Early Influence of Attachment on Later Relationships

• Internal Working Model

  Acts as a template for future childhood and adulthood relationships. Children whose first relationship was loving with a reliant caregiver will search for the same functional functional relationship and behave accordingly. Those who aren't too emotionally close or uninvolved are likely to be Type A; and those who are controlling and argumentative are more likely to be Type C. A child is then likely to display their attachment type towards friends and partners.
• Relationships in Childhood

  Attachment type is associated with quality of peer relationships in childhood. Securely attached babies tend to go onto form the best quality childhood friendships but those insecurely attached tend to have friendship difficulties; Kerns.
• Relationships in Childhood

  Bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type; Wilson and Smith assessed attachment type in 196 children aged 7 to 11 form London. Securely attached children were unlikely to be involved; insecure-avoidant were likely to be the victims; and insecure-resistant were likely to be the bullies.
• Relationships in Adulthood: Hazan and Shaver

  Procedure- analysing 620 replies from the 'Love Quiz' printed onto an American newspaper; it had 3 sections- one assessed respondents current and important relationships, second assessed general love experiences and number of partners, third asked p's to pick statements which best described their feelings.
• Relationships in Adulthood: Hazan and Shaver

  Findings- 56% of respondents identified as secure, 25% were avoidant, and 19% were resistant. Those with secure attachments were more likely to have good and long-lasting romantic experiences. Avoidant tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy. These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships.
• Relationships in Adulthood: McCarthy

  Studied 40 adult women who had been assessed as babies to establish their early attachment. Those assessed as securely attached had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships. Those classified as insecure-resistant had problems maintaining friendships. Those classed as insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships.
• Relationships in Adulthood as a Parent

  Bailey et al: IWM also affects a child's ability to parent their own children as people base their own parenting style of their IWM. Attachment type trends then continue through generations of families. Finding that 99 mothers and their babies had the same classification of attachment type to their mother as their baby has to them.
• AO3- Mixed Evidence for Continuity of Attachment Type

  Though McCarthy's evidence supports IWM, Clarke and Clarke believed it was too probabilistic; an insecure attachment doesn't invariably cause increased risk of later developmental problems- no one is inevitably going to have unsuccessful romantic relationships due to their early attachment experiences- there is a range of other factors involved. By knowing someone's attachment type we can intervene and help development- though we may become too pessimistic and create a SFP.
• AO3- Mixed Evidence for Continuity of Attachment Type

  Zimmermann assessed infant attachment type and adolescent attachment to parents, there was little relationship between the quality of infant and adolescent attachment. This disproves the IWMs credibility.
• AO3- Issues of Validity

  Most of the ways studies identify early attachments isn't through the Strange Situation, but the means of interview or questionnaire. These assessments then rely on self-report techniques to assess the quality of those attachments; validity is limited as it is reliant on honesty and p's having a realistic view of their own relationships. The assessments are done retrospectively, this lacks validity as it relies upon accurate recollection.
• AO3- Association doesn't mean Causality

  In studies where infant attachment type is associated with quality of later relationships, it assumes that the early attachment classification causes this. However, there are alternative explanations for this continuity. Environmental factors like parenting styles (this is a confounding variable as it can influence both attachment quality and later development). Alternatively, temperament (genetically-influenced personality) may influence both factors. We cannot be sure if it is early attachment or another factor affecting later development.
• AO3- Self-Report is Conscious, but IWM isn't

  There are theoretical issues with most research linked to the IWM as they are unconscious; we aren't directly aware of their influence on us. We would not expect us to get direct evidence about them through means of interviews or questionnaires; people can only self-report what they are aware of. When p's self-report, they are relying on their conscious understanding of those relationships- it then gives us indirect evidence about the IWM. This is a potential limitation of most research involving the concept of IWM.