Findings from a study of 109 Israeli day-care providers suggest that they classify, label, and evaluate infant behavior in the Strange Situation procedure much like attachment theorists do. The relatively independent infants were viewed most positively and most providers preferred to interact with these infants. (SLD)

Infants' home-based Q-sort scores of security, dependency, and sociability were compared to laboratory Strange Situation classifications of secure, anxious-resistant, and anxious-avoidant. Secure classification was associated with Q-sort security and sociability, but not dependency. (BC)

The development of two temperamental characteristics--the tendency to approach (uninhibited) and the tendency to avoid (inhibited) unfamiliar events--may be partially controlled by genetic predisposition. Discusses the results of a study indicating that the level of motor responses and crying in response to unfamiliar stimuli in four month olds…

Used home observations and laboratory procedures with 85 Chilean mothers and infants to examine the association between infants' chronic undernutrition and maternal sensitivity, sociodemographic variables, and infants' play and problem solving. Found that maternal sensitivity was correlated with maternal education, maternal weight, marital…

Reviews and critiques the approaches of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases to attachment disorders and finds that they have not made use of findings from developmental research on attachment in developing their criteria. Presents an alternative system of classifying attachment…

This thesis discusses normal principles of infant development during the first 2 to 3 months of life and applies these principles to the provision of services to drug-exposed infants. Emphasis is on the infant as an active and interactive participant in his/her own development, the primacy of the body during this early developmental period, and…

Infants have definite personality characteristics from birth onward. Despite wide variation in infant temperament styles, ranging from easy to difficult, responsive parents and non-parental caregivers can ensure positive emotional-social development. This paper, which reviews various theories and research on personality development in infants and…

Noting that young children learn to talk at different ages but within certain developmental boundaries, this document presents two charts to help parents facilitate their toddler's speech. The first chart lists characteristics to look for in a growing, healthy baby at various ages between 3 months and 24 months, and suggestions for when to talk to…

This paper reports the results of a study on the quality of attachment in two groups of interracially adopted infants in the Netherlands, and compares these results with results from a similar study of American interracial adoption. The two groups in the Netherlands consisted of 30 adoptive Asian children placed in White families, and 20 Asian and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the social support network of mothers with high risk infants and the relation between support and mother-infant interactive behavior. Two issues were investigated: who gave what kind of support to the mother as a function of her infant's birth status; and the relation between type of support and…

This study investigates similarities and differences in the interactions of infants with mothers and fathers, and examines the structural characteristics of social interaction between infants and fathers. Data are based on analyses of videotapes showing face-to-face interaction of five healthy first born infants with their mothers and fathers. The…

Information on infant growth and development from 9-12 months of age is presented in a self-instructional format. This illustrated booklet is part of a related curriculum on parenting and child development for school-age mothers. Infant emotional behavior, cognitive development, toilet training, walking and other motor skills, and perceptual…

Five years have elapsed since the International Conference on Malnutrition, Learning, and Behavior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The present Seminar was held to examine progress since then. The following papers were presented and discussed: "Malnutrition and the Nervous System," Donald B. Cheek, A. B. Holt, and E. D. Mellits;…

This report attempts to identify the relevant environmental factors which have an impact upon the quality of life of the child. The following are discussed: (1) introduction--population growth, population growth and natural resource reserves, GNP and the quality of life, regulation of population size, population quality; (2) prenatal…

Function of attention in infants is explored. Assuming (1) that infants respond differently to novel situations than to familiar ones; (2) that the infant's pattern of response is a partial reflection of the process of acquiring a perceptual memory of the stimulus, and (3) that sex differences may occur in the rate of habituation, 120 infants…