Beyond the Dyad

There is consensus among social scientists that human beings from infants to elderly people develop social relationships with multiple significant others. In fact, everyday observations of individuals reveal that even infants interact not only with their mother, but also with a variety of significant others. However, the attachment theory, which has dominated theories and empirical studies of social relationships, has argued for a narrower framework. In this special issue, four theoretical papers, each of which provides models of social interaction that go beyond the mother-child dyad, are presented. They theoretically contrast the attachment with the mother to relationships with multiple significant others, and show that models assessing multiple relationships to others are more predicative of subsequent social and emotional adjustment. Commentaries, including attachment theorists and anthropologists to deepen the discussion, are also presented. Researchers and students in developmental psychology, clinical psychology, and psychiatry as well as teachers, nurses and parents interested in these discussions will find in this issue essential theories that go beyond the mother-child dyad.