The Berlin Longitudinal Study of Early Adaptation to Novel Situations examined early day-care experiences and the security of infant-mother attachment. Thirty-four infants entering day care before their first birthday and 20 infants entering between 12 and 18 months were compared in their reactions to day care during the first 4 weeks of…

Parental conflict as it occurs in the context of divorce was studied in an effort to determine the role that conflict plays in a variety of psychosocial problems in children. Data were drawn from a 5-year longitudinal study of about 1,000 families who filed for divorce in 1984. The first phase of the study involved a series of interviews with the…

Mothers and fathers were interviewed when their child was 3 months old and observed in the Strange Situation when their infant was 12 months old. Infants' security of attachment was predicted by the quality of interaction with parents and by the amount of time parents spent with the infant. (BC)

Examined cardiac activity during the first 13 months of life. Indexes of cardiac activity changed in an orderly way with development. There were intercorrelations among the cardiac measures. Analyses indicated that measures of heart-rate variability were significantly higher in insecure children than in secure children. (BC)

Explored the antecedents and consequences of attachment disorganization among 157 participants in a prospective longitudinal study from 24 months to 19 years. Found that infant history of attachment disorganization was correlated with consequent variables related to: mother-child relationship quality at 24 and 42 months; child behavior problems in…

Examined longitudinally the association between attachment at age 6 and school-related cognitive functioning 2 years later in a French Canadian sample. Found that secure children had higher scores than insecure peers on communication, cognitive engagement, and mastery motivation. Controlling children were at greatest risk for school…

Despite its prevalence in low-income populations, there has been little attention paid to how maternal depression influences mother-child conversations about emotions and low-income preschool children's developing emotion understanding. The importance of a secure attachment as a positive influence on emotion understanding has also been…

West German research on children's interests is described, with emphasis on a 3-year longitudinal study of 12 children, aged 3 to 7. Two main lines of interest research are identified: (1) research activities rooted in the tradition of differential psychology emphasizing vocational interests, traits, and attitudes; and (2) research based on a new…

Many children who are born into poverty face increased challenges. But different factors can ameliorate such risks and some findings on resilience and protective factors are reported in this paper. The data are based on the Parent-Child Project, a 22-year study of high-risk children. The focus is on protective factors identified in the first three…

Used Current Relationship Interview (CRI) to examine correspondence between adults' models of their current love relationships and generalized attachment models accessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Found that early experience influences later relationships, but little support for the idea that a working model formed by caregiver-child…

Infants' attachment security with parents, parental behavior, and child behavior were assessed at 18-24 months; problem behavior was assessed when the children were in first grade. Found that mother-child relationship predicted later problem behaviors; father-child relationship did not. Also found that attachment security, maternal acceptance, and…

The validity of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and its relation to toddlers' social and emotional adaptation, were investigated. The AAI and the Parental Bonding Instrument were related, but only the AAI yielded classifications that corresponded to the quality of infant-parent attachment. (Author/LB)

Used regular telephone interviews over six months to examine processes through which recurrent episodes of otitis media influence children's attachment security. Found that recurrent otitis media negatively affected attachment security by increasing mothers' perceptions of their children as behaving more negatively. Parenting stress was not…

Post-placement involvement and well being of 53 families who had placed their child into a residential facility were studied 1, 2, and 3.5 years following placement. Visitation remained moderately high, with some type of visit reported at least monthly at Time 3 by 83 percent of families. Expressed attachment was high and stable. (Contains…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation among attachment state of mind, students' learning dispositions, and academic performance during the college transition. Sixty-two students were involved in a short-term longitudinal study and were interviewed with the Adult Attachment Interview. Students' learning dispositions were assessed at…