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Personal reflections on attachment theory
Strengths and weaknesses of attachment theory
Strengths and weaknesses of attachment theory
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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.
Attachment theory could be considered one of the most important aspects of how we develop starting out as an infant. In the article “Can Attachment Theory Explain All Our Relationships” By: Bethany Saltman, she explains to us her personal experience and struggles raising her daughter, and her experience as a child and her own attachment. There are three types of attachment types, secure, avoidant, and resistant and the trouble with today is that only 60% of people are considered “secure”. There also subgroups that are called disorganization. Attachment will often pass generation to generation, so it is likely that if someone has an insecure attachment because of the way they were raised they will struggle to create a secure attachment for their own children. Although it can be reversed and changed with the
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...
The therapeutic process is an opportunity for both healing and restoration as well as discovering new ways of being. Although exposed to a variety of psychological theories, I narrowed my theoretical orientation to a relational psychodynamic approach, drawing on attachment theory and Intersubjective Systems Theory (IST). IST describes how the subjective experiences, both embodied and affective, of an individual becomes the manner of organization, or way of being, in which the person operates in the world relationally. It is through this process of transference and countertransference, the unconscious ways of being can become explicit and through the collaborative effort of therapist and client, new ways of organizing the relational world can
From a young age, most people have gone through many relationships with other people who were not their family. Thus, we often acknowledge these relationships as friendships. But the word friend is too broad, so people categorize their friends into several types. In her book “Necessary Losses: The Lovers, Illusions, Dependencies and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow”, Judith Viorst divided friendships into six types. Those are convenience friends, special interest friends, historical friends, crossroad friends, cross-generational friends and close friends.
Admittedly, many psychologists define attachment as an enduring affectionate bond that one person forms between himself and another person throughout life. Since Mary Ainsworth provided the most famous research: strange situation, offering explanations how each individual differences in attachment. However, in this Adult Attachment Style questionnaire that I took, I found many factors relevant to attachment as it was defined in the textbook. For example, in the textbook, it defines attachment based on Ainsworth research, the strange situation by observing attachment forms between mother and infants. Which they are described in four attachment styles: securely attached, insecure avoidant, insecure resistant, and insecure disorganized. The questions on the questionnaire were based on those areas to determine my style of attachment.
In 1990, Armsden, McCauley, Greenberg, Burke, and Mitchell published an article in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology called, “Parent and Peer Attachment in Early Adolescent Depression” (p. 683-697). Understanding the cause of parent-depressed child relations would help in a comprehensive theory of childhood depression. Also, examining social influences like peer relations for contributions to the risk of depressive disorder. “Attachment theory provides a valuable conceptual model for understanding the role parent-child relations play as a risk factor for depression” (p. 684). The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported parent and peer attachment in a sample of depressed adolescents and the relationship between attachment and
Attachment is described as the close emotional bond between two people and Attachment Theory (AT) generally concentrates on the early bonds in a person’s development as well as the effects that these bonds have on later socio-emotional development. While emphasis on attachment as an antecedent for future behavior and personality has decreased somewhat in recent years, it is interesting to note that the DSM IV-TR includes a “reactive attachment disorder” which it states is caused when extreme circumstances prevent proper attachment development.
The Development of Attachment Psychological research can inform us about the development of attachments to a certain extent. Mary Ainsworth actually covered a definition explaining, how we know when an attachment has developed. This is; 'the infant tries to get close to and maintain that proximity with the caregiver, using a number of strategies to do so. E.g. clinging and signalling behaviours such as smiling, crying and calling.' The fact she has outlined this definition obviously shows she must have evidence to back her definition up.
Travis Hirschi presented a social bonding theory in 1969. The main idea of the social bonding theory is that each and every individual has a drive to act in selfish and even aggressive ways that might possibly lead to criminal behavior. Social bonding theory is somewhat have similarities with the Durkheim theory that “we are all animals, and thus naturally capable of committing criminal acts” (Tibbetts, 2012, p. 162). However, the stronger a person is bonded to the conventional society, for example, family, schools, communities, the less prone a person is to be involved in criminal activity. The great example of this would be the serial killer Nannie Doss. Since early age she did not have any bonds either to her family with an abusive father or to community she lived in. Most of the time during her childhood she was isolated from any social interactions with her schoolmates or friends.
