The determinants of children's responses to separation

This study investigated the determinants of children's responses in an unfamiliar setting to brief separations from their mothers. A conceptual model of the determinants of separation distress was offered. Variables hypothesized to affect separation distress directly included the child's cognitive abilities, maternal departure style, and the amount of mother-child interaction preceding departure. Variables hypothesized to affect separation distress indirectly through their influence on process variables included the child's sex, social class, maternal verbal abilities, and two measures of the mother's cognitive style.