Degree Discipline

Infant-Caregiver Attachment and Separation: Single vs. Multiple Caregivers (open access)

Infant-Caregiver Attachment and Separation: Single vs. Multiple Caregivers

This study investigates (1) whether infants cared for by a single caregiver exhibit more attachment behaviors than do infants cared for by multiple caregivers and (2) whether sex differences are found in these behaviors. Twenty-six Black infants, nine to twenty-three months of age, in a day-care center, were observed during one brief low-stress separation from a caregiver. Data were taken using six indices of attachment: maintaining proximity, visual regard, touching, protesting, seeking proximity, and greeting. Where subjected to a two-way analysis of variance, the obtained results showed no significant differences in the effects of the two types of care. However, visual regard and greeting behaviors were observed significantly more frequently in females than in males.
Date: December 1975
Creator: Martin, David Wayne
System: The UNT Digital Library