INFANT EXPERIENCE AND LATE-CHILDHOOD DISPOSITIONS - AN 11-YEAR FOLLOW-UP AMONG THE LOGOLI OF KENYA

A small sample of children in western Kenya, studied first in infancy and again at age five, was tested in order to ascertain whether mother -holding in infancy continued to predict affective and cognitive outco mes at age 12, as had been the case at age five. Results indicated tha t (1) positive affective outcomes at age 12 were associated with frequ ency of mother-holding, but with no other measure of care in infancy; (2) cognitive performance at age 12 was unrelated to mother-holding in infancy; and (3)for most of the affective measures, though not for th e cognitive measures, performance at age 12 was related to earlier tes t performance at age five. Discussion centered on plausible bases for the findings as well as on methodological concerns that raise threats to the interpretation.