Then and now: the legacy and future of attachment research.

Attachment theory rescued psychology from the choice between an untestable psychoanalytic, drive reduction theory and behaviorist positions that were incapable of accounting for development. Theory and research on attachment over the last 5 decades advanced knowledge on vital topics such as the emergence of the self, emotion regulation, resilience, and mental representations. The success of the theory led to broad applications both within and outside of academia. Now is a useful time to appraise this body of work and to consider future directions. The book, "Cornerstones," and the two target articles in this special issue provide an important start to this process, suggesting a number of potentially fruitful directions. Some of the challenges associated with these suggestions are addressed in this commentary.

Principles of development: the case of dependency.

In this commentary, I underscore the two developmental principles or laws pointed to by this series of papers on child-teacher dependency; namely, that behavior and development are coherent and that early attachment relationships are the foundation for later development. First, I will review briefly the history of the dependency and attachment concepts and how Bowlby and Ainsworth distinguished them. This is followed by an overview of the comprehensive findings on the development of dependency from the Minnesota Study of Risk and Adaptation. In the conclusion, ideas are presented regarding how to view dependency in the classroom and whether and how to intervene. Suggestions are made regarding the research needed moving forward.

Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers.

Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static "trait" of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions.

Continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns across two generations.

This study examined the intergenerational continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns within a higher-risk longitudinal sample of 55 female participants born into poverty. Infant attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation when participants were 12 and 18 months as well as several decades later with participants' children. Paralleling earlier findings from this sample on the stability of attachment patterns from infancy to young adulthood, results provided evidence for intergenerational continuities in attachment disorganization but not security. Children of adults with histories of infant attachment disorganization were at an increased risk of forming disorganized attachments. Although changes in infant attachment patterns across the two generations were not correlated with individuals' caregiving experiences or interpersonal stresses and supports during childhood and adolescence, higher quality social support during adulthood was associated with intergenerational changes from insecure to secure infant-caregiver attachment relationships.

The promise of developmental psychopathology: past and present.

Progress in the field of developmental psychopathology is appraised in general and with regard to the particular lens of our understanding of the development of disorder. In general, the outpouring of research on various features of disorder and underlying processes could not have even been imagined 25 years ago. The progress is dazzling. At the same time, work on the development of disorders, beginning with antecedent patterns of adaptation, pales in comparison with work on the correlates of disorder. However, progress has been made. It is well established that the brain develops in the context of experience and that organism and environment continually interact over time. Something is now known about pathways leading to certain disorders and what initiates and impels individuals along them. If developmental psychopathology is to completely fulfill its promise of offering new ways of conceptualizing disorder and new guidance for prevention and intervention, much more work on developmental processes and a new way of exploring the development of disorder will be needed. Such a path is suggested.

The establishment of an attachment research network in Latin America: goals, accomplishments, and challenges.

In the face of a pressing need for expanded attachment research programs and attachment informed interventions in Latin America, a research network was established: Red Iberoamericana de Apego: RIA (Iberian-American Attachment Network). The purpose of RIA is to promote human development and well being, informed by attachment theory, centering on research, and with implications for public policies, education, and intervention. We report the proceedings of the second meeting of RIA held in Panama City, Panama, in February 2010. As part of this meeting, RIA sponsored the first Latin-American attachment conference. Proceedings of the conference are described, as are future goals of this new organization.

Attachment discontinuity in a high-risk sample.

In this study, we evaluated complex patterns of attachment discontinuity across time in 133 individuals from the Minnesota Study of Risk and Adaptation. In addition to individuals who were either insecure or secure across infancy, late adolescence, and adulthood (Stably Insecure and Stably Secure, respectively), we found three additional groups: Infant/Adolescent Secure, Infant/Adult Secure, and Infant-only Secure. Changes in attachment representations in these groups across time corresponded to stresses and supports in the socio-emotional context. The two groups classified as secure in adulthood (Stably Secure and Infant/Adult Secure) experienced more positive relationship-based outcomes than the other three groups. Our results suggest that continuity may be a reflection of a stable social context as much as it is an artifact of early working models, and illustrate "homeorhetic" pathways of development, in which not only the direction but the length of a developmental pathway can constrain future developmental trajectories.

