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This magnum opus is the report of a longitudinal study that began in 1950 when Dr. Brady began her investigation “to learn about environmental influences in the oral phase” and whether types of mothering could be distinguished. The study was carried out in three phases. It was begun with 131 infants while observing the mothers' feeding behavior. Seven types of maternal behavior were observed and finally collapsed into two groups. A was designated the more adequate group; B, the less adequate. The infants were classified similarly as belonging to groups A or B.
At the end of 52 weeks they found that A-group infants were proportionally more advanced in development and that B-group infants were less developed.
The second phase of the study began in 1968 in order to observe the ongoing development. In this phase they followed te children annually until they were 7 years old. In this phase the A group was made up of 41 children and the B group of 86. The group-A children continued to show more favorable development then the B group. This was confirmed by recording behavior and attitudes during psychological testing, films of mother-child interaction and parents reports about the children.
The third phase was undertaken when the subjects were nearing 18. This was a formbidable task because by the time it was started 85% of the families had