Human Behavior and the Social Environment The first theory applicable to Maci Jones’ situation is the systems theory. As described by Michael Rothery (2008) systems theory is the concept that social workers use to understand the various structures molding the client into his or her current situation. Since family units have a systemic nature it is essential to assess the client’s environment because it determines their well being (Rothery, 2008). Even further, Rothery (2008) states that people are thoroughly dependent upon their social and physical world and therefore each system is sustaining and shaping one another. Systems can be comprised of anything influencing and shaping the client at the micro, mezzo, and macro level. Therefore, when …show more content…
In this theory there are eight stages of human development. The first stage is trust vs. mistrust and this phase is when the child develops a sense of security with his or her parents and the environment (Henderson & Thompson, 2011). Based on the initial visit with the family they believe that Maci has completed this stage because both parents have agreed that she verbally confirms her affection, which leads her to trust them. Although the social worker has not seen Maci interact with her parents it is still questionable if Maci has completed this phase. Since she is being medically neglected it is probable that Maci is overly attached to each parent, which is a sign of neglect (EMSC, 2013). Therefore, if that is the case Maci has not completed the first phase. Stage two is autonomy vs. shame and doubt and this phase is when the child gains a sense of self-control and has the ability to do various activities for him or herself (Henderson & Thompson, 2011). Because Maci has a chance to fail the first phase she will be unable to properly perform at this stage as well. Henderson & Thompson (2011) stated that in order to successfully complete a stage one has to master that stage. Currently, Maci is in the third stage titled initiative vs. guilt and during this phase Maci should have a confident sense of ingenuity instead of feeling remorseful because she cannot correctly perform a behavior …show more content…
A secure base is how the caregiver responds to the child’s needs, whether positively or negatively. When the child grows up with a positive secure base he/she is able to move into the exploratory system (Stalker & Hazelton, 2008). At this stage, the child should feel confident in their base feeling secure to venture into the environment. Even further, there is a fear/wariness system involved in the attachment theory (Stalker & Hazelton, 2008). This system is how the child responds to situations when their secure base is around. Lastly, is the internal working model, which is how the child views the world in addition to their relationships (Stalker & Hazelton, 2008). Carol Stalker and Rosemary Hazelton (2008) believed that attachment theory is appropriate for all clients especially those who experience maltreatment. Attachment theory supports the idea that psychological problems or disruptions are in congruence with early caregiving relationships; and based on the primary caregivers’ rapport with the child; he or she will develop a positive or negative pattern of attachment that will be present through adulthood if not rehabilitated (Stalker & Hazelton, 2008). Therefore, the primary goal of the attachment theory is to provide the child with a secure base to appropriately attain a sense of security to pattern proper social and emotional interpersonal relationships into adulthood (Stalker & Hazelton,
Relationships are the building block for personality and are significant in children’s ability to grow into substantial individuals who can thrive in an often harsh world. Constructing lasting and fulfilling relationships is an integral part to development as the interpersonal bonds forged are not only highly sought after but also set the ground work for all upcoming expressive interactions. Relationships and attachment go hand in hand as attachment is the strong and lasting linkage established between a child and his or her caregiver. Moreover, attachment significantly influences a large capacity of ones make up as it these first relationships that teaches morals, builds self-esteem, and develops a support system. The pioneers of Attachment Theory realized early on that human beings are not solely influenced by drives but that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers greatly impact their ability to forge lasting relationships later in life. John Bowlby was first to introduce this theory to the masses in the 1950’s, and later Mary Ainsworth conducted further research to expand on Bowlby’s theory which proclaims that attachment is a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). The attachment bond theory by both Bowlby and Ainsworth focuses on the significance of the relationship between babies and their caretakers which research has suggested is accountable for influencing impending interactions, firming or injuring our capabilities to concentrate, being aware of our emotional states, self-soothing capabilities, and the capacity to be resilient in the face of hardship. Additionally, this research has provided a framework for assisting in describing these att...
An infant’s initial contact with the world and their exploration of life is directly through the parent/ primary caregiver. As the child grows, learns, and develops, a certain attachment relationship forms between them and the principle adult present in this process. Moreover, this attachment holds huge implications concerning the child’s future relationships and social successes. Children trust that their parental figure will be there; as a result, children whom form proper attachments internalize an image of their world as stable, safe, and secure. These children will grow independent while at the same time maintaining a connection with their caregivers. (Day, 2006). However, when a child f...
