Links between children's attachment security with mothers and fathers, assessed in Strange Situation with each parent at 15 months ("N" = 101), and their future behavior problems were examined. Mothers and fathers rated children's behavior problems, and children reported their own behavior problems at age 8 ("N" = 86). Teachers rated behavior…

This study examined infants' negative emotionality as moderating the effect of parent-child mutually responsive orientation (MRO) on children's self-regulation (n = 102). Negative emotionality was observed in anger-eliciting episodes and in interactions with parents at 7 months. MRO was coded in naturalistic interactions at 15 months.…

This multimethod study of 101 mothers, fathers, and children elucidates poorly understood role of children's attachment security as "moderating" a common maladaptive trajectory: from parental power assertion, to child resentful opposition, to child antisocial conduct. Children's security was assessed at 15 months, parents' power assertion observed…

Mechanisms accounting for the effects of mutually responsive orientation (MRO) at 7, 15, and 25 months in 102 mother-child and father-child dyads on child internalization and self-regulation at 52 months were examined. Two mediators at 38 months were tested: parental power assertion and child self-representation. For mother-child relationships,…

Socialization research is shifting from direct links between parenting and children's outcomes toward models that consider parenting in the context of other factors. This study proposed that the effects of maternal responsive, gentle parenting on child conscience are moderated by the quality of their relationship, specifically, early security. A…

Links between early and late emerging inhibitory characteristics of young children are poorly understood. Based on existing evidence, this study proposed an indirect link between reactive inhibition to novelty (fearfulness) and later emerging effortful inhibition of prepotent response tendencies. A model was tested that posits that fearful…

This comprehensive study of mutual responsiveness examined 102 mothers and 102 fathers interacting with their children at 7 and 15 months. Responsiveness was studied from developmental and individual differences perspectives, and assessed using macroscopic ratings and microscopic event coding. The latter captured parents' reactions to children's…

Examined early development of guilt in 106 children observed in laboratory paradigms in which they were led to believe they had damaged valuable objects during 2 sessions at 22, 33, and 45 months. Found support for a mediational model in which fearful temperament contributed to guilt proneness, which served to inhibit children's tendency to…

Examined infants' emotionality, inside and outside of the relationship with the mother, and mothers' responsiveness as predictors of reunion behaviors in the Strange Situation. Found that children's separation distress mediated influence of predictors and itself predicted reunion behaviors. When distress was controlled, some responses generally…

Examined relationship of security of attachment to development of fear, anger, and joy over child's first 3 years. Found that attachment groups differed in trajectories of emotional development, with differences apparent at 14 months. Resistant children were most fearful and least joyful. Over the second and third years, secure children became…

Examined longitudinally committed and situational compliance in "Do" and "Don't" contexts and internalization of standards among 108 young children through age 4. Found that the "Do" context was more challenging than the "Don't" context. Both forms of compliance were longitudinally stable, but only within a given context. Committed compliance was…

Examined the long-term consequences of mother-child mutually responsive orientation for the development of conscience at early school age. Found that mutually responsive orientation at toddler and preschool ages predicted children's conscience, even after controlling for developmental continuity of conscience. Toddler mutually responsive…

Assessed, at 8-10 months, children's restraint and attention, and at 13-15 months, compliance to mother, internalization of her prohibition, and quality of motivation of the mother-child teaching context. Found support for view of compliance and noncompliance as heterogenous: committed compliance was higher to maternal "don'ts" than "dos," with…

Examined 8- to 10-month-olds' responses to standard procedures eliciting joy, fear, anger, and discomfort. Found that response parameters to standard procedures cohered strongly within each episode. Responses cohered across same-emotion episodes, except for anger. Responses and father-reported temperament related to infant's emotional tone in…

Measured mother-child shared cooperation and positive affect, at 26-41 months and at 43-56 months, in multiple contexts of daily interactions. In dyads high on mutually responsive orientation, mothers resorted to less power, and children were more internalized regarding material values and rules. Mothers high on empathic perspective-taking were…