Influence of early attachment on later relationships

• The love quiz: Hazan and Shaver

  • Procedure- analysed 620 replies to a 'love quiz'
  • 3 sections- first assessed respondents' current or most important relationship, second assessed general love experiences such as number of partners and third assessed attachment type by asking to choose which of three statements best described their feelings
• The Love quiz: Hazan and Shaver

  • Findings- 56% identified as securely attached, with 25% insecure avoidant and 19% insecure resistant
  • Secure- more likely to have good and longer-lasting relationships
  • Avoidant- jealousy and fear of intimacy
• Internal Working model:

  • Acts as a template for future relationships
• Relationships in childhood:

  • Securely attached- best quality friendships
  • Insecure- difficulties with friendships
  • Wilson and Smith- assessed attachment type and bullying involvement- questionnaires, 196 children aged 7-11 in London
  • Secure- unlikely to be involved
  • Insecure-avoidant- most likely to be victims
  • Insecure-resistant- most likely to be bullies
• Strength: research support

  • Supporting evidence
  • Fearon and Roisman- concluded that early attachment consistently predicts later attachment, emotional well-being and attachment to own children
  • Insecure-avoidant- disorganised attachment strongly associated with later mental disorders.
  • Means secure attachment as a baby appears to convert advantages for future development
• Counterpoint to research support:

  • Not all supports links between early attachment and later attachment
  • E.g. Regensburg longitudinal study followed 43 individuals from one year of age.
  • At 16 attachment was assessed using adult attachment interview and no evidence of continuity
  • Means not clear to what extent quality of early attachment really predicts later development
• Limitation: validity issues with retrospective studies

  • Assessed retrospectively
  • Most research not longitudinal- don't assess early life and then revisit same person
  • Instead- usually asked adults questions about their relationship with parents
  • 2 validity problems- relies on honest and accurate answers and hard to know whether what is being assessed is early attachment or in fact adult attachment
  • Means measures of early attachment used in most studies may be confounded with other factors making them meaningless
• Limitation: Confounding variables

  • Existence of Confounding variables
  • Associations between attachment quality and later development may be affected by confounding variables
  • E.g parenting styles may influence both attachment quality and later development
  • Means we can never be entirely sure that it is early attachment and not some other factors that is influencing later development