03 LDP

• Attachment


  • An extra part or extension that is or may be attached to something to perform a particular function
  • Affection, fondness, or sympathy for someone or something
• Attachment (in psychology)


  A deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space
• Attachment does not have to be reciprocal
• Emotional attachment in child development


  The tendency of human infants and animals to become emotionally close to certain individuals and to be calm and soothed while in their presence
• Attachment theory


  • Focuses on the relationships and bonds between people, particularly long-term relationships, including those between a parent and child and between romantic partners
  • Explains how the parent-child relationship emerges and influences subsequent development
  • Attachments are most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby's signals, not the person they spent more time with
• How the Attachment Theory Developed


  1. John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist, describing attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings"

  2. Early behavioral theories suggested attachment was simply a learned behavior from the feeding relationship

  3. Bowlby and others demonstrated that nurturance and responsiveness were the primary determinants of attachment
• Ainsworth's "Strange Situation"


  1. Observed children between 12-18 months responding to being briefly left alone and then reunited with their mothers

  2. Described 3 major attachment styles: secure, ambivalent-insecure, and avoidant-insecure

  3. Later researchers added a 4th style: disorganized-insecure attachment
• Maternal Deprivation Studies


  1. Harry Harlow's experiments on rhesus monkeys separated from birth mothers and reared by surrogate wire and cloth mothers

  2. Demonstrated that early attachments were the result of receiving comfort and care from a caregiver rather than just being fed
• The Stages of Attachment


  1. Pre-Attachment Stage

  2. Indiscriminate Attachment

  3. Discriminate Attachment

  4. Multiple Attachments
• Factors That Influence Attachment


  • Opportunity for attachment
  • Quality caregiving
• Patterns of Attachment


  • Ambivalent attachment
  • Avoidant attachment
  • Disorganized attachment
  • Secure attachment
• Disorganized attachment


  Children display a confusing mix of behavior, seeming disoriented, dazed, or confused. They may avoid or resist the parent. Lack of a clear attachment pattern is likely linked to inconsistent caregiver behavior. In such cases, parents may serve as both a source of comfort and fear, leading to disorganized behavior.
• Secure attachment


  Children who can depend on their caregivers show distress when separated and joy when reunited. Although the child may be upset, they feel assured that the caregiver will return. When frightened, securely attached children are comfortable seeking reassurance from caregivers
• Attachment


  Biologically pre-programmed into children at birth, encoded in the human genes, evolves and persists because it is adaptive (i.e. it is evolutionarily useful for survival)
• Bowlby's theory of attachment


  • Attachment promotes survival in 3 ways: 1) Safety - the attachment keeps mother and child close to each other, separation results in feelings of anxiety 2) Safe base for exploration - the child is happy to wander and explore knowing it has a safe place to return to 3) Internal working model (IWM) - the first relationship forms a template or schema that gives the child a feel for what a relationship is
• Sensitive period


  Bowlby believed that for the human infant this was between the fourth and sixth month. After this it becomes ever more difficult for the child to form a first attachment.
• Continuity hypothesis


  Early attachments are reflected in later relationship types. A secure attachment as a child leads to greater emotional and social stability as an adult, whereas an insecure attachment is likely to lead to difficulties with later relationships.
• Monotropy


  Bowlby claimed that there was a hierarchy of attachments, with a primary caregiver, usually the mother at the top. However, he did not believe the main attachment had to be the mother alone.
• Hazan and Shaver (1987) found a relationship between the type of attachment people developed in infancy and the length of a committed relationship that they had in adulthood.
• Secure attachment in childhood is associated with secure, stable and loving relationships in adulthood, with a 6% divorce rate.
• Avoidant attachment in childhood is associated with fear of intimacy, emotional highs and lows, and jealousy in adulthood, with a 12% divorce rate.
• Anxious ambivalent attachment in childhood is associated with obsessive, jealous and emotional highs and lows in adulthood, with a 10% divorce rate.
• Merits of Bowlby's theory


  • Very influential theory 2) Widely studied with some agreeing, some suggesting modifications 3) Widely applied in practical situations, particularly in hospitals, children's homes and fostering policy
• Demerits of Bowlby's theory


  • Concentrates on the role of the mother and neglects the father 2) Later research has shown the father can play a useful role 3) Overlooks the relationships the child develops with siblings
• Failure to form secure attachments early in life can have a negative impact on behavior in later childhood and throughout life.
• Children diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently display attachment problems, possibly due to early abuse, neglect, or trauma.
• Children adopted after the age of 6 months have a higher risk of attachment problems.
• Those who are securely attached in childhood tend to have good self-esteem, strong romantic relationships, and the ability to self-disclose to others.
• Children who are securely attached as infants tend to develop stronger self-esteem and better self-reliance as they grow older. These children also tend to be more independent, perform better in school, have successful social relationships, and experience less depression and anxiety.