Implemented a social-emotional intervention for at-risk 4-year-olds in seven day-care classes. Teachers were trained to perform activities associated with relationship building. Compared to children who did not experience the intervention, children who had it were observed showing decreases in negative emotion, greater involvement, and more…

Assessed association between aspects of mother's employment and security of infant-mother attachment. Found that mothers' prenatal attitudes toward work and timing of work return made significant contributions to attachment outcomes apart from effects of maternal sensitivity, demographic, maternal, child, and child care factors. Mothers who…

Notes that many researchers have asserted maternal "sensitivity" as the key feature of interactions promoting "secure" attachment relationships. Reviews literature addressing the construct of sensitivity, highlighting the problem of definition and identifying the range of behaviors typically used as indicators of sensitivity.…

Studied 108 adults to investigate the impact of adult attachment to parents, perceived disease severity, and caregiving behaviors, moderated by perceived caregiving adequacy. Results indicate that attachment style and the trait aspect of attachment predicted both aspects of caregiver burden. Attachment preoccupation predicted psychologic…

Conducted an exploratory qualitative study with three focus groups to investigate views of dependency in the therapeutic relationship. Evidence suggests a degree of ambivalence and discomfort among the participants regarding dependency issues. Participants' concern relating to issues of dependency argues for more rigorous research into the…

Examines the correspondence between late adolescent children and their parents when assessing aspects of parental bonds with children. A sample of older undergraduate students and parents completed retrospective accounts of their relationships. Student perceptions of attachment accounted for significant unique variation in self-esteem but not in…

Studied parent-adolescent conflict and late adolescents' attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms as predictors of late adolescents' romantic relationships. Findings based on questionnaire responses of 256 college students highlight the differential roles of familial and individual attributes in female and male adolescents' romantic relationship…

Two studies examined the influences of concordant and nonconcordant attachment relationships to mothers and to child caregivers on children's behavior in child care. In both studies, the child's level of competence in play with the caregiver and engagement with peers was a function of attachment security with both mother and caregiver. (NH)

The potential benefits of massage for infants are discussed, including the role of touch on attachment and bonding and implications of massage for special needs infants. Research results on the benefits of massage for the infant and caregiver are covered, including increased bonding and enhanced growth and development. Historical information on…

Investigated the universality of children's use of their mothers as a secure base. Found that, on average, children in all seven of the countries and contexts studied were characterized as using their mothers as a secure base, but that they differed across cultures in the degree to which their behavior conformed to the definition of a securely…

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)