A prospective investigation of the development of borderline personality symptoms.

The antecedents and developmental course of borderline personality disorder symptoms were examined prospectively from infancy to adulthood using longitudinal data from a risk sample (N = 162). Borderline personality disorder symptom counts were derived from the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders diagnostic interview at age 28 years. Correlational analyses confirmed expected relations between borderline symptoms and contemporary adult disturbance (e.g., self-injurious behavior, dissociative symptoms, drug use, relational violence) as well as maltreatment history. Antecedent correlational and regression analyses revealed significant links between borderline symptoms in adulthood and endogenous (i.e., temperament) and environmental (e.g., attachment disorganization, parental hostility) history in early childhood and disturbance across domains of child functioning (e.g., attention, emotion, behavior, relationship, self-representation) in middle childhood/early adolescence. Process analyses revealed a significant mediating effect of self-representation on the relation between attachment disorganization on borderline symptoms. The findings are discussed within a developmental psychopathology framework in which disturbance in self-processes is constructed through successive transactions between the individual and environment.

Direct social support for young high risk children: relations with behavioral and emotional outcomes across time.

This study is unique in addressing developmental correlates of direct social support for young children in a high risk sample, in contrast to previous studies addressing social support for caregivers. Participants were drawn from a prospective, longitudinal study of at-risk children. Social support was rated from maternal interviews throughout early childhood. Support from the mother was assessed from mother-child observations. Outcomes included internalizing and externalizing behavior problems measured from first through tenth grades. The most common support providers were biological fathers, followed by grandparents and other providers. Using multilevel modeling, higher quantity, higher quality, and lower disruption of support predicted lower starting levels of behavior problems, controlling for support from the mother. Disruption was associated with change in slope. Gender differences were found for externalizing behavior intercepts. Social support provides a promotive factor for young high risk children. Implications include involving children's social support providers in prevention and intervention programs.

The interpersonal antecedents of supportive parenting: a prospective, longitudinal study from infancy to adulthood.

This study drew on prospective, longitudinal data to test the hypothesis that the intergenerational transmission of positive parenting is mediated by competence in subsequent relationships with peers and romantic partners. Interview-based ratings of supportive parenting were completed with a sample of 113 individuals (46% male) followed from birth to age 32. Results indicated that supportive parenting during adulthood was predicted by observed maternal sensitivity during the first 3 years of life, even after controlling for adults' age at first childbirth and adults' socioeconomic status and educational attainment at the time of the second generation parenting assessments. Moreover, the intergenerational association in parenting was mediated by later competence in relationships with peers and romantic partners. In particular, sensitive caregiving in infancy and early childhood predicted teachers' rankings of children's social competence with peers during childhood and adolescence, which in turn forecasted later interview ratings of romantic relationship competence during young adulthood, which in turn predicted supportive parenting in adulthood. Findings are discussed with respect to current theory and research on the intergenerational transmission of parenting.

Maternal panic disorder: infant temperament, neurophysiology, and parenting behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether 4- and 14-month-old infants of mothers with panic disorder (PD) would be more likely to show differences in temperament, neurophysiology (salivary cortisol and sleep), and relationships with their mothers than controls. METHOD: Two cohorts were recruited: 4-month-old infants with PD mothers (n = 25) and 4-month-old controls (n = 24), and 14-month-old infants with PD mothers (n = 27) and 14-month-old controls (n = 18). Mothers completed diagnostic interviews and questionnaires concerning infant temperament, sleep, and parenting. Infant salivary cortisol samples and standard observational procedures to measure infant temperament, sleep, attachment, and parenting were also used. RESULTS: Infants with PD mothers did not show more high reactivity, behavioral inhibition, or ambivalent/resistant attachment but did demonstrate different neurophysiology (higher salivary cortisol and more disturbed sleep) than controls. PD mothers also displayed less sensitivity toward their infants and reported parenting behaviors concerning infant sleep and discipline that have been associated with child problems. CONCLUSIONS: While infants with PD mothers did not show early behavioral differences from controls, they did display neurophysiological divergences consistent with higher arousal/arousability. Such neurophysiological divergences (elevated salivary cortisol and disturbed sleep) might be important early indicators of risk. Helping PD mothers parent their more highly aroused/arousable infants could reduce the development of psychopathology.

