Evaluation

• McCarthy (1999) : Research to support

  This study investigated the relationship Between mother-child attachment and the Quality of adult relationships. Sample of 40 women (aged 25–42 years) McCarthy found that participants who had experienced negative parenting were six times more likely to be experiencing difficulties in their adult relationships than those who had not. • Women who were secure as infants had better friendships and relationships.

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• Those who were insecure avoidant struggled with romantic relationship • Those who were resistant struggled with friendships. These results suggest that the quality of childhood experiences with our parents may influence the function of their adult relationships
• Schaffer and Emerson: validity of monotropy

  One limitation of Bowlby’s attachment theory is the concept of monotropy, which suggests that the attachment to the mother has a unique and primary importance in a child’s development. This concept has been criticized for lacking validity, as research has shown that children can form multiple important attachments.
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that while most infants initially form a primary attachment, a significant minority developed multiple attachments simultaneously, with 32% of children having at least five attachments by 18 months. Furthermore, their study revealed that one-third of infants preferred their father over the mother.
• This challenges Bowlby’s view that the mother-child bond is the most significant, suggesting that other attachments, such as those with fathers and other family members, can also play a vital role in a child’s emotional development. Moreover, while the first attachment might appear to have a stronger influence on later development, this may simply be due to its intensity rather than its unique quality.
• As Van Ijzendoorn and Tavecchio (1987) argued, a stable network of adults can provide equally, if not more, adequate care than a single mother attachment, questioning the necessity of monotropy in attachment theory.
• The role of the father: Validity of monotropy

  A significant criticism of Bowlby’s attachment theory is that it largely ignores the role of the father in a child’s development. Bowlby underestimated the father’s contribution to attachment, viewing the father’s role as primarily economic, which reflects an outdated and sexist perspective. This narrow view fails to account for the increasing involvement of fathers in childcare and their role as primary caregivers in many families today
• Bowlby’s theory emphasized the mother as the monotropic figure, assuming that the mother-child bond was the most important for emotional development. However, research has shown that fathers can form equally strong attachments with their children, contributing significantly to their emotional well-being and development. By focusing almost exclusively on the mother, Bowlby’s theory overlooks the evolving and equally important roles that fathers and other caregivers play in a child’s attachment and development.
• Brazelton: Support for Social releasers

  One strength of Bowlby's attachment theory is the evidence supporting the role of social releasers in the formation of attachments. Social releasers refer to innate behaviors exhibited by infants, such as smiling, cooing, or reaching out, which are designed to provoke caregiving responses from adults. Brazelton (1975) provided strong support for this aspect of Bowlby’s theory through an experiment in which babies' primary attachment figures were instructed to ignore their babies' social releasers
• The results showed that the babies became increasingly distressed, with some even curling up and lying motionless. This response highlights the crucial role social releasers play in emotional development and attachment formation, illustrating that these behaviours are essential in eliciting caregiver interaction and bonding. Brazelton's findings underscore the importance of social releasers in the attachment process, providing empirical support for Bowlby’s ideas on how attachments are formed.
• Research to support the internal working model

  Bailey et al. (2007) conducted a study assessing attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one-year-old babies. The researchers measured the mother’s attachment to their own primary attachment figures and also assessed the quality of the babies’ attachments. They found that mothers with poor attachment histories (i.e., those with insecure attachments to their own primary caregivers) were more likely to have babies who also formed insecure attachments.
• This finding supports Bowlby’s concept of the internal working model, which suggests that individuals’ early attachment experiences shape their ability to form attachments in later relationships. In this case, mothers with insecure attachments to their caregivers were more likely to struggle in forming secure attachments with their own children, highlighting the influence of internal working models on attachment behaviour. This study provides empirical support for Bowlby’s theory, particularly the idea that early attachment experiences influence future attachment relationships.