In this article, we test the hypothesis that beliefs about the ideal mother are convergent across cultures and that these beliefs overlap considerably with attachment theory's notion of the sensitive mother. In a sample including 26 cultural groups from 15 countries around the globe, 751 mothers sorted the Maternal Behavior Q-Set to reflect their ideas about the ideal mother. The results show strong convergence between maternal beliefs about the ideal mother and attachment theory's description of the sensitive mother across groups. Cultural group membership significantly predicted variations in maternal sensitivity belief scores, but this effect was substantially accounted for by group variations in socio-demographic factors. Mothers living in rural versus urban areas, with a low family income, and with more children, were less likely to describe the ideal mother as highly sensitive. Cultural group membership did remain a significant predictor of variations in maternal sensitivity belief scores above and beyond socio-demographic predictors. The findings are discussed in terms of the universal and culture-specific aspects of the sensitivity construct.

This study tested whether maternal sensitivity and child security are related during early childhood and whether such an association is found in different cultural and social contexts. Mother-child dyads (N = 237) from four different countries (Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States) were observed in naturalistic settings when children were between 36 and 72 months of age. Maternal and child behavior during interactions at home and in the playground were described using Q methodology. Findings reveal that across cultures, concurrent maternal sensitivity and more specific behavioral domains of maternal care (e.g., contributions to harmonious interactions and secure base support) are important for children's attachment security during early childhood. Implications for the study of attachment relationships beyond infancy and in diverse contexts are highlighted.

ObjectiveStimulation in early childhood can alleviate adverse effects of poverty. In a community-randomised trial, we implemented 2 home-based interventions, each serving as an attention control for the other. One group received an integrated household intervention package (IHIP), whereas the other group received an early child development (ECD) intervention. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of IHIP on diarrhoea and respiratory infections, the details of which are described elsewhere. Here, we present the impact of the ECD intervention on early childhood development indicators.MethodsIn this non-blinded community-randomised trial, an ECD intervention, adapted from the Peruvian government's National Wawa Wasi ECD programme, was implemented in 25 rural Peruvian Andean communities. We enrolled 534 children aged 6–35 months, from 50 communities randomised 1:1 into ECD and IHIP communities. In ECD communities, trained fieldworkers instructed mothers every 3 weeks over the 12 months study, to stimulate and interact with their children and to use standard programme toys. IHIP communities received an improved stove and hygiene promotion. Using a nationally validated ECD evaluation instrument, all children were assessed at baseline and 12 months later for overall performance on age-specific developmental milestones which fall into 7 developmental domains.FindingsAt baseline, ECD-group and IHIP-group children performed similarly in all domains. After 12 months, data from 258 ECD-group and 251 IHIP-group children could be analysed. The proportion of children scoring above the mean in their specific age group was significantly higher in the ECD group in all domains (range: 12–23%-points higher than IHIP group). We observed the biggest difference in fine motor skills (62% vs 39% scores above the mean, OR: 2.6, 95% CI 1.7 to 3.9).ConclusionsThe home-based ECD intervention effectively improved child development overall across domains and separately by investigated domain. Home-based strategies could be a promising component of poverty alleviation programmes seeking to improve developmental outcomes among rural Peruvian children.Trial registration numberISRCTN28191222; results.

The evolutionary rationale offered by Bowlby implies that secure base relationships are common in child-caregiver dyads and thus, child secure behavior observable across diverse social contexts and cultures. This study offers a test of the universality hypothesis. Trained observers in nine countries used the Attachment Q-set to describe the organization of children's behavior in naturalistic settings. Children (N = 547) were 10-72 months old. Child development experts (N = 81) from all countries provided definitions of optimal child secure base use. Findings indicate that children from all countries use their mother as a secure base. Children's organization of secure base behavior was modestly related to each other both within and across countries. Experts' descriptions of the optimally attached child were highly similar across cultures.The secure base phenomenon is at the core of Bowlby and Ainsworth's analysis of the infant-mother relationship. Ainsworth coined the term "secure base behavior" based on her naturalistic observations of infant-mother interactions in rural Uganda. When reviewing her field notes, she noticed that infants "do not always stay close to the mothers but rather make little excursions away from her, exploring other objects and interacting with other people, but returning to the mother from time to time" (Ainsworth, 1967, p. 345). The hallmark of secure base behavior is the seemingly purposeful balance between excursions or explorations away from the