Attachment categories as reflections of multiple dimensions: comment on Fraley and Spieker (2003).

Ainsworth's system of classifying patterns of attachment behavior has served the field well and will not be easily displaced--not because of a commitment by attachment researchers to the taxonomic status of these categories but rather because of difficulties lying in the way of a dimensional approach. Foremost among these is the large number of dimensions used in making classifications and the need to develop reliable scales to tap them. Other problems include the need to capture how behavior changes across age and across the episodes of the Strange Situation. Others will debate R.C. Fraley and S.J. Spieker's (2003) arguments concerning taxonomic status. However, whether taxa or not, Ainsworth's categories at the least have represented well the multidimensional space underlying attachment behavior in conditions of mild stress. Only when an alternative approach is demonstrated to predict (with equal power, in practice) the vast range of outcomes associated with Ainsworth's categories will it be a candidate for substitution.

Implications of attachment theory and research for developmental-behavioral pediatrics.

This article presents a basic overview of attachment theory, concepts, and research. The review includes a discussion of the nature of the attachment relationship, its origins in human evolutionary history, and common misconceptions about attachment. We describe phases in the development of attachment relationships and review research on factors that influence attachment variations. We discuss the implications of variations in early attachment relationships for later development (adaptation and maladaptation). And finally, we review briefly the implications of attachment theory and research for pediatric practice. Some key points are that (1) virtually all infants become attached to caregivers regardless of quality of care; (2) attachment relationships evolve in phases over time; (3) children with disabilities form attachment relationships in ways comparable to nondisabled children but manifest attachment somewhat differently; (4) the consequences for attachment of out-of-home care, separations, and significant disruptions (e.g., adoption) depend on timing and circumstances; (5) many infant regulatory difficulties, as well as child behavior problems, originate in the caregiving relationship; and finally, (6) change in parent-child relationship disturbances is complex and requires time and effort.

Frightened versus not frightened disorganized infant attachment: Newborn characteristics and maternal caregiving.

The disorganized infant has been described as experiencing "fright without solution" (Hesse & Main, 1999, p. 484) within the attachment relationship. Using a sample at risk because of poverty (n = 157), this study evaluated the role of newborn characteristics in predicting disorganized attachment and explored the existence of 2 subgroups of disorganized infants, based on whether they display direct indices of fear. For the entire sample, regression analyses revealed that newborn characteristics did not predict ratings of disorganization directly or via moderation by caregiving. Regarding subgroups, it was hypothesized that, if direct expressions of fear resulted from interaction with a frightening or frightened caregiver, it could be expected that infants in the Not Frightened subgroup would become disorganized in part because of other factors, such as compromised regulatory abilities at birth. Results supported this hypothesis for emotional regulation, but not for orientation; infants in the Not Frightened subgroup displayed limited emotional regulation as newborns. Findings suggest that the disorganized attachment category may be comprised of 2 subgroups, with direct expressions of fear as the key differentiating factor. Specifically, disorganized infants who do not display direct fear in the presence of the caregiver may have started out with compromised emotional regulation abilities at birth.

Early Patterns of Self-Regulation as Risk and Promotive Factors in Development: A Longitudinal Study from Childhood to Adulthood in a High-Risk Sample.

The present study examines two childhood markers of self-regulation, ego-control and ego-resiliency, as promotive factors for the development of global adjustment and as risk factors for the development of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in a high-risk sample. Teachers and observers rated ego-control and ego-resiliency when participants (n = 136) were in preschool and elementary school. Ratings showed evidence for convergent and discriminant validity and stability over time. Ego-resiliency, but not ego-control, emerged as powerful predictor of adaptive functioning at age 19 and 26, as well as internalizing and externalizing problems at 16, 23, 26, and 32 years. We interpret these findings as evidence that flexibility and adaptability -measured with ego-resiliency- may reduce risk and promote successful adaptation in low-SES environments.

Conceptualizing the Role of Early Experience: Lessons from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study.

