Abstract
Three studies are described from work in progress on the impact of medical problems on infant-mother attachment. The study populations are low birth-weight prematurely born infants, developmentally delayed preschoolers, and infants with cystic fibrosis. In each sample, the distribution of attachment patterns was found to be similar to that among healthy normally developing children. However, there were also signs of vulnerability to attachment problems in each sample. In conjuction with other studies of these populations as well as with other risk groups, these findings indicate some support for the notion that the mother plays a more powerful role than the infant in shaping the quality of the attachment relationship. They also demonstrate that medical problems of the infant do not necessarily disrupt the development of secure attachment.