Case Study Of Attachment

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An attachment is the unique, emotional bond between the caregiver and the infant and is characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity (Bowlby, 1969; Shaffer, 1996). Attachment is concerned with survival and emotional regulation and the infant will do whatever is necessary to maintain their attachments and to ensure safety (Bowlby, 1988). The infant uses the attachment figure as a ‘secure base’ (Ainsworth, 1989). The security of the attachment ultimately depends on how the caregiver responds to the child and in turn this becomes the groundwork for the infant’s emotional development and emotional self-regulation. Children develop an understanding of how relationships work from their early attachments and the lifelong impact …show more content…

If the quality of the parenting is poor or the infant is neglected or abused, or living in violence there are major risk factors for the development of poor health and poor quality of life during adolescent years. In the case study of Aileen Wuornos (Arrigo and Griffin, 2004), a convicted serial murderer, emotional and physical abuse was displayed from primary attachment figures, she also endured inconsistent care with multiple or changing caregivers. During her adolescent years, Aileen was described as being angry and unpredictable, she did not socialise well and was engaging in sex and smoking at the age of ten. Aileen fell pregnant at 14 but the infant was later adopted. Aileen’s emotional states eventually led to violence and finally, murder. Additionally, her inability to experience attachments towards others enabled her to devalue her victims (Shipley & Arrigo, 2004., cited in Arrigo & Griffin, 2004). Although it is likely that Aileen’s deviance was down to primary attachment problems, it is also likely that Aileen began with a biological predisposition for psychopathology as her father was a convicted child molester who later committed suicide in

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