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In The Child and His Relations Cristina Riva Crugnola examines the early stages of relational development. The book, written in a densely informative style, offers a comprehensive view of theoretical and observational work in the field of infant research. The author's integration of viewpoints usually regarded as divergent, as well as of experimental and clinical research, is the book's greatest contribution.
In the book's first part Crugnola establishes the background for what will follow, unifying decades of studies in attachment theory, intersubjectivity, infant research, self-regulation, neurobiology, and object relations theory. In the section's last chapter she also integrates aspects of research in the field of ego psychology.
In the second part Crugnola presents a longitudinal study (carried out with A. Albizzati, C. Caprin, S. Gazzotti, S. Sagliaschi, and M. Walder) conducted with thirty-four mother-infant pairs from birth to three years. The study provides the basis for her interventions in the cases described in the book's final chapter.
In examining the theoretical background, Crugnola provides the reader a chronologically organized review of the concepts and theoretical models uniquely integrated in her work. In doing so she presents a unified framework of child development that accords with the clinical experience of any psychotherapist. She begins by bringing together the infant research of recent decades, with an emphasis on emotional aspects of the child's socio-interactive skills. Crugnola reviews work on the infant's