Data from an Israeli project shows higher proportion of insecurely attached infants in center care as compared with noncenter care (Sagi, Koren-Karie, Gini, Ziv, & Joels, 2002). The present study was designed to assess structural and emotional aspects characterizing infants' experiences in center care, aiming to explain, in part, the high incidence of attachment insecurity among center-care infants. In the present study, we focus on 151 center-care infants who were observed in the Ainsworth Strange Situation (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) with their mothers. Sixty-one percent of them were coded as securely attached to their mothers while 39% were coded as insecurely attached. In addition, 56 directors and 120 caregivers in 56 centers were videotaped throughout a full-day observation. The Assessment Profile of Early Childhood Program (Abbott-Shim & Sibley, 1987) was also employed. Results indicated that the centers in Israel are of low standards: Large group size, high caregiver-infants ratio, inadequate professional training, and minimal attention to individual emotional needs. No associations were found between infants' attachment and various aspects of the settings. The low quality of the Israeli settings may explain the higher rate of attachment insecurity in center-care infants.
RESUMEN: Informacio ´n proveniente de un proyecto israelı ´muestra una ma ´s alta proporcio ´n de infantes en centros de cuidado cuya afectividad es insegura, tal como se les compara con aquellos que no esta ´n en centros de cuidado (Sagi et el., 2002). El presente estudio fue disen ˜ado para evaluar los aspectos estructurales y emocionales que caracterizan las experiencias de los infantes en los centros de cuidado, con el fin de explicar, en parte, la alta incidencia de inseguridad afectiva entre los infantes que se encuentran en dichos centros. En el presente estudio nos enfocamos en 151 infantes de los centros de cuidado, los cuales fueron observados con sus madres en base a la Situacio ´n Extran ˜a de Ainsworth. Al 61% de esos infantes se les clasifico ´como infantes seguros en su afectividad con las madres, mientras que al 39% se les clasifico ´como infantes inseguros en dicha relacio ´n afectiva. Adicionalmente, 56 directores y 120 miembros del personal que presta el cuidado en 56 centros fueron grabados en vı ´deo a trave ´s de un dı ´a entero de observacio ´n. Se empleo ´para ello el Programa de Evaluacio ´n del Perfil en los Primeros An ˜os de la Infancia (Abbott-Shim y Sibley, 1987). Los resultados indicaron que los centros en