The present study investigates parenting styles in Iranian mothers with avoidant attachment style. The sample of this study were 15 mothers of children aged 1-6 living in Hamedan city, Iran with avoidant attachment style. The sample was first screened using the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS). Mothers were interviewed using s semi-structured…

Towards the end of the first COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020, in Aotearoa New Zealand, the authors conducted a small-scale study to gain insight into children's responses to the pandemic restrictions. As it was not possible to interview children ourselves, we recruited parents to read a set of digital stories about a toy bear in lockdown to their…

Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder are more likely to have features of the broad autism phenotype and adverse mental health outcomes. The broad autism phenotype can contribute to poorer mental health; however, the mechanism behind this relationship remains uncertain. This study investigated both the predictors of mental health and…

The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation, a 45-year study of children born into poverty, offers a number of lessons for practitioners. Among these are the potency of early relationship experiences for predicting developmental outcomes and the fate of early experience following developmental change. This article describes the…

The nature of play and an overview of the stages of play in the first 5 years of childhood are discussed. The core features of sensorimotor, functional, and symbolic play are identified. Vignettes describing how play serves a regulatory function punctuate each section. A conceptual framework for the construct of regulation is presented and…

Child social anxiety is common, and predicts later emotional and academic impairment. Offspring of socially anxious mothers are at increased risk. It is important to establish whether individual vulnerability to disorder can be identified in young children. The responses of 4.5 year-old children of mothers with social phobia (N = 62) and…

This study examines an activating mechanism of aggressive behaviour in young children. Many studies on attachment theories have indicated disorganised attachment as a significant risk factor for externalising problems and have explained the aetiology of disorganised attachment in terms of deficits in affect, behaviour and cognitive functions from…

Attachment theory suggests that children's attachment insecurity plays a key role in the development of anxiety. In the present study we evaluated the empirical evidence for the link between insecure attachment and anxiety from early childhood to adolescence. A meta-analysis of 46 studies, from 1984 to 2010, including 8,907 children, was…

Attachment is of key importance in childhood development. The quality of attachment relationship between the child and parent/primary caregiver may have an effect on the child and future relationships and social success (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1998). When a child fails to bond with a caring adult, attachment becomes disordered and children may…

Anxiety about the emotional experience of young children in nursery has been central in thinking about the development of nursery provision. The main theory of emotion that has been applied to nursery practice has been attachment theory. This article proposes that there is a need to open up our conceptual framework for thinking about emotional…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends 2014, taking place in Porto, Portugal, from 4 to 6 of April. Psychology, in our time, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and behavioral…

Argues that research does not warrant Belsky's position that infant child care for more than 20 hours per week is a risk factor for infants' insecure-avoidant attachment and children's maladaptive social behavior. Suggests that quality of care and family characteristics are major influences. (NH)

Maternal separation anxiety influences maternal behavior, attitudes about employment, and employment decisions made by mothers. This study examined the relationship between maternal separation anxiety and the number of hours a child was in substitute care. The sample consisted of 44 mothers and their children who ranged in age from 12 to 41 months…