JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. and GNEZDA, M. THERESE. Maternal Separation Anxiety: Mother-Infant Separation from the Maternal Perspective. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1989, 60, 793-802. Mother-infant separation from the maternal perspective is the focus of 2 studies reported here. First, a questionnaire, the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (MSAS), was developed and administered to 620 mothers soon after their infants were born and again 3 months later. The scale was highly reliable; factor analytic studies supported a 3-factor solution that served as the basis for forming 3 subscales labeled (1) Maternal Separation Anxiety, (2) Perception of Separation Effects on the Child, and (3) Employment-related Separation Concerns. In Study 2, maternal separation anxiety was assessed using the MSAS and other methods: an interview, an emotional status index (taken at the point of actual separation), and an observational index based on mothers' behavior during departure and reunion from their infants in a structured laboratory setting. Data from this multiplemeasures approach supported the validity of the MSAS and verified the strength of the construct.Developmental and clinical psychologists have viewed the processes of motherinfant separation as central to the understanding of human development, yet, given the undeniable importance of this topic, it is startling to find that the focus of attention in the existing literature is almost exclusively devoted to the infant. Typically, investigators allude to the importance of the mother's behavior, attitudes, and feelings, but observations of mothers have been incidental and findings briefly reported. However, Hinde and McGinnis (1977) observed mother responses to separation from their babies in rhesus mon-keys. They concluded that the animal's capacity for synchronized interaction broke down during the separation period; for a while after reunion the mothers were unable to continue the relationship as they had previously. Although it is unlikely that similar clear-cut effects can be found in human mothers, the data underlined the fact that "it is the couple that has become separated and not just the child, and that both individuals rather than just one must subsequently readjust" (Schaffer, 1977, pp. 97-98). The studies described in this manuscript will focus on the mother's interpretation and experience of the separation event.1The authors wish to thank Keith Widaman for his thoughtful advice on the data analysis and the manuscript preparation. We are indebted to Mary Beth Schirtzinger for her support and helpful editorial work. We gratefully acknowledge the thoughtful comments of the reviewers which greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. Requests for reprints should be se...

Parents of adolescents commonly face separation-related issues associated with children's increasing independence and imminent leave-taking. The aims of this investigation were (1) to develop a reliable and valid measure of parental emotions associated with separation and (2) to validate the measure by relating it to other attributes (attachment relationship quality, parent-child communication, and parent-adolescent differentiation) assessed in mothers, fathers, and their adolescents. The newly constructed, 35-item Parents of Adolescents Separation Anxiety Scale (PASAS) was administered to 686 parents of teenagers in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 or college-bound freshmen and seniors. Factor analyses supported formation of two subscales: Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR); both subscales showed distinctive patterns of change with child age. Parents' reports indicated that healthy adult attachment styles were associated with lower AAD and higher CSBR scores; children of parents who had higher AAD scores reported lower quality of attachment to both mothers and fathers.

The purpose of this research was to identify significant psychological factors that mediate the relation between employment, motherhood, and the mental health status of mothers of infants. In Study 1, 209 mothers of 12-month-old infants were administered the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and a stress scale. Ss were divided into 4 groups on the basis of both employment status and employment preference. Results indicated that women who preferred employment but remained at home reported higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Study 2 demonstrated the reliability of the finding and identified issues associated with underlying psychological factors. A new sample of 164 mothers completed the aforementioned measures, the Career Salience Questionnaire, and the Maternal Role Investment Scale. Results replicated those of Study 1 and also indicated that homemakers who preferred employment held conflicting sets of beliefs about the maternal role, separation from their infants, careers, and employment.

The relation of maternal and paternal depressive symptoms to problem behaviors in a nonclinical sample of preschool children was examined. Data were collected from 46 women, their husbands, and their 4-year-old, first-born children. Observed maternal restrictive and punishing behavior and attachment security of the child were considered additional sources of risk for externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. Different predictors for child externalizing and internalizing behaviors were identified via hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and maternal restrictive and punishing behavior emerged as salient predictors of child internalizing behaviors. For externalizing behaviors, there were significant gender differences: For girls, maternal depressive symptoms made a significant contribution to the model; the model for boys was not significant. The results perhaps reflect different etiological pathways for externalizing and internalizing behaviors, supporting the suggestion that those behaviors are distinct clinical phenomena, even among very young children. The findings also suggest that nonclinical levels of parental symptomatology show systematic relations to children's problem behaviors.

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Maternal separation anxiety is a construct that describes a mother's experience of worry, sadness, or guilt during short-term separations from her child. This investigation examined potential differences in psychological correlates between mothers with high and low levels of anxiety when their children were 8 months, 3 1/2 years, and 6 years of age. High levels of maternal separation anxiety had different psychological correlates contingent upon the age of the child. Depressive symptomatology and separation anxiety were unrelated at times 1 and 2, but when the children were 6 years old, mothers who had the highest levels of anxiety tended to have more depressive symptomatology, fewer coping skills, a more negative representation of self, and embraced more traditional sex-role values. Study findings are discussed with respect to their relevance to the mother's role as developmental partner to the child and linked to major theoretical perspectives that address the mother-child relationship.

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This study examined the relation of depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction to conflict-resolution strategies (avoidance and attacking) in a sample of 40 married couples. Using hierarchical regression analyses, models were tested wherein avoidance and attacking scores were regressed on husbands' and wives' depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction scores. Depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction were powerful predictors of conflict-resolution strategies; however, different predictors were noted for avoidance and attacking conflict-resolution strategies. Gender differences were also revealed.