Reviews attachment research based on narrative assessments, noting that these assessments rely on subjective variables as well as working models as determinants of children's narrative productions. Reviews John Bowlby's ideas regarding the importance of parent-child verbal communications in attachment security. Reviews recent cognitive research…

One way to ease the transition of attachment and separation is through art. Creating a transitional object in the classroom to send home with the children effectively reinforces the importance of the relationship between the child and teacher or provider. Art also helps young children to express feelings, improve motor skills, solve problems, and…

This essay discusses the similarities between animal behavior and human attachment behavior demonstrated by infants and their mothers. The provision of warmth, the tactile and olfactory stimulation of the mother's physical interactions, and the oral sensory and absorptive consequences of nursing are found to provide specific and independent…

The influence of adolescents' perceptions of their attachment relationships with parents and friends was studied for 493 New Zealand adolescents. Findings suggest that adolescent self-esteem is more strongly associated with the quality of affect toward parents and friends than with the utilization of these figures for support or proximity. (SLD)

Reviews five articles on infants and toddlers and the adults who care for them. Includes discussions of caregiver stability and attachment behavior; infants' sensory abilities; alternative public schooling for pregnant teenagers; and the psychosocial, behavioral, and developmental characteristics of toddlers prenatally exposed to cocaine. (DR)

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)

Based on information provided by Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers living in the New Haven, Connecticut area, culturally sensitive vignettes of toddler attachment behavior were constructed. In response to the vignettes, Anglo mothers focused on children's individual autonomy, while Puerto Rican mothers emphasized children's maintenance of proper…

Reviews research on infants classified by Ainsworth's "Strange Situation" assessment as insecure/ambivalent, and examines studies exploring attachment theory beyond infancy. Presents a theoretical discussion of the ways in which patterns of mother and child behaviors associated with the insecure/ambivalent pattern may work together to…

Examined the relationship between maternal and infant measures of interaction, maternal psychosocial problems, infant cognitive development, and infant attachment security at 18 months of age and child behavior problems at age 5. Disorganized-disorientated attachment status and maternal psychosocial problems were the strongest predictors of…

Analyzed data from 11 studies of concordance of mother/father attachment to an infant based on the Strange Situation. Found that security of attachment, type of insecurity, and subcategory classification of security to one parent depended on the other parent. Discussed parenting styles and infant temperament. (BC)

Studied attachment behaviors in indigenous Dutch and Surinam-Dutch immigrant mothers and infants. In the Surinam-Dutch group, maternal responsiveness was related to quality of attachment. Surinam-Dutch mothers scored significantly lower on a responsiveness scale than did Dutch mothers. Other cultural differences are noted. (Author/BB)

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)

Uses data from a random sample of 13,250 adolescents. Results show that mother/adolescent bonding and family drug problems have modest, indirect effects on the likelihood of adolescent drug use; father/adolescent bonding, parental monitoring, and family aggression have relatively weak effects on adolescent drug use; and religious students do not…

Notes that attachment behavior in infants is a facet of normal child development, and that children with attachment problems require special attention during and after the adoption process. Presents actions needed to increase the probability that such children can be successfully adopted, detailed attachment patterns, and parenting strategies and…

Describes child and human development as an eco-cultural project. Focuses particular attention to early development of trust and attachment relationships and the age 5-to-7 transition, wherein cultural goals and psychological well-being are achieved despite limited resources and socioeconomic constraints. (JPB)