ABSTRACT
Some children do well in their social relationships; they enjoy others and are enjoyed, and they develop a wide range of adaptive skills. However, as many as 15% of children do not develop as well; they show problem behaviors and signs of internal and interpersonal disturbance. It is not apparent how these major variations in children’s adaptations come about, even when we have the benefit of hindsight. How do some children attain a wealth of socially valued roles, whereas others are comparatively poverty-stricken, and still others attain notoriety, with a wealth of negative roles? Our major goal is greater understanding of how children’s behavior problems develop. Attachment concepts are increasingly relevant to this goal, and we use them as one way of examining the paths individual children follow toward differing social adaptations.