One important component of Attachment theory talks about fear children have in which children have less fear when they are aware of their primary caregivers’ availability and affection leads to a secure attachment to form between a caregiver and child. On the other hand, Erikson states that if the virtue of hope is not established then an infant will have a fear and start to mistrust and this will affect the development. This will have an effect on the confidence that the children develop during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. A child can start to present separation anxiety and stranger anxiety at around 9 to 18 months a child had a stranger anxiety when they were young, that may affect their development based on the type of Patterns of attachment are secure, avoidant, and ambivalent. If a child had a secure attachment he will probably not have any form of trust issues and long-lasting relationships, a secure attachment will impact his self-esteem and have a good healthy relationship with his parents and friends and seek out social support from others because of him being able to function by himself in his adolescence and adulthood. On the other hand, if a child experienced avoidant or
Attachment is the bond that is formed between a child and their primary caregiver(s). This is an important mechanism that is influential throughout an individual’s lifespan (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). “Sensitive, responsive parenting, maternal support, and positive family functioning facilitates the development of secure attachment, builds self-soothing skills, and develops individual differences in self-compassion skills” (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2004, 2007a; Neff & McGeehee, 2010). Primary caregivers that are inconsistent, cold, and rejecting can cause a person to become more critical towards themselves and become less skilled in recognizing their needs for care and compassion (Gilbert & Procter, 2006, Neff & McGeehee, 2010; Gilbert 2005, 2009). Sensitivity and responsive parenting leads to the development of secure attachment styles with adult attachment lying in between attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety (Grossman, Grossman, & Waters, 2005, Mikulincer & Shaver 2007a); Fraley, Waller, & Brenan,
Infant attachment can remain stable through to adulthood for certain demographics and individuals. One such study examined attachment security in infancy and early adulthood and found that 72% of participants received the same secure versus insecure attachment classification (Waters et al., 2000). In the study 60 twelve month old infants with White middle-class backgrounds were tested using the Strange Situation (Waters et al., 2000). In the study 58% of infants were classified as secure, 24% insecure-avoidant and 18% insecure resistant (Waters et al., 2000). The Strange Situation was also performed at 18 moths on most participants (Waters et al., 2000). 20 years later 50 of the original participants (21 males, 29 females) underwent the Berkley Adult Attachment Interview (Waters et al., 2000). The Adult Attachment Interview suggested that 50% of participants were secure, 32% were insecure dismissing and 18% insecure paranoid (Waters et al., 2000). The vast majority of participants received that same attachment style and the study suggested that change was owed to negative life events. Although the study suggests that the change in attachment style is attributed to negative life events 22% of mothers who reported no negative life events had children who changed classification and eight participants indicated they underwent significant
What 's more, attachment theory makes the suggestion that a person 's ability to formulate these "attachments" with others is directly related to their overall sense of security, which is necessary for developing skills that allow a person to develop and grow as a unique personality. Attachment theory itself first originated with the work of John Bowlby during the 1960 's, and was further adapted upon by Mary Ainsworth. At the time, Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in an Orphanage located in London, where he worked with numerous emotionally disturbed children. This experience led Bowlby to consider the importance of the child’s relationship with their mother in terms of their social, emotional and cognitive development ( 2 ). But what really interested Bowlby was the significance between early childhood separations from the mother, and how these separations would further manifest as maladjustments in the child 's life. Interestingly, Bowlby noted [that] children who were exposed to prolonged periods of deprivation, were essentially “affectionless” ( 3 ). This affectionless state of mind is critical for us to understand when we take into account the probable causes of children growing up into societal
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)
Weinfield, N., Sroufe, L., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E. (2008). Individual differences in infant-caregiver attachment: Conceptual and empirical aspects of security. In J. Cassidy, P. Shaver (Eds.). Handbook of Attachment: Theory, research, and clinical application (2nd ed.) (pp. 78-101). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...
Theory has been defined as, “an organized set of assumptions, beliefs, or ideas about particular phenomena in the world (Teater, 2015).” Theory is used to understand and explain possible and perceived instances, behaviors and outcomes (Teater, 2015). Social workers use theory in order to understand, as well as, introduce interventions and solutions to their client’s individual situation. It is important for students entering into the social work profession to have a base knowledge of theories, with basic understanding of their similarities and differences to appropriately apply theory in practice. The theories which will be focused on in this paper include Systems Theory and Cognitive Behavioral Theory.
The relationship between trauma and attachment isn’t a strait forward line, but a web of different associations and events depending on the type of trauma and the type of attachment. Simply put, secure attachment creates a safe haven for trauma victims; insecure attachment, especially in the case of attachment trauma, only creates a setting in which the trauma becomes more frightening and severe. Yet, attachment can still be created later on in life, allowing one rebuild their trust and find healing in the support offered by close emotional bonds.
Attachment, the product of nature and nurture, is critical to human development. Children learn about important aspects of their physical, emotional and social world through experience. The value of this experience is directly proportional to the quality of the attachment children are forming with their caregivers. Through the positive experience of emotional connectedness, children learn to build and maintain loving, trusting and secure relationships with others. If the caregivers are available to them, sensitive to their signals, consistently responsive to their needs, infants develop secure style of attachment. If the caregivers are indifferent or neglectful, inaccessible, unresponsive and unreliable, infants are prone to developing anxious, avoidant or disorganized attachment style (Pearce, 2009). Difficulties in forming childhood relationships significantly increase likelihood of interpersonal conflicts in adulthood. Anxiety disorder, PTSD, dissociative identify disorder, borderline, narcissistic personality disorder are dysfunctions that are linked to attachment insecurities. Interpersonal adult conflicts, such as divorce, family abuse, child neglect, sexual abuse, substance abuse are responses to emotional dysregulation caused by deep wounds in
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
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.
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.