Infant-mother attachment: relationships to maternal responsiveness and infant temperament.
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between maternal responsiveness, infant temperament, and infant-mother attachment as measured in Ainsworth's Strange Situation. Discriminant analysis revealed that infant temperament was more strongly related to attachment than maternal responsiveness. Infants rated as Anxious-Avoidant in attachment were perceived by their mothers as significantly easier in temperament. Possible explanations for findings and implications for nurses working with infants and parents are discussed.
Coffman
S
S
College of Nursing, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton 33431.
Levitt
M J
MJ
Guacci-Franco
N
N
D000328:Adult; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D002666:Psychology, Child; D013694:Temperament; D014743:Videotape Recording