The development of attachment in two groups of economically disadvantaged infants and their mothers: Hmong refugee and Caucasian-American
Author(s):
Cumming, Brenda Jean
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ph.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : University of Minnesota, 1988.
Pages:
220
Language:
English
Abstract:
Hmong refugee children (n = 12) were found to be significantly more securely attached than Caucasian-American children (n = 12). Children from either group (Hmong refugee or Caucasian-American) who experienced sensitive caregiving in the newborn period were more likely to develop secure attachments with their mothers, as were children from either group who had, as infants, been less irritable and better able to orient to visual and auditory stimuli. Further, it was found that mothers who had been rated as sensitive during the newborn period tended to be not only sensitive to their children's needs as toddlers, but were also psychologically accessible to them, accepting of them, and cooperative in their interactions with them. Finally, there was a significant concurrent correlation between these maternal characteristics and security of attachment, as assessed by the Attachment Q-Set (Waters and Deane, 1985).