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...

Home visits are one mechanism for providing comprehensive services to young children with disabilities and their families, as required by Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990. This study reports observational data describing the content addressed and the processes employed by early childhood special educators during home visits with children with disabilities, birth to 3 years of age, and their families. The extent to which home visits were individualized was examined in terms of available family resources and level of child's caretaking demands. Findings revealed that a model of child-focused intervention was most frequently implemented. Some evidence was found to indicate that the content of home visits was more likely to focus on the child when family resources were adequate, and that the role of the interventionist was more likely to be that of an observer when children had greater care-taking demands.

In order to enhance understanding of the characteristics, consequences, and determinants of maternal separation anxiety, we analyzed information obtained on a sample of 63 mother-infant dyads collected as part of a more extensive longitudinal study of infant and family development. Results revealed that employed mothers evinced less anxiety over time but that mothers of sons indicated more anxiety. Infants who were perceived as dull and unadaptable had more anxious mothers. Separation-related anxiety was also greater among women who during the prenatal period manifested more interpersonal sensitivity and higher self-esteem. Intermediate levels of general separation anxiety were associated with secure infant-mother attachment relationships as were high levels of anxiety specifically related to separation caused by employment. We concluded that separation anxiety is multiply determined by characteristics of the mother, the infant, and the employment situation and that variation in anxiety has consequences for the development of attachment relationships.

Although standardized assessments for young children have been criticized, little empirical evidence exists to support alternative assessment methods. Forty children under 3 years of age referred for an early childhood special education evaluation were randomly assigned to either a multidisciplinary, standardized assessment or a transdisciplinary, playbased assessment. Data on parent perceptions, staff perceptions, time factors, functional utility of reports, and parent and staff congruence in judgment-based ratings were evaluated. The play-based assessments took 3 weeks less time to complete than standardized assessments, resulted in favorable parent and staff perceptions, provided useful reports, and had high congruence in developmental ratings. This study provides empirical evidence supporting the social validity of transdisciplinary, play-based assessment methods.

This longitudinal study was an investigation of how older, well-educated mothers of infants come to terms with establishing a balance between maternal and career roles. The focus was on how their preference to be employed or to remain home with their infants affected the development of their anxiety about separation from their infants over the first 1 V-h months of motherhood. On measures of anxiety about separation, career salience, and maternal role investment, 26 mothers who preferred employment were compared with 36 mothers who preferred to stay at home. Measures were taken at 2 days, 7 weeks, 8 months, and 1 Vh months postpartum. Employment-preference mothers' anxiety about separation declined earlier and to a greater extent. Discussion centers on the importance of employment preference as opposed to actual employment status for understanding how women balance career and motherhood.