Mp. Fracasso et al., THE RELATIONSHIP OF MATERNAL-BEHAVIOR AND ACCULTURATION TO THE QUALITY OF ATTACHMENT IN HISPANIC INFANTS LIVING IN NEW-YORK-CITY, Hispanic journal of behavioral sciences, 16(2), 1994, pp. 143-154
The present exploratory study examined maternal parenting behavior and
patterns of attachment using the Ainsworth Strange Situation with a H
ispanic sample. Twenty-four Puerto Rican and 26 Dominican mother-infan
t dyads were videotaped in the strange situation and observed in their
homes. As in other cross-cultural and subcultural studies, the patter
n of attachment classifications differed from that reported for middle
-class Euro-American populations: Overall there was an equal number of
secure and insecure infants. Additionally, there were sex differences
in the distributions of attachment patterns: Although two thirds of t
he boys were securely attached, two thirds of the girls were insecurel
y attached The maternal behaviors that distinguished mothers of secure
ly from insecurely attached infants in this study were also disparate
from those found in previous studies using non-Hispanic samples. These
findings provide a descriptive basis for future research with Hispani
cs and are important for their implications regarding the development
of inner-city Hispanic children.