ATTACHMENT, MATERNAL SENSITIVITY, AND INFANT TEMPERAMENT DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE

Families were examined at 6, 9, and 12 months in an intensive longitud inal study that included Home Behavior Attachment Q-sorts, laboratory Strange Situation assessment, home observations of infant temperament behavior on 24 occasions, observations of maternal parenting sensitivi ty on 12 occasions, and maternal reports of infant temperament. Matern al sensitivity was modestly related to Q-sort security and unrelated t o Strange Situation classification. In contrast, observed infant tempe rament was more strongly related to both maternal sensitivity and Q-so rt security. The relation between home and laboratory assessment of at tachment security, which was at the level found in prior work (e.g., B . E. Vaughn & E. Waters, 1990), remained after the effects of observed and mother reported infant temperament were partialed. Our data highl ight the need to consider other factors besides maternal sensitivity i n the explanation of variability in the attachment status of 1-year-ol ds.