Attachment theory proposes that the child's early attachment relationships are fundamental influences on social and emotional development. The continuing challenge of this relatively young research area is to elaborate and refine the concept of attachment by developing measures and research designs that allow for greater accuracy and specificity. This research will contribute to this effort by assessing individual differences in attachment security beyond the infancy period in the home environment, and by examining links between security and theoretically relevant child behaviors and perceptions. Patterns of attachment with mother will be investigated in relation to internal representations of the mother-child attachment relationship, of the self, and of peers, both in the home and in the daycare/preschool. The study will employ a short-term longitudinal design, with data collected on 80 children over two years. This project will dovetail with a larger longitudinal study concerned with socialization of emotion and social competence with peers. The meshing of these two studies will provide a powerful empirical data set with which to examine multiple interactive factors in early social and emotional development. Interactive activities include: (1) teaching a graduate level developmental psychopathology course not currently available at George Mason; (2) organizing a series of seminars, presented by women faculty in the science and engineering departments and guests speakers, on the topic of "Becoming a Scientist; and (3) coordinating a "Women in Science" research festival with poster presentations by women graduate students, faculty members and researchers from the National Institute of Health. Other activities include team-teaching developmental psychology seminar, mentoring undergraduate students who are preparing senior theses, and training and supervising graduate students in research methodology.
