Hair Combing Interactions: a New Paradigm for Research with African-American Mothers

The hair combing interaction is proposed as a naturalistic observational research paradigm, within the conceptual framework of attachment theory, for understanding the socioemotional domains of African-American mother-child relationships. A pilot study of 11 mother-daughter dyads explores the validity of the hair combing context for assessing strategies of racial and gender socialization of children, evolving mother-child relationships, and the formation of internal working models of attachment relationships. The model is discussed as a method for research into enduring qualities of the mother-child relationship.