This article shows risk and protective factors for both physical and emotional intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. The study was carried out in a shanty town of Lima, Peru, which has a strong community organization. One hundred ninety-two women between 25 and 59 years old (M = 34.09, SD = 6.5) were interviewed; 44.3% had secondary education, 75.5% were housewives, and 94% lived with their partner. The measurement instrument was a survey especially developed for this project to explore occurrence of physical and emotional IPV and to identify factors associated with them; factors were classified in individual and relational levels according to the ecological nested model (ENM). A logistic regression analysis was used to test the associations; the results showed that for emotional IPV, men's assertiveness was a protective factor, whereas their emotional instability and jealousy were risk factors. For physical IPV, there were no identified risks or protective factors. These results are presented and discussed.

ATI, Uruguay r e S u M e N La relación entre el cuidado materno (sensibilidad) y la seguridad del apego del niño (conducta de base segura) ha sido corroborada en diferentes contextos y edades. Sin embargo, existe ausencia de estudios que la hayan estudiado antes del primer año de vida. La presente investigación analizó esta relación en un grupo de 32 madres peruanas de 19 a 44 años de nivel socioeconómico bajo y sus hijos de 8 a 10 meses. La sensibilidad fue evaluada a través del Q-sort del Comportamiento Materno (MBQS) (Pederson & Moran, 1995) y la seguridad del apego mediante el Q-sort del Apego (Waters, 1995). Los resultados muestran que existe una relación directa y significativa entre ambas y que las separaciones físicas juegan un rol importante en esta relación.Palabras clave: conducta de base segura; primer año de vida; sensibilidad materna; separaciones tempranas a b S t r a c t

Este estudio se fundamentó en la hipótesis de sensibilidad de la teoría del apego que relaciona la crianza sensible con la seguridad del apego. Tuvo como objetivo analizar la relación entre la sensibilidad de 16 figuras cuidadoras y la seguridad del apego de sus hijos preescolares de desarrollo típico, residentes en Quito, Ecuador. Para la medición se utilizaron dos instrumentos: Maternal Behavior for Preschooler Q-set y Attachment Behavior Q-set Version 3.0, en su adaptación latinoamericana. En comparación con otros estudios con población latina, en este trabajo se encontró un nivel de sensibilidad similar al previamente reportado y un nivel de seguridad ligeramente más alto. En cuanto a la relación entre ambas variables, se halló a la sensibilidad como predictora de la seguridad del apego. Al ser Ecuador un país pluricultural, se recomienda replicar este estudio en grupos de otros contextos culturales y con otras condiciones de desarrollo.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue explorar las evidencias de validez de estructura interna y convergente, así como la confiabilidad de la escala Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) en estudiantes universitarios peruanos. Para ello, se realizó de manera secuencial del análisis factorial exploratorio y del análisis factorial confirmatorio en dos subgrupos aleatoriamente determinados (n = 289, n = 301). El análisis paralelo de Horn y los resultados del análisis factorial exploratorio realizado con el primer subgrupo encontró una estructura de tres factores reproduciendo las dimensiones de ansiedad y evitación medida de manera directa y de manera inversa. El análisis factorial confirmatorio realizado con el segundo subgrupo confirmó la existencia de un modelo de tres factores con índices de ajuste aceptables. Cada una de las dimensiones demostró consistencia interna adecuada de acuerdo con el alfa de Cronbach. Los resultados apoyan parcialmente la validez convergente del ECR-R con el Relationship Questionnaire. Al final de los análisis realizados, se presenta una versión de 27 ítems con evidencias aceptables de validez de estructura interna y convergente.