[3][4] One of these monographs, Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation, cited 6229 times according to GoogleScholar, provided new insight into individual differences in parent-infant attachment relations as assessed through the Strange Situation.
Cassidy then pursued graduate studies in Developmental Psychology at the University of Virginia where she completed her Ph.D. under the supervision of Mary Ainsworth in 1986.
Cassidy's research program focuses on attachment, family relationships, and social and emotional development in children and adolescents.
In this rare form of attachment, children will react inconsistently and often in a confused manner when presented with toys, strangers, and the separation and reunion with the mom.
[3][11] Her research on attachment theory has important clinical applications for understanding addiction[12] and for developing educational efforts to foster secure parent-child relationships.