ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on family members other than the mother, the attachments that may be formed with them, and the way in which other family members or relationships influence infant - mother and/or infant - father attachments. The participants in these studies were most often traditionally organized families consisting of mother, father and one or more children. The chapter considers newly developing ideas concerning potential connections between attachment and family systems. Just as attachments are developed and maintained within the family system, the family exists within a broader context. Young children may be cared for by adults outside their household and develop attachments to these individuals. Furthermore, the cultural context in which the family is embedded affects significant aspects of the family system, including the extent to which extra familial adults serve as caregivers. Attachment theory is relatively unique among developmental theories in being a theory about systems.
