Attachment of kibbutz infants to mother and metapelet.
122 children, born and reared on Israel kibbutzim, were observed in a cross-sectional study of infant attachment behaviors. Their reaction to either mother or metapelet (caretaker) separation and reunion was recorded over a 13-sequence experimental paradigm. Results indicated that children protested equally to either mother or metapelet separation when left with a stranger. Reunion behaviors seemed to be sensitive to the different attachment relationships the infant had with each caretaker, while separation behaviors were not. The  quality of the infant-mother interactions as it is related to the infant's ordinal position had a significant effect on infant attachment behavior in the experimental situation. Firstborn (only) children were more anxious than later-borns during the session. Speculation as to the origin of these significant ordinal differences is discussed.
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods*; D007557:Israel; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D012931:Social Environment