Although research on the neurobiological foundation of social affiliation has implicated the neuropeptide oxytocin in processes of maternal bonding in mammals, there is little evidence to support such links in humans. Plasma oxytocin and cortisol of 62 pregnant women were sampled during the first trimester, last trimester, and first postpartum month. Oxytocin was assayed using enzyme immunoassa...

The emergence of consolidated nighttime sleep and the formation and maintenance of parent-infant relationships are 2 primary developmental achievements of the infancy period. Despite the development of a transactional model that links parenting behaviors to infant sleep, limited attention has been devoted to examining experimental manipulations of infant sleep that may impact the discrete paren...

Love is one of the most desired experiences. The quest for understanding human bonds, especially love, was traditionally a domain of the humanities. Recent developments in biological sciences yield new insights into the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of human relationships. Animal models of reproductive behaviors, mother-infant attachment and pair bonding complemented by hu...

Over half a century of converging clinical and animal research indicates that early life experiences induce enduring neuroplasticity of the HPA-axis and the developing brain. This experience-induced neuroplasticity is due to alterations in the frequency and intensity of stimulation of pups' sensory systems (i.e., olfactory, somatosensory, gustatory) embedded in mother-infant interactions. This ...

To test proposals regarding the hierarchical organization of adult attachment, this study examined developmental origins of generalized and romantic attachment representations and their concurrent associations with romantic functioning. Participants (N=112) in a 35-year prospective study completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and Current Relationship Interview (CRI). Two-way analysis of...

Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attach...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the effect birth type on parenting behaviors, infant perception maternal attachment.
 Materials Methods: This descriptive comparative conducted with 77 primipara mothers (vaginal birth: 48, cesarean section: 29). data were collected in three follow-ups using Individual Presentation Form, Postpartum Parenting Behavior Scale (PPBS...

Two longitudinal attachment studies of families at social risk have now followed their cohorts of infants to late adolescence. Several key findings have emerged related to outcomes of interest to psychoanalysts. First, data from both studies indicate that disorganized attachment behaviors in infancy are important precursors of later dissociative symptomatology. Second, this early vulnerability ...

Synopsis In recent years there has been growing interest in uncovering evolutionary and lifetime factors that may contribute to the domestic dog’s (Canis lupus familiaris) success anthropogenic environments. The readiness with which dogs form social attachments, their hyper-social focus, flexibility have all areas of investigation. Prior research demonstrated many pet infant-caregiver type atta...

Title of Document: FACTORS RELATED TO CHANGES IN INFANT ATTACHMENT SECURITY: A TEST OF THE DIFFERENTIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY HYPOTHESIS Brandi Shawn Stupica, Master of Science, 2009 Directed By: Professor Jude Cassidy, Department of Psychology A major tenet of attachment theory is that the stability of the caregiving environment drives the stability of infant attachment security. The research investi...