Described is the development of a method for identifying and classifying differing attachment organizations at six years of age. The system is based on an analysis of children's responses to reunion with parents following a one-hour separation. Sixth year attachment classifications to mother were found to be highly predictable from infancy…

Multiple discriminant function analysis was conducted with data from Strange Situations. Results enable researchers to obtain attachment classifications directly from scores on interactive behavior and crying during reunion episodes. (PCB)

Asserts that all behavior is result of individual-group interaction, determined by attachment to and identification with various groups to which one belongs. Presents this social cohesion as a function of member's levels and types of group involvement. Describes types ranked according to degree of involvement (identification, alienation, autonomy,…

Examines child's representation of self in connection with child-mother attachment in a sample of 52 white, middle-class children aged six years. Results indicate that significant, albeit modest, connections between attachment and the self were established; further, specific patterns of self-perceptions were related to particular patterns of…

Describes the development of a 46-item questionnaire measure of postseparation attachment, the Divorce Reaction Inventory (DRI), administered to separated and divorced persons (N=52). Results indicated the DRI is a valid and reliable measure of spousal attachment after separation. (JAC)

Compares maltreated and nonmaltreated infants and their caregivers with regard to security and quality of the attachment relationship over time. The finding that a greater proportion of maltreated infants in each of three age groups was insecurely attached is in accordance with the predictions based on Ainsworth's and Bowlby's attachment theory.…

Investigated the relationship between loneliness and patterns of attachment in 47 college students. Results revealed a moderate to strong relationship between feeling lonely and early disrupted attachment, consistent with the notion that underlying attachment disorders may affect psychological development and social behavior. (JAC)

The Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) (N. Collins and S. Read, 1996) and the Adolescent Relationship Questionnaire (ARQ) (E. Scharfe and K. Bartholomew, 1995) widely used self-assessment measures of attachment behavior. This study investigated the validity of these two measures by administering them concurrently to 117 introductory psychology college…

An initial attempt to obtain normative data on adolescent home-leaving is represented. Young adults defined home-leaving as personal control, economic independence, residence, physical separation, school affiliation, dissociation, emotional separation, or graduation. The subjective meaning of these definitions is discussed. (Author/GK)

Describes common separation reactions of children in school settings. Discusses the identification of these reactions and presents suggestions for teachers for preventing or handling separation problems. (BD)

Behavioral indicators of attachments of children to others are surveyed with emphasis on crying or cued by a mother's departures, separations or absences. Some risks in using single attachment indices are explored. (MS)

Attempts to clarify the apparent contradiction of individuation and separation associated with a sense of belonging. Focuses on the theory of acquiring secure attachment as a means for developing therapy designed to increase basic trust and facilitate adolescent individuation. (Author/RK)

This editorial reviews and comments on three recent studies: two on assessment issues or areas of diagnostic difficulty for pediatricians concerned with child abuse and neglect, and one on the long-term effects of childhood abuse and experiences of early attachment. (DB)

Assesses the relative effects of parents and peers on adolescent alcohol use via mechanisms of attachment and opportunity. Results indicated that peers are more influential than parents in shaping adolescents' patterns of alcohol consumption and that unstructured peer interaction is an especially powerful predictor of adolescent alcohol use and…