Attachment behavior and its antecedents in offspring born to methadone-maintained women

Videotaped 35 full-term, African American infants exposed in utero to metha done and 46 comparison infants at 12 months participating in a separation-r eunion procedure to assess aspects of the infant's attachment relationship to the mother. Mothers in the two groups were comparable on education, age (18-35 years), socioeconomic status, parity, fa and marital status. Offspri ng born to methadone-maintained women did not differ from comparison infant s in indexes of proximity-seeking at reunion but did display higher scores on indexes of disorganized and avoidant behavior and lower scores on indexe s of contact-maintaining behavior. Mothers' perceptions during pregnancy of their future infants' degree of bothersomeness were also related to higher scares on contact-maintaining behavior and lower scores on avoidant behavi or, Finally, antecedents of attachment behavior within the opioid group alo ne were considered The implications of using dimensional attachment ratings for uncovering more subtle attachment antecedents are discussed.