OF THE WAY WE ARE - ON TEMPERAMENT, ATTACHMENT, AND THE TRANSMISSION GAP - A REJOINDER

In this rejoinder to Fox (1995), it is argued that the development of attachment is environmentally labile during the first 5 years of life and that it remains sensitive to environmental changes during childhoo d and adolescence. The Adult Attachment Interview does not assess ''th e way we were'' but measures an adult's current mental representation of (past and present) attachment experiences and relationships, partic ularly with his or her parents, Nevertheless, it has been empirically shown that, under certain conditions, attachment patterns remain stabl e or at least predictable, even across the first 18 years of life. Par ents' sensitive responsiveness cannot fully explain the strong corresp ondence between parental attachment and infant attachment (the transmi ssion gap). It is still unclear whether temperament contributes to bri dging the transmission gap because a relation between adult temperamen t and adult attachment appears to be absent.