In addition to romantic partners, other age peers such as friends and family have the potential to become dominant attachment figures for adults. Throughout adolescence and early adulthood, friends and romantic partners gradually replace parents as the preferred source of emotional support and proximity seeking (Freeman & Brown, 2001; Hazan & Zeifman, 1994). Shifts in attachment tend to be a function of the relationship length, and only longer lasting friendships are likely to create close attachment bonds (Fraley & Davis, 1997). Enduring close friendships have the potential to
Barry et al. (2009) surveyed 710 emerging adults, ages 18 to 26, to examine the interrelations of identity development and the achievement of adulthood criteria with the qualities of romantic relationships and friendships during emerging adulthood. In their study, they found that as emerging adults take on adult roles and responsibilities, the quality of their friendships and romantic relationships are affected. Barry et al. argue that “relationships with friends and romantic partners serve distinct functions” during emerging adulthood (p. 220). According to Barry et al., friendships “satisfy social integration needs [such as companionship], feelings of worth, and to a lesser degree, intimacy” whereas “romantic relationships primarily satisfy intimacy needs and provide emotional support” (p. 210). Although both friendships and romantic relationships satisfy intimacy and emotional needs to different degrees, romantic partners fulfill intimacy and emotional needs on a more profound note that may be more suitable and “useful in supporting emerging adults for subsequent development tasks of establishing a marriage, family, and career” (p. 218). Essentially, romantic relationships deeply satisfy intimacy needs and provide emerging adults with the proper emotional support necessary to successfully complete the traditional
Attachment is an emotional bond that is from one person to another. The attachment theory is a psychological, an evolutionary and an ethological theory that is concerned with relationships between humans, specifically between mother and infant. A young infant has to develop a relationship with at least one of their primary caregivers for them to develop socially and emotionally. Social competence is the condition that possesses the social, emotional and intellectual skills and behaviours, the infant needs these to success as a member of society. Many studies have been focused on the Western society, but there are many arguments to whether or not this can be applicable to other cultures, such as the poorer countries.
Attachment patterns of a child are developed by the use of strange situation protocol where the attachment of a child is assessed between 12 months and 20 months of the child development. This procedure is not clinical and is used only to supplement the clinical diagnosis procedure called Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), which will be discussed at a later stage of this essay. In the strange situation protocol, a child, and the caregiver are put in an environment with varying conditions and the attachment behaviour of the child is observed. Through this protocol there are there organized attachment categories, which are observed in a child, which include secure attachment, avoidant/attachment and resistant/
In each person's life much of the joy and sorrow revolves around attachments or affectionate relationships -- making them, breaking them, preparing for them, and adjusting to their loss by death. Among all of these bonds as a special bond -- the type a mother or father forms with his or her newborn infant. Bonding does not refer to mutual affection between a baby and an adult, but to the phenomenon whereby adults become committed by a one-way flow of concern and affection to children for whom they have cared during the first months and years of life. According to J. Robertson in his book, A Baby in the Family Loving and being Loved, individuals may have from three hundred to four hundred acquaintances in there lifetimes, but at any one time there are only a small number of persons to whom they are closely attached. He explains that much of the richness and beauty of life is derived from these close relationships which each person has with a small number of individuals -- mother, father, brother, sister, husband, wife, son, daughter, and a small cadre of close friends (Robertson 1).
...ch should lead to additional investigation on a father's effect in all areas of the family. Researchers could look more deeply at the impact attachment plays in father son relationships and if or how a son's attachment to his mother was satisfying. Also, how these relationships impacted his choices of a female counterpart. Furthermore, different variables then satisfaction and attachment style could result in a deeper look at a daughter's relationship with her father and her romantic partner. Future researchers should revise this study by conducting a questionnaire to find out the comparable aspects between the father and the romantic partner. Another method that could be useful in conducting this research is an interview of the subjects. Interviews allow the researcher to obtain more personal information that could potentially affect the study in the long run.