This study compares affiliative and attachment behaviors of nontraditional fathers who are their infant's primary caregivers, secondary caregiving fathers, and primary and secondary caregiving mothers. Subjects were 28 mobile infants and their middle-class American parents. In half of the families, the father was the primary caregiver; in the…

This paper deals with the psychological processes and emotional experiences of children whose parents are going through the process of divorce and the complications posed by divorced or divorcing parents moving to new locations. The paper begins with a discussion of the implications of divorce, claiming that divorce is a change that affects…

Gender inevitably influences intimacy. This paper examines how gender differences can inhibit intimate relationships. In the analysis of two cases, it was observed that the researcher unconsciously had a tendency to defer to male perspectives regarding intimacy, and suggests that many female clients may do the same. Researchers have speculated…

Research indicates that establishing a secure attachment relationship in childhood affects later perceived social support (PSS). In order to test this relationship empirically and to gather comparative information on the separate elements of PSS, two attachment questionnaires and three measures of PSS were administered to 139 white males and 320…

This two-part investigation attempted to formulate culturally sensitive definitions of desirable and undesirable attachment behavior. Participants were 3 sociocultural groups of 16 mothers each: middle-class Anglo mothers, lower-class Anglo mothers, and lower-class Puerto Rican mothers living on the U.S. mainland. All mothers had at least 1 child…

The possibility was explored that children's attachments to their mothers may provide an internal working model for their cognitions of marriage and divorce. Subjects were 112 children in kindergarten, second, and fourth grade who were living with nondivorced or divorced parents. The mean length of time since parents' separation and divorce was 56…

The development and validation of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), a self-report instrument for use with adolescents, is described. Item content of the instrument was suggested by Bowlby's theoretical formulations concerning the nature of feelings toward attachment figures. A hierarchical regression model was employed to…

Five bulletins of the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs include articles with the following titles and authors: "Lay Home Visiting Programs: Strengths, Tensions, and Challenges" (Mary Larner and Robert Halpern); "The Post-Partum Support Project: Serving Young Mothers and Older Women through Home Visiting" (Elizabeth Anisfeld and…

A theory of normal mother-infant relationship based on Margaret Mahler's theories is the basis of a treatment program for disturbed mother/infant relationships. This theory includes the concept of symbiosis which for the child is an undifferentiated condition, a fusion with the mother where the two have a common outward border, thereby protecting…

The seven articles in this annual report concern aspects of attachment, social interaction among parents and children, temperament, affective behavior, and/or research methodology. Aspects of attachment and temperament are addressed in Kazuo Miyake's study of the "Relation of Temperamental Disposition to Classification of Attachment,"…

More mothers than ever are now entering the work force and leaving greater numbers of preschool children and infants with less maternal supervision. How this phenomenon affects the development of infants and preschoolers has been the focus of much research, and research results have been mixed. A review of the research related to maternal…

The families of 10 children enrolled in a class for 2-year-olds at the Mills College Children's School participated in a study of parent attitudes about separation and parental behaviors that minimized separation anxiety and facilitated a smooth transition from home to school environments. The sample included nine mothers who were married and…

The Foster Parent Training Project builds on the desire of foster parents to promote the physical, mental and emotional growth of children in their care. Parents are taught to assist in reducing the impact on the children of separation. Classes deal with emotional development, sexual development, lying, emotional disturbance, the issues at each…

This study investigates the effects of age and prior experience with age-mates on attachment behavior and exploratory play with another child. Twenty home-reared children, half between 18 and 24 months and half between 24 and 30 months, and 20 day care children, also equally divided into the two age groups, were observed in the Ainsworth strange…

This study was conducted to determine if dependency as manifested by the preschool child is predictive of reading disability. Case studies were conducted using seventeen disabled readers, nine boys and eight girls, of average or above average ability from the third grade in two schools on Long Island. Preschool dependency was determined by a…