (50 boys and 64 girls), who were born in St Petersburg in 2007. The infants were born at term (gestational age greater than or equal to 37 weeks),…

In a socially diverse sample of 206 infant-mother pairs, we investigated predictors of infants' attachment security at 15 months, with a particular emphasis on mothers' tendency to comment appropriately or in a non-attuned manner on their 8-month-olds' internal states (so-called mind-mindedness). Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed…

Learn what prominent theorists say about bonding, attachment, separation and stranger anxiety, and the best practices for infant care. This introductory guide makes it easy to learn about John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, Magda Gerber, John Kennell, Marshall Klaus, and T. Berry Brazelton.

Child care teachers cope with juggling multiple competing demands: (1) managing relationships with parents; (2) coping with individual infant temperaments; and (3) meeting the group needs of the other infants in their care. Infant teachers often play a unique role in that they may be the first adults to listen and understand what the experience of…

Three studies examined adrenocortical activity in infants. Morning naps were associated with decreases in salivary cortisol. Riding for 40 minutes in a car lowered salivary cortisol concentrations. Thirty minutes of maternal separation in the laboratory resulted in higher salivary cortisol concentrations than did 30 minutes of play with the mother…

Relations between temperament dimensions and attachment behaviors were evaluated. Results were consistent with previous findings that temperament measures do not predict attachment security. (PCB)

Examined infants' emotionality, inside and outside of the relationship with the mother, and mothers' responsiveness as predictors of reunion behaviors in the Strange Situation. Found that children's separation distress mediated influence of predictors and itself predicted reunion behaviors. When distress was controlled, some responses generally…

Reviews research on the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system in normal infants. Special attention is paid to the environmental stimuli and psychological processes regulating the stress responses of this system. (NH)

In his article "The 'Effects' of Infant Day Care Reconsidered," Jay Belsky (see PS 017 108) concludes that maternal employment puts infants at risk for developing emotional insecurity and social maladjustment. After a review of Belsky's and other research, a different conclusion is offered in this paper. It is agreed that infants whose…

Examined the stress vulnerability of infants with disorganized/disoriented attachment patterns by measuring salivatory cortisol levels in 19-month olds following the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure. Indicates that infants' disorganized attachment behavior reflects a vulnerability to stressful stimulation, suggesting a model of stress…

Examined the feelings of mothers when temporarily leaving their infants--who were perceived to cry excessively--to other caretakers. Found through interviews that the mothers were anxious when separated from the infant, had an intensive perception of the infant's crying, and had difficulty sharing responsibility for the infant. (EV)

Assessed maternal sensitivity and infants' attachment behavior to test validity of a system of classifying attachment relationships at home. Subjects were 47 mothers of preterm and 42 mothers of full-term infants. Results reaffirm Ainsworth's conceptualization of distinct attachment relationships. (HTH)

This study was designed to compare the inter-/intra-correlational and the behavioral commonalities approaches to the assessment of attachment behaviors of infants to their mothers. At 7 months, 147 infants were observed (and videotaped) sequentially during a free play period with their mothers present, a separation from their mothers and then a…

Examined attachments that children form with the same caregiver and those that two caregivers form with a child in communal sleeping and family sleeping kibbutzim. Found concordance among relationships between two caregivers and the same child, as the caregivers model behaviors for each other. Found congruence in two infants' relationships to…

A cross-national comparison of infant behavior in the Strange Situation was designed to determine whether preseparation episodes made any difference in attachment classifications and whether infant behavior before separation from mother was the same in different countries. Infants in different countries made similar primary appraisals of the…