Judith Solomon

Representational models of relationships: Links between caregiving and attachment

According to attachment theory, the childs attachment behavioral system is complemented by a reciprocal caregiving system in the parent. Going beyond current descriptions of caregiving as a set of discrete parental behaviors and attitudes that are related to attachment, we have sought to describe caregiving as a behavioral system that is organized in its own right. Examination interviews of 32 mothers of 6-year-old children, we found a significant correspondence between maternal internal working models of caregiving on the dimensions of secure base, rejection, uncertainty, and helplessness and their childrens attachment classification. A significant concordance between caregiving classification and adult attachment classification and between adult attachment classification and child attachment classification was also found. The relation between child attachment, adult attachment, and the caregiving system is discussed.

Children classified as controlling at age six: Evidence of disorganized representational strategies and aggression at home and at school

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children classified as controlling in attachment differ from children classified into the traditional Ainsworth attachment categories in their symbolic representations of attachment and level of behavior problems. Sixty-nine middle-class kindergarten children and their mothers participated in a laboratory separation and reunion. Children enacted doll-play stories about attachment-related themes. A four-group representation classification scheme was developed from the doll-play transcripts of 27 children. Mothers ( n = 44) completed Achenbachs Child Behavior Checklist and teachers ( n = 40) completed a 30-item inventory of classroom behavior. Results showed significant agreement between the representational system and Main and Cassidys classification system (1988) for childrens reunion behavior. The doll-play of controlling children was characterized by themes of catastrophe and helplessness or by complete inhibition of play and suggested disorganization of representational processes. Controlling children also were described by mothers and teachers as significantly more aggressive than other children. The results validate the distinction between the controlling and traditional classification groups and suggest that controlling children are at risk for behavioral maladaptation at home and at school.

The development of attachment in separated and divorced families. Effects of overnight visitation, parent and couple variables.

This study represents the first systematic investigation of the effects on infant attachment to mother and to father of the increasingly common practice of overnight visitation (time-sharing) with the father in separated and divorced families. There were 145 infants (ages 12 to 20 months) and their mothers (and 83 fathers) who participated in the study. Parents completed questionnaires, were interviewed about their relationship with the baby, and were observed with their infants in the Strange Situation. Infants in separated/divorced families who had regular overnight visits with father (n = 44) were significantly less likely to be classified as secure and more likely to be classified as disorganized or unclassifiable in their attachment to mother than infants in a married comparison group (n = 52). Attachment classification to father was unrelated to visiting (time-sharing) arrangements, but infants were significantly more likely to be classified disorganized/unclassifiable with father in the separated/divorced groups (n = 39) than in dual-parent families (n = 44). Disorganized attachment to mother in the Overnight group was associated with maternal reports of low parent communication and high parent conflict, and with low maternal psychological protection of the infant, assessed from maternal interviews. Consistent with Bowlbys and Rutters context-sensitive views of the effects of separation, the results suggest that repeated overnight separations from the primary caregiver are associated with disruption in mother-infant attachment when the conditions of visitation are poor, i.e. when parents are unable to provide adequate psychological support to the child.

Attraction of male golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) to the odors of male conspecifics

Two experiments were conducted to determine the response of adult male hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus ) to the odors of male conspecifics. In Experiment I, 27 adult male hamsters were given the opportunity to enter and investigate three combinations of enclosures containing substrates from areas previously inhabited by hamsters or clean substrates. Results demonstrated that hamsters preferred to investigate areas which contained hamster odors over areas which did not and preferred to investigate the odors of strange males over those from their home cage. In Experiment II, 20 adult male hamsters were either subjected to aggressive interactions in the home cage of larger, older males or allowed to investigate the home cage of another hamster in the residents absence. Olfactory preferences for the odor of the conspecific partner were tested both before and after experimental manipulation. Results showed that the experience of defeat did not decrease the preference of hamsters for the odor of opponents. The results suggest that olfactory cues are not sufficient to promote territorial exclusion in the golden hamster.