The Significance of Early Attachments for Later Peer Relationships and Adjustment Attachment is a key area when studying the development of children. Attachment is a secondary drive that is derived from primary drives such as hunger. When a child is hungry they want feeding, this is the primary drive, they look to the mother for food, she provides it and the attachment made is the secondary drive. There are many different approaches, studies and theories concerned with attachment. I intend to look at the attachment stages, categories of secure and insecure attachment, theories of attachment, maternal deprivation and privation and the ways in which they may affect later peer relationships and adjustment. Overall I will discuss whether attachment in the first years of life is significant in determining later peer relationships and adjustment. According to Shaffer (1993) an attachment is: "A close emotional relationship between two persons characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity." Within the first year of life a child is said to go through three stages of attachment. The first occurs between 0-6 weeks, in this time the child's smiling or crying is not directed at any particular individual. During the second stage, which is between 6 weeks and Seven months of age, the child seeks attention from different individuals; this is the indiscriminate attachment stage and is followed by the specific attachments stage, which occurs between 7 and 11 months old. In this last stage the child develops a strong attachment towards one individual, which is usually the mother. It is these stages that most theorists... ... middle of paper ... ...le. New Jersey. Bee, H. (2000). The Developing Child. (9th Ed). Allyn and Bacon. London. Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: parent-child attachment and healthy human development. Routledge. London. Eysenck, M.W. (2000). Psychology: A Students Handbook. Psychology Press. East Sussex. Goldberg, S. (2000). Attachment and Development. Arnold. London. Gross, R. (1996). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. Hodder and Stoughton. London. Holmes, J. (1993). John Bowlby and attachment theory. Routledge. London. Journals Bretherton, I. (1992). Origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology ( p759-775). Websites. http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2827/information_show.htm?doc_id=79338 www.questia.com www.psychclassics.yorku.ca
In conclusion, the Strange Situation Procedure has many limitations on how useful it is to understand attachment, however has allowed us to understand attachment in more depth. Attachment behaviours are easily available to a researcher when conducting this procedure, therefore making this an efficient and convenient way to look at attachment behaviours. On the other hand, there is a lack of general and ecological validity within this procedure, which can cause unreliability of results that have been recorded and observed and can be difficult to apply to other people in other countries. Either way enabled researchers a way to quickly have an insight on a child’s behaviours towards attachment.
Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981). Differences in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person.
Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.
John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure, insecure/resistant, insecure/avoidant and disorganized/disoriented, later leading to research studies done to observe this behavior and how it affects a child in their adolescence and adulthood.
The attachment theory, presented by Mary Ainsworth in 1969 and emerged by John Bowlby suggests that the human infant has a need for a relationship with an adult caregiver, and without a subsequent, development can be negatively impacted (Hammonds 2012). Ainsworth proposes that the type of relationship and “attachment” an infant has with the caregiver, can impact the social development of the infant. As stated by Hammonds (2012), attachment between a mother and a child can have a great impact on the child 's future mental
Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)
Attachment theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver. The theory proved that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social and emotional development in an infant. It is critical for this to occur in the child’s early infant years. However, failed to prove that this nurturing can only be given by a mother (Birns, 1999, p. 13). Many aspects of this theory grew out of psychoanalyst, John Bowlby’s research. There are several other factors that needed to be taken into account before the social worker reached a conclusion; such as issues surrounding poverty, social class and temperament. These factors, as well as an explanation of insecure attachment will be further explored in this paper.
1.John Bowlby, a trained child psychiatrist maybe as well be considered as ‘father’ of attachment due to the nature of his contributions towards attachment. Bowlby (1980) asserted that human beings have an innate psychobiological system to seek security for from the moment of birth, human surviva. According to him this system motivates the humans to seek proximity to the people who will protect them in times of danger or threat. These people whom Bowbly refered to as ‘attachment figures’ are usually the mothers of the babies, however some other primary caregivers might become attachment figures as well. When an infant perceives threat, s/he searches for security and availability responsiveness of the attachment figure makes the infant feel secure and develop a secure attachment relationship with the caregiver. In the event the infant fails to achieve security and responsiveness from the caregiver, they feel insecure and develop insecure attachment and learn to cope with stress in her/his own way by organizing her/his behaviors (attachment behaviors) to increase the availability and responsiveness of the caregiver when needed.
Gross, R (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. 6th ed. London: Hodder Education. p188.
The researchers of the article wanted to know if relationship satisfaction, disclosure, hope, and trust are important elements in a model of attachment for friendships. The study used 268 undergraduate students from different levels and departments of a private Christian university. The methodology used involved five different questionnaires. The first questionnaire measured avoidance and anxiety attachment styles, this was called the Relationship Structure Questionnaire. The Relationship Satisfaction Scale measured the relationship satisfaction in relationships, such as family and friendships. The third questionnaire was called the Herth Hope Index and it was used to explore temporality and future, interconnectedness, and positive readiness.
The three articles “Attachment and internalizing behavior in early childhood: A meta-analysis”, “Early mother–child attachment and behavior problems in middle childhood: the role of the subsequent caregiving environment” and “The Relation Between Dimensions of Attachment and Internalizing or Externalizing Problems During Adolescence” might be similar when it comes to the title, but very three different articles. Although all three discuss the effect of attachment on a child, they differ in their argument and one is presented better that the other two articles. In this paper I am going to talk about why I chose one of these articles for my Analysis paper and the reason for doing so.
(2004) Psychology (2nd European edition). Essex: Pearson Education Limited Gross, R (1996).Psychology, The Science of mind and behaviour (3rd Ed). London: Hodder & Stoughton
This article explained the importance of sexuality in most romantic relationships, and that society implies that marriage is the main relationship in which sex occurs (Sprecher, Christopher, & Cate, 2006). The article then goes on to discuss the research and findings of psychologists that have studied attachment behavior, like Bowlby, and Hazan and Shaver. The three important factors that affect romantic relationships in adulthood are attachment, caregiving, and sexual mating (Shaver, Hazan & Bradshaw, 1988).
In secure attachment, infants use the caregiver, usually the mother, as a secure base from which to explore the environment. Secure attachment is theorized to be an important foundation for psychological development later in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. In insecure attachment, infants either avoid the caregiver or show considerable resistance or ambivalence toward the caregiver. Insecure attachment is theorized to be related to difficulties in relationships and problems in later development. Developmentalists have begun to explore the role of secure attachment and related concepts, such as connectedness to parents, in adolescent development. They believe the attachment to parents in adolescence may facilitate the adolescent’s social competence and well-being, as reflected in such characteristics as self- esteem, emotional adjustment, and physical health (Allen & Kuperminc ; Armden & Greenberg; Black & McCartney; Blain, Thompson,
“Attachment is as essential for the child’s psychological well-being as food is for physical health,” claimed Bowlby, B (2001, p.54). Bowlby claimed in this statement that attachment is a necessary thing that a child needs in order to develop healthily. There is evidence from other theorists who support Bowlby’s theory of attachment, such as Harlow, whose approach is based upon a caregiver’s sensitivity and attachment. Ainsworth is another theorist whose research supports Bowlby’s theory of attachment. In her strange situation study, she tested for the attachment types and what effects they had on a child’s behaviour.