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Fifty-eight infants and their mothers were observed at home for 45 minutes at seven and ten months of age using a detailed behavioral checklist. During these observations, the degree of mutual interactional engagement was also rated on a 4-point scale every 20 seconds. The attachment security of 38 infants was assessed at 13 months using mothers' reports on the Attachment Q-set (AQS, Waters, 1987). Composite measures of mother-infant interaction derived from the behavioral observations were moderately stable over time. Measures of maternal interactive behaviors and ratings of mutual engagement were highly correlated. Mothers' and infants' behaviors were combined into an index of behavioral harmony that was sensitive to differences in the infants' attachment security three and six months later. Using a stepwise multiple regression, 43% of the variance in the A QS-scores was explained by behavioral harmony at seven months, mutual engagement at 10 months, and infant fuss/cry at seven months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]