Method: Sixteen studies on attachment in children with autism were reviewed, and ten studies with data on observed attachment security (N = 287) were included in a quantitative meta-analysis. Results: Despite the impairments of children with autism in reciprocal social interaction, the majority of the studies found evidence for attachment…

Background: The purpose of the present study was to test a maternal attachment model of behavior problems in early childhood using phase I data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, a prospective study of 1,364 children from birth through sixth grade. Methods: Mothers' and caregivers' ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing…

Fifth-graders' (N = 162; 93 girls) relationships with parents and friends were examined with respect to their main and interactive effects on psychosocial functioning. Participants reported on parental support, the quality of their best friendships, self-worth, and perceptions of social competence. Peers reported on aggression, shyness and…

Recent educational research utilising Bowlby's attachment theory has focused on children's interpersonal relationships with their teachers. Research in this area has indicated that the security of the teacher-child relationship influences children's development in many of the same ways as secure parent-child attachments. The purpose of this study…

This paper aims to explore factors influencing the parenting of adolescents and investigate what constitutes a helpful therapeutic intervention for a parent whose adolescent refuses or fails to engage in therapeutic treatment. Three areas of research and theory are explored: findings from the socialization approach to parenting and from attachment…

School attachment is a robust predictor of adjustment in children and youth. Previous research has demonstrated effects of school context on student attachment, but individual-level contributions have not been explored. Our study examined the role of affiliative orientation in school attachment and aggressive behavior in children and youth from…

The great majority of children living in foster or residential care have been abused and neglected. Mental health problems are common and the nature of these problems may be rooted in early attachment relationships. The carers of 82 children in care in Scotland and 125 children from local schools completed questionnaires on mental health problems…

This study investigated the relationship between adolescent life- satisfaction and bonding to adults/developing meaningful roles in the neighborhood within a pilot study of slightly modified version of the CDC Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MSYRBS) in a southern state in the USA. Overall, 43% of students reported that they were…

Work in developmental psychiatry and psychology has increasingly focused on how internal representations of early experiences with primary figures of childhood affect relationship formation in later childhood and adulthood. Investigations of the reflective self function, which involves mental states in which individuals become the subject of their…

Aimed at parents with infants, this book is a collection of 250 simple, fun-filled games that can be played with children up to the age of 1. The games have been categorized into the following eight types: (1) growing and learning games; (2) special bonding games; (3) kitchen games; (4) laughing and having fun games; (5) art and singing games; (6)…

As growing numbers of mothers enter the workforce, understanding the effects of maternal employment on children and adolescents has become increasingly important. The effects of maternal employment after infancy on adult attachment, and how these effects vary as a function of children's personality style are examined in this paper. It was…

This study investigated the connection between self-disclosure and stages in development of interpersonal relationships. It hypothesized that self-disclosure in relationships is of a dynamic character which works in two directions: towards the interaction partner, and in the opposite direction. The study proposed three stages in the development of…

Infants have definite personality characteristics from birth onward. Despite wide variation in infant temperament styles, ranging from easy to difficult, responsive parents and non-parental caregivers can ensure positive emotional-social development. This paper, which reviews various theories and research on personality development in infants and…

Attachment theory posits that intimate relationships (especially during early childhood) have an influence on future social functioning. Children construct an "internal working model" of a relationship which is influenced by the nature and quality of primary attachment relationships. This model then serves as a foundation for future…

This paper reports the results of a study on the quality of attachment in two groups of interracially adopted infants in the Netherlands, and compares these results with results from a similar study of American interracial adoption. The two groups in the Netherlands consisted of 30 adoptive Asian children placed in White families, and 20 Asian and…