Maternal Distance Versus Symbiosis and Toddler-Mother Attachment During the Second Year of Life

This study was undertaken to relate individual differences along a Mahler-derived dimension of maternal distance-symbiosis to Ainsworth\u27s patterns of infant-mother attachment and to assess cross-sectionally the normative appearance of Mahler\u27s subphase of rapprochement (a restoring of close relations with the mother) in the middle of the second year of life. Sixty mother-toddler pairs, 20 each at the toddler ages of 12, 18, and 24 months evenly divided by sex, were observed in the Ainsworth and Wittig laboratory Strange Situation. Toddlers were classified according to the Ainsworth system into Group A (insecurely attached/ avoidant), Group B (securely attached), and Group C (insecurely attached/resistant). Mothers were assessed by a questionnaire constructed for the study and were also classified by their Strange- Situation and interview behavior into distance-tending (D), normally- oriented (N) , and symbiosis-tending (S) groups. The questionnaire, tested earlier with 56 mothers of toddlers, contained independent scales of distancing (D), normal orientation (N), and symbiosis (S) and D subscales of anger (D^) and aversion to contact (D^v). Results revealed that a low mean on the S scale differentiated mothers of Group-A from mothers of Group-B toddlers and mothers of insecurely attached from mothers of securely attached toddlers. A high mean on the D^v subscale distinguished mothers of insecurely attached from mothers of securely attached toddlers, D from N mothers, and non-N from N mothers. Indicators of rapprochement included reliable increases with toddler age group for looking at the mother in preseparation and the first reunion as well as significant changes with age group in the same episodes for the toddler\u27s involvement of the mother in play. The values for the latter behavior peaked at 18 months, manifesting significant linear and quadratic trends. Separation crying did not change reliably with age group but was subject to an age by sex interaction in the second separation. Sex differences were suggested by this and two other interactions of age with sex on relations with the mother. Results are discussed in relation to current research in infant social development

The Effect of the Presence of an Unfamiliar Peer on Stranger Preference and Separation from the Mother in 15-Month-Olds

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the responses of 15-month-old toddlers to unfamiliar peers in the context of toddler-mother attachment. The subjects were twenty-two 15-month-old toddlers, who were observed singly and in pairs under mother-present and mother-absent conditions. Each toddler was involved in a sequence of six 3-minute episodes in an experimental room with toys. Using a counter-balanced procedure, three of the episodes for one toddler overlapped with three of the episodes for the other toddler so that one experimental session consisted of nine episodes. In both the one- toddler and the two-toddler halves of the six-episode sequence for each child, there were mother-present, mother-absent, and mother-reunion episodes. Observations were made through a one-way window and recorded on behavioral coding sheets. The study showed that unfamiliar 15-month-old toddlers looked at each other significantly more often than they looked at their peer\u27s mother, who was also a stranger to them. However, when the two mothers left the room, the presence of another toddler did not significantly reduce separation crying from what it was when toddlers were left alone. Many of the behavioral signs of toddler-mother attachment were found, replicating previous studies. Behaviors that were significantly different between preseparation and separation episodes were that the toddlers cried more, looked more at the door, touched the door more frequently, and played less when their mothers were absent. At reunion the toddlers\u27 contact and contact-seeking to the mother was significantly more prevalent than in separation episodes. The toddlers\u27 distance from the mother was less in reunion episodes than in preseparation ones, but not significantly so. Neither was visual regard of the mother significantly greater in one of the reunion periods than it had been in the corresponding preseparation period. Tire toddlers\u27 greater visual regard of peer strangers than of adult ones was interpreted as the beginning of the process of peer sociability. But this early sociability was viewed as taking place in the context of the toddler-caretaker attachment relationship, since unfamiliar 15-month-olds did not derive comfort from each other when separated from their mothers

Houses in the Rainforest: Ethnicity and Inequality among Farmers and Foragers in Central Africa, by Roy Richard Grinker; Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994

Houses in the Rainforest: Ethnicity and Inequality among Farmers and Foragers in Central Africa, by Roy Richard Grinker; Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994. xviii, 225 pp. Reviewed by Robert Harms, Department of History, Yale University

Anti-Human Interleukin(IL)-4 Clone 8D4-8 Cross-Reacts With Myosin-9 Associated With Apoptotic Cells and Should Not Be Used for Flow Cytometry Applications Querying IL-4 Expression

Interleukin(IL)-4 is produced by T cells and other leukocytes and is a critical mediator of monocyte and B cell responses. During routine flow cytometry panel validation for the investigation of intracellular cytokines, we observed unique IL-4 expression patterns associated with the widely available monoclonal antibody 8D4-8. Namely, IL-4 (8D4-8) expression was observed in the absence of cellular activation and enhanced following staurosporine exposure. Mass spectrometry analysis of immunoprecipitates from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) revealed that 8D4-8 cross-reacts with the ubiquitous cytoskeletal protein myosin-9. We confirmed these results by western blotting immunoprecipitates, using immunofluorescence among staurosporine-treated Caco-2 cells, and by surface-labeling PBL for 8D4-8 and myosin-9 and analyzing by flow cytometry. Although previously reported from several independent groups, we found no evidence to support the hypothesis that IL-4 is produced by apoptotic cells. Rather, this appears to have been myosin-9. Our data indicate clone 8D4-8 should not be used in the flow cytometric study of IL-4. Furthermore, our work calls for a reevaluation of previous flow cytometric studies that have used this clone for IL-4 analysis and highlights the importance of validation in antibody-based assays

When Day is Done / music by Robert Katscher; words by B.G. De Sylva

Cover: a drawing of womans portrait; Publisher: Harms Incorporated (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_d/1078/thumbnail.jp