Human infancy and early childhood is both a time of heightened brain plasticity and responsivity to the environment as well as a developmental period of dependency on caregivers for survival, nurturance, and stimulation. Across primate species and human evolutionary history, close contact between infants and caregivers is species-expected. As children develop, caregiver–child proximity patterns change as children become more autonomous. In addition to developmental changes, there is variation in caregiver–child proximity across cultures and families, with potential implications for child functioning. We propose that caregiver–child proximity is an important dimension for understanding early environments, given that interactions between children and their caregivers are a primary source of experience-dependent learning. We review approaches for operationalizing this construct (e.g., touch, physical distance) and highlight studies that illustrate how caregiver–child proximity can be measured. Drawing on the concepts proposed in dimensional models of adversity, we consider how caregiver–child proximity may contribute to our understanding of children’s early experiences. Finally, we discuss future directions in caregiver–child proximity research with the goal of understanding the link between early experiences and child adaptive and maladaptive functioning.

人类婴儿期和幼儿期既是大脑可塑性和对环境反应能力增强的时期，也是依赖照料者生存、养育和刺激的发育时期。在灵长类动物和人类进化史上，婴儿和看护者之间的密切接触是物种所期望的。随着孩子的成长，照顾者与孩子的接近模式会随着孩子变得更加自主而改变。除了发育变化外，不同文化和家庭的照顾者与儿童的亲近度也存在差异，这对儿童的功能有潜在影响。我们认为，照顾者与儿童的接近度是理解早期环境的一个重要维度，因为儿童与其照顾者之间的互动是依赖经验的学习的主要来源。我们回顾了实施此结构的方法（例如，触摸、物理距离），并重点介绍了说明如何衡量看护者与儿童的接近程度的研究。借鉴逆境维度模型中提出的概念，我们考虑了照顾者与儿童的亲近度如何有助于我们理解儿童的早期经历。最后，我们讨论了照顾者-儿童接近度研究的未来方向，目的是了解早期经历与儿童适应性和适应不良功能之间的联系。我们考虑照顾者与儿童的亲近度如何有助于我们了解儿童的早期经历。最后，我们讨论了照顾者-儿童接近度研究的未来方向，目的是了解早期经历与儿童适应性和适应不良功能之间的联系。我们考虑照顾者与儿童的亲近度如何有助于我们了解儿童的早期经历。最后，我们讨论了照顾者-儿童接近度研究的未来方向，目的是了解早期经历与儿童适应性和适应不良功能之间的联系。