| Abstract: | The goals of this paper are (1) to introduce a methodology developed to study mother-infant separations that occur in the context of normal family life, including but going beyond separations associated with maternal employment; (2) to present illustrative data that describe the range of separations experienced by one sample of infants; and (3) to demonstrate how a focus on specific underlying dimensions results in a more precise characterization of the separation experience. It is necessary to identify the specific dimensions on which mother-infant separations vary in order to clarify which aspects of separation are relevant to child outcome. Detailed histories of mother-infant separations and concomitant substitute care during the first year of life were obtained by interview from 144 middle-class mothers of first-born infants. Far from being an unusual event, separation from mother was a normal experience during infancy for this sample. Six types of separation were identified, the majority of which have not been studied previously. Analyses indicated that naturally occurring mother-infant separations can be differentiated statistically and compared in terms of amount of separation, stability of care, characteristics of caregivers, and characteristics of the substitute care setting. |
