Family systems theory and attachment theory have important similarities and complementarities. Here we consider two areas in which the theories converge: (a) in family system theorists' description of an overly close, or "enmeshed," mother-child dyad, which attachment theorists conceptualize as the interaction of children's ambivalent attachment and mothers' preoccupied attachment; (b) in family system theorists' description of the "pursuer-distance cycle" of marital conflict, which attachment theorists conceptualize as the interaction of preoccupied and dismissive partners. We briefly review family systems theory evidence, and more extensively review attachment theory evidence, pertaining to these points of convergence. We also review cross-cultural research, which leads us to conclude that the dynamics described in both theories reflect, in part, Western ways of thinking and Western patterns of relatedness. Evidence from Japan suggests that extremely close ties between mother and child are perceived as adaptive, and are more common, and that children experience less adverse effects from such relationships than do children in the West. Moreover, in Japan there is less emphasis on the importance of the exclusive spousal relationship, and less need for the mother and father to find time alone to rekindle romantic, intimate feelings and to resolve conflicts by openly communicating their differences. Thus, the "maladaptive" pattern frequently cited by Western theorists of an extremely close mother-child relationship, an unromantic, conflictual marriage characterized by little verbal communication and a peripheral, distant father, may function very differently in other cultures. While we believe that both theories will be greatly enriched by their integration, we caution against the application of either theory outside the cultures in which they were developed.

European American, Japanese, and Chinese 11-month-olds participated in emotion-inducing laboratory procedures. Facial responses were scored with BabyFACS, an anatomically based coding system. Overall, Chinese infants were less expressive than European American and Japanese infants. On measures of smiling and crying, Chinese infants scored lower than European American infants, whereas Japanese infants were similar to the European American infants or fell between the two other groups. Results suggest that differences in expressivity between European American and Chinese infants are more robust than those between European American and Japanese infants and that Chinese and Japanese infants can differ significantly. Cross-cultural differences were also found for some specific brow, cheek, and midface facial actions (e.g., brows lowered). These are discussed in terms of current controversies about infant affective facial expressions.Over 25 years ago, Ekman, Sorenson, and Friesen (1969) conducted a landmark study demonstrating that preliterate New Guinea tribespeople identified a number of emotional facial expressions similar to participants in three literate cultures: Japan, Brazil, and the United States. These findings stood in strong contrast to earlier anthropological descriptions of numerous cross-cultural differences in adult expressive behavior (e.g., Birdwhistell, 1970;LaBarre, 1947). To resolve this apparent conflict, Ekman (1972) proposed that a species-specific set of

Eleven-month-old European-American, Japanese, and Chinese infants (ns = 23, 21, and 15, respectively) were videotaped during baseline and stimulus episodes of a covert toy-switch procedure. Infants looked longer at the object during the expectancy-violating event (stimulus episode) but did not produce more surprise-related facial expressions. American and Japanese infants produced more bodily stilling during stimulus than baseline, and American infants also produced more facial sobering. Naive raters viewing both episodes could correctly identify the expectancy-violating event. Rater judgments of surprise were significantly related to infants' bodily stilling and facial sobering. Judgments of interest were related to cessation of fussing. Thus, observer judgments of infant emotions can be systematically related to behaviors other than prototypic emotional facial expressions.

Background: In recent years, attention has been turned to maternal mental health in relation to the mother-child relationship accompanying a widening in focus, i.e. taking into account not only the puerperium, but also the stage of pregnancy. This applies to studies that have revealed a connection between depression and maternal attachment in the postpartum period and late pregnancy. This study, however, was designed to evaluate the maternal-fetal relationship in the first and second trimesters, being the first one to address this issue in these early stages. Sampling and Methods: Zung’s Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS), the original Antenatal Maternal Attachment Scale (AMAS), and a questionnaire addressing peripheral factors were given to 216 pregnant women (3–6 months of gestation) who visited the Nagoya University Hospital between September 1998 and June 2001. Results: Contrary to reports on the latter stages of pregnancy, no direct association was observed between depression in mothers and maternal-fetal attachment before fetal movement was perceived. Conclusion: However, education, form of employment, planning of pregnancy, and premenstrual mood changes were found to be associated with the ZSDS score (mean: 41.9), while form of employment, feelings regarding pregnancy, and sources of support were extracted as factors associated with the AMAS, which are of interest in terms of the subsequent association between depression and maternal-fetal attachment in the peri- and postnatal periods.

Do infants show distinct negative facial expressions for different negative emotions? To address this question, European American, Chinese, and Japanese 11‐month‐olds were videotaped during procedures designed to elicit mild anger or frustration and fear. Facial behavior was coded using Baby FACS, an anatomically based scoring system. Infants' nonfacial behavior differed across procedures, suggesting that the target emotions were successfully elicited. However evidence for distinct emotion‐specific facial configurations corresponding to fear versus anger was not obtained. Although facial responses were largely similar across cultures, some differences also were observed. Results are discussed in terms of functionalist and dynamical systems approaches to emotion and emotional expression.