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thee important of attachment in child development
role of attachment in infant attachment
principles of attachment theory
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The Development of Attachments The topic of Schaffer and Emerson's research was to observe the development of attachments in infants. They were specifically interested in the age, intensity, and the objects of attachment and the issue of whether there were any individual differences. The research method of the study was conducted by interviewing the children's mothers at every visit. The experimental design of the research was carried out by naturalistic observation. The materials that were used were prams, cots, and chairs. The participants consisted of a sample of sixty infants from working-class homes in Glasgow. The infants were observed every four weeks until they were one year old, and then again at eighteen months. At the start of the investigation, the youngest participant was five weeks and the oldest was twenty-three weeks. All the infants were living at home with both parents; they all had normal births, no major illnesses, and no signs of abnormality. Attachment was measured in terms of separation protest, (the distress when an infant is separated from his/her caregiver), in seven everyday situations. Infants were either: -Left alone in a room. -Left with other people. -Left in their pram outside the house. -Left in their pram outside the shops. -Left in their cot at night. -Put down after being held by an adult. -Passed by while sitting in a cot or chair. Mothers were also asked generally about situations where separation protest was shown and whom these protests were directed to. This meant researchers could rate the intensity of attachment at each monthly visit. They used a four-point scale where zero was 'no protest recorded' and 3 'the infant cries loudly on each occasion'. Schaffer and Emerson also measured stranger anxiety by starting every visit by approaching the infant and noting at what point the infant started to whimper, therefore showing some anxiety. The findings of their study re shown below: 1. Age of onset-Half of the children showed their first specific attachment between 25 and 32 weeks (6-8 months).
The “strange situation” is a laboratory assessment used to measure infants’ attachment to their mothers through observation, by providing a series’ of experiences of introductions to a stranger, separations from mother and then the reunion of the two. The “strange situation” measures the infants’ attachment in being securely to insecurely attached with the mother. The scene of the experiment is set up in a small room with mother, child and stranger, they will then follow a prescribed order of the series listed above. At first it’s only mother and child, and then the stranger joins the room. The mother tends to the child briefly and then leaves the room, leaving the child with the stranger. The child then expresses distress to a certain extent – depending on the degree of secure attachment to the mother – upon the mother’s departure and cries in calling the mother back. The mother returns and stranger leaves. The next step is then that the mother leaves the child completely alone, and when child then cries in a call for them to come back, the stranger will return instead of the mother, this is an important part of the experiment in order to determine the child’s attachment. It gets determined whether or not the child will return to a calm state of mind with the calming of the stranger. The mother will finally return to the child again and stranger will leave as the experiment and observation
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 concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the right help, this child may harbor these ill feelings for life.
(Early infant attachment is an important phenomena to study as it is connected to later child development). Early infant attachment is linked to cognitive, social, and emotional development (Pallini, Baiocco, Schneider, Madigan, & Atkinson, 2014). These three developmental aspects are significant in one’s later mental process capabilities, the relationships formed later in life, as well as their psychological stability. The attachments formed with caregivers in infancy are vital. Bowlby stated, “It is our first relationship, usually with our mother, that much of our future well-being is determined” (O’Gorman, 2012). It’s crucial for a child’s development to look at parenting styles and early infant attachment classifications which are made to caregivers. Most research focuses around mother-infant attachment making little known about the relationships made with fathers.
This essay will compare and contrast the work of psychologists Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth. To compare and contrast will be to emphasise the similarities and differences of both Harlow and Ainsworth’s work on understanding attachment, to which they have both made great contribution. Attachment refers to the mutually affectionate developing bond between a mother and any other caregiver (Custance 2010). It is a bond in which the infant sees the caregiver as a protective and security figure. Failing to form any type of attachment during the earliest years of childhood is thought to lead to social and emotional developmental issues that can carry on well into adult life (Custance 2010). Attachment theory was formulated by psychoanalyst John Bowlby with the theory of ‘cupboard love’ (affection that is given purely to gain a reward) (Custance 2010). There are differing theories on why and how infants form attachments but this essay will concentrate on the theories of Harlow and Ainsworth.
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)
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) challenged some of Bowlby’s claims which believed that babies have some biological need to attach to their mothers, or at least to a permanent carer. Schaffer and Emerson carried out an ethological study in Scotland which consisted of 60 babies from a working-class sector of Glasgow during the first eighteen months of their lives. They interviewed the mothers every 4 weeks and asked them several questions related to their child’s reaction when faced with a separation distress, e.g. who they smile at, who they respond to, who affects the child most when they leave and so on. Schaffer and Emerson used the results of their interviews to measure separation anxiety. They also observed how the children responded to the presence of the researchers noting how close they could get to the child before causing sings of distress (when they begin to look for their mothers, whimpering). They used these findings to measure stranger anxiety. The research showed as well that many of the children were actually attached to several people. According to Schaffer and Emerson this occurs when there is more than one person in the child’s life who took an interest in them and the infants became attached to them.
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.
Infant attachment is the first relationship that occurs between infants and their mothers or other primary caregivers (Craig & Dunn, 2010). The mother-infant attachment begins at birth and is considered by a group of...
In understanding others, one must first understand our own family background and how it affects our understanding of the world. Conversely, family systems draw on the view of the family as an emotional unit. Under system thinking, one evaluates the parts of the systems in relation to the whole meaning behavior becomes informed by and inseparable from the functioning of one’s family of origin. These ideas show that individuals have a hard time separating from the family and the network of relationships. With a deeper comprehension of the family of origin helps with the challenges and awareness of normalized human behaviors. When interviewing and analyzing the family of origin, allow one to look at their own family of origin
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.
Attachment is crucial to the survival and development of the infant. Kenneth and Klaus points out that the parents bond to their child may be the strongest of all human ties. This relationship has two unique characteristics. First, before birth one individual infant gestates within a part of the mothers body and second, after birth she ensures his survival while he is utterly dependent on her and until he becomes a separate individual. According to Mercer, the power of this attachment is so great that it enables the mother and father to make the unusual sacrifices necessary for the care of their infant. Day after day, night after night; changing diapers, attending to cries, protecting the child from danger, and giving feed in the middle of the night despite their desperate need to sleep (Mercer 22). It is important to note that this original parent-infant tie is the major source for all of the infant’s subsequent attachment and is the formative relationship in the course of which the child develops a sense of himself. Throughout his lifetime the strength and character of this attachment will influence the quality of all future ties to other individuals. The question is asked, "What is the normal process by which a father and mother become attached to a healthy infant?"...
A number of studies focused on the mother- infant relationship and the effect of child care on the development of such relationship (Belsky, 1989; Lamb, Sternberg, & Prodromidis, 1992). Attachment theory indicates that a secure relation formation between child and caregiver is important for the child to develop flexible behavioural system and adapt easily to new situations. Bowlby (quoted by Lamb, Sternberg, & Prodromidis) summarised that attachments form around middle of the first year and are strengthened later in the year. It comes as no surprise that studies done by Barglow, Vaughn, & Molitor (1987); Belsky & Rovine (1988); Vaughn, Gove, & Egeland, (1980) , as quoted by Egeland & Heister (1995), reported that entry of infants before 12 months of age to child day care is linked to increased risk of insecure-avoidant attachment. Assessments were based on Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (Ainswoth, Blehar, Water, & Wall, 1978) to measure the infant-mother attachment. While these children might not reject attention from parents, they also did not seek comfort, showing no preference between a parent and a complete stranger.