Ainsworth's system of classifying attachment patterns will not be easily displaced primarily because of difficulties involved in a dimensional approach. Problems include the number of dimensions involved, need to develop reliable scales, and need to describe how behavior changes across age and in the Strange Situation. Only when an alternative…

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…

Examined the effects of a sensitivity intervention program on the Parenting by lower-class mothers of irritable infants. Found that intervention group mothers were significantly more responsive, stimulating, visually attentive, and controlling of their infant's behavior than were control-group mothers. Intervention infants had higher scores than…

Suggests that play begins with infant-adult interaction soon after birth rather than with much later peer interactions. Proposes a developmental sequence of infant play that reverses the sequences of the Howes peer play scale, and cites pertinent literature to support that proposal. (BC)

Self-efficacy beliefs, perceptions of infant temperament, social and marital support, and parenting behavior of depressed and nondepressed mothers of infants were assessed. Maternal self-efficacy beliefs were related to maternal behavioral competence. When demographic variables were controlled for, self-efficacy correlated with maternal perception…

Mothers and children were observed in laboratory and home settings in a study of the relationship between maternal control strategies and child behavior. Child compliance and self-assertion were associated with less powerful control methods; defiance with power-assertive methods. A combined control-guidance strategy elicited greatest compliance…

As part of a longitudinal study of postpartum adjustment and infant development, this study examined whether securely attached 12-month-old infants show greater object mastery motivation and social-object mastery motivation than do insecurely attached infants. Object mastery relates to infants' goal-directed behavior that is oriented toward…

This publication deals with the present crisis in infant/toddler care. It presents information on infant/toddler development and optimal caregiving paractices, citing recent research on appropriate practices and the impact of poor versus quality care. The book is divided into two sections. In the first section, "Development and Program…

This study investigated the contributions of parent, infant, and contextual variables to the prediction of maternal ratings of infant temperament. Between the time when they gave birth and six months after the birth, 104 mothers completed measures of parenting attitudes, maternal anxiety and depression, family social support, demographic…

This paper briefly reviews studies pertaining to the imitation of facial gestures in early infancy. It is suggested that imitation provides for the initiation of a reciprocal exchange between mother and infant, but does not sustain such an interaction, since this requires a continually varied and changing pattern of gestures. Thus there is an…

This paper discusses a series of three studies investigating the influence of infants' characteristics and signaling behavior on parents. Videotapes of either smiling/cooing/gurgling or crying infants were used to elicit parents' physiological and affective responses. Measured physiological responses included skin conductance, heart rate, and…

A study was undertaken on the effects of a specific parent administered infant language stimulation program, beginning at birth, on the longitudinal development of 60 normal first born infants. All infants and their environments were tested in their homes at 6 weeks and at 6 months utilizing the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the HOME…

This study examined (1) the level of symbolic capability as revealed in play, (2) the use of spontaneous vocal imitation, and (3) the nature of certain classes of words occurring in spontaneous infant language. Facets of child behavior were examined during the period of single-word utterances and early multiword combinations with a view to…

Research pertaining to infant care and development is surveyed for the purpose of providing information for the improvement of services for school-age parents with infants. Computerized searches were used to identify relevant materials dated 1967-72. Studies dealing with infant development (e.g., perception, conditioning, the infant-adult…

This paper describes five experimental studies which explored the influence of fathers' home caregiving and interactional characteristics on their infant's laboratory behavior. Approximately 300 families with children ranging in age from 6 to 24 months were studied. Each infant's reactions were observed as a function of the manipulation of the…