We draw upon data from a prospective, longitudinal study to evaluate the role of typically occurring variations in early experience on development from birth to adulthood. Such an evaluation is complex for both methodological and conceptual reasons. Methodological issues include the need to control for both later experience and potentially confounding third variables, such as IQ or temperament. Conceptual complexity derives from the fact that the effects of early experience can be both direct and indirect, can interact with other factors, and because whether an effect is found depends on what early experience and what outcomes are assessed. Even direct effects are probabilistic and are more in evidence with cumulative than with single measures. Often early experience has its effect indirectly by initiating a chain of events, by altering the organism in some way, and/or by promoting the impact of later experience. We provide examples where early experience is moderated and mediated by other factors and where it shows latent effects following developmental change. We illustrate developmental processes through which early experience has its effect and conclude that despite the complexity of development variations in early experience retain a vital place in the study of development.

The Concept of Development in Developmental Psychopathology.

So important is the perspective of development for understanding psychopathology that it spawned a new discipline-"developmental psychopathology"-which has seen remarkable advances since its introduction,, but has yet to completely fulfill its promise. To do this requires maintaining a thoroughgoing developmental perspective. When we take development seriously, there are implications for how we understand psychopathology, describe and conceptualize the origins and course of disorder, and interpret research findings. From this perspective, disorders are complex products of development; for example, we can view neurophysiological associates of disorder not as causes but as markers, the development of which we need to understand. Research on developmental psychopathology requires an examination of the history of problem behavior from early in life, and it unites multiple features of adaptation and maladaptation (contextual, experiential, physiological, and genetic).

The intergenerational continuity of observed early parenting: a prospective, longitudinal study.

The authors report the results from a prospective, longitudinal study of cross-generational parenting quality in a lower socioeconomic status sample of moderate ethnic diversity (N = 61). The study extends previous research on intergenerational continuity of parenting in several significant ways: (a) Assessments in both generations were based on direct observation, (b) assessments were made at the same age (24 months) in both generations, (c) there were controls for later parenting in the first generation, and (d) there were controls for critical background factors (stress, socioeconomic status, child and parent IQ). An observed parenting-quality composite showed moderate stability (r = .43) across generations, and findings held after controlling for all other factors. A possible special role for early parenting experience and the extensive research needed to demonstrate it are discussed.

Attachment and development: a prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood.

There is much to digest in a 30 year longitudinal study of the developing person (Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005a). The following paper summarizes some key points regarding the place of infant attachment in the developmental course. It is argued that understanding the role of attachment entails grasping the organizational nature of the attachment construct and embracing a non-linear transactional model. Using such concepts, attachment history was shown in the Minnesota study to be clearly related to the growth of self-reliance, the capacity for emotional regulation, and the emergence and course of social competence, among other things. Moreover, specific patterns of attachment had implications for both normal development and pathology. Even more important than such linkages, however, study of the place of early attachment in later adaptation reveals much about developmental processes underlying both continuity and change. Findings are over-viewed concerning the complex links between attachment and ultimate outcomes and the preservation of early patterns even during times of change. In all, these findings have implications both for future research and for clinical application.

Predictors of young adults' representations of and behavior in their current romantic relationship: prospective tests of the prototype hypothesis.

Although attachment theory suggests that childhood experiences with caregivers serve as a prototype for adult love relationships, few explicit tests of this hypothesis exist in the literature. Drawing on data from a longitudinal cohort followed from birth to young adulthood, this paper examined correlates and antecedents of young adults' representations of and behavior in their current romantic relationship. Young adults who experienced a secure relationship with their primary caregiver in infancy as assessed in the Strange Situation were more likely to (a) produce coherent discourse regarding their current romantic partnership in the context of the Current Relationship Interview (CRI) and (b) have a higher quality romantic relationship as observed in standard conflict and collaboration tasks. Infant security accounted for variation in CRI security above and beyond the observed quality of participants' current romantic relationship. In contrast, the association between infant and romantic security was partially mediated by individuals' self-reports about their romantic experiences, suggesting that one plausible mechanism by which early experiences with caregivers shape young adults' representations of their attachments with romantic partners is through adults' expectations for and perceptions of love relationships.