Influence of early attachment on later relationships

• Internal working model

  • According to Bowlby, the quality of the child’s first attachment With the primary attachment figure forms a mental representation
  • The IWM would act as a template for future relationships.
• How would a baby whose first relationship is of a loving relationship with a reliable attachment figure affect later relationships?

  • The baby will assume this is how relationships should be
  • They will seek out for functional relationships and behave functionally within them.
  • i.e Without being to uninvolved or emotionally close or being controlling
• How would a child with bad experiences of their first attachment influence later relationships?

  • The child will bring these bad experiences to later relationships.
  • this may mean they struggle to form relationships in the first place
  • They may also not behave appropriately within relationships
  • Display insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant behaviour towards friends/partners
• Which attachment type would you expect to have good quality peer relationships?

  • Securely attached infants tend to form best quality childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties.
  • Attachment type can predict bullying behaviour.
• Research support for bullying

  • Myron-Wilson and Smith
  • Assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 in London.
  • Results found securely attached children are unlikely to be involved in bullying
  • Insecure-avoidant children were most likely to be the victims and insecure-resistant children were likely to be bullies.
• Research support for the effect of attachment type of adulthood romantic relationships

  • McCarthy
  • Studies 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were infants to establish early attachment type.
  • Results found those who were securely attached as infants had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships
  • Adults classed as insecure-resistant as infants had problems maintaining friendships
  • Those who were insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships.
• Research for relationships in adulthood as a parent

  • Bailey et al
  • Considered the attachments of 99 mothers to their babies and to their own mothers.
  • Mother-infant attachment was assessed through the strange situation and mother-mother attachment was assessed using an adult attachment interview.
  • Majority of women had the same attachment with their babies and their own mothers
• Research support

  • Bailey ET al, considered attachments of 99 mothers to their own babies and their mothers. Majority of women had the same attachments with their own babies as them and their mum.
  • This evidence suggests that later development depends upon the attachment type from early childhood.
  • This means secure attachment as a baby appears to convey advantages for future development. Whereas insecure attachment could be a disadvantage
• Confounding variables

  • Some studies do assess attachment in infancy, which means that the assessment of early attachment is valid. However these studies may have validity problems because associations between attachment quality and later development may be affected by other variables.
  • For example, parenting style may influence the quality of attachment and later development.
  • This means that we can never be entirely sure that is is early attachment not some other factors that is influencing later development.
• Validity issues with retrospective data

  • Most research on the link between early attachment and later development are not longitudinal.
  • Instead researchers usually ask adolescents or adult participants questions about their relationships with parents and identify attachment types from this.
  • Asking questions relies on honesty and accurate perception of participants which impacts validity.
  • Decreases interval validity of research into early attachment.
• Influence of early attachment is deterministic

  • Bowlby may have exaggerated the significance of early attachment on later relationships.
  • Clarke and Clarke described the influence of infant attachment as deterministic.
  • Suggests that individuals with an insecure attachment are doomed to experience unsatisfactory adult relationships, however this may not be the case. The research proposes they have greater risk of problems. In fact by knowing someones attachment type we have an opportunity to intervene and help development.
  • By emphasising the risk, it can lead to people being pessimistic.