ABSTRACT
The infant’s ability to form attachments develops in the context of an interactive relationship with the mother. Mothers (or caregivers) learn to read their infants’ affective displays (facial expressions, vocalizations, and gaze behavior) and modulate their stimulation and arousal-modulation needs. When this occurs, the infant’s affect appears to be positive, the interaction harmonious (both behaviorally and physiologically), and a normal attachment or relationship seems to develop, thereby fostering the infant’s social/emotional development. If the mother (caregiver) is affectively unavailable or unresponsive, as is the depressed mother, behavioral and physiological disorganization will invariably ensue, manifested by disturbances in the infant’s affective and physiological functions. These may contribute to later disturbances in attachment and ultimately to disturbed affective development.
