Influence of early attachment on later relationships

• Internal working model

  Bowlby - baby's first relationship with their primary attachment figure leads to mental representation of relationship. This acts as a template for future relationships.

  Quality of attachments is crucial.
• Internal working model - relationships in childhood

  • attachment type associated with quality of peer relationships.
  • securely attached = best quality childhood friendships
  • insecurely attached = friendship difficulties
• Internal working model - bullying

  Myron-Wilson and Smith - used questionnaires for 196 children aged 7-11 from London.

  secure children - unlikely to be involved in bullying

  insecure-avoidant - most likely to be victims

  insecure-resistant - most likely to be bullies
• Internal working model - romantic relationships in adulthood

  Hazan and Shaver - analysed 620 replies to a love quiz printed in American newspaper. It has three sections.

  1: respondants' current or most important relationship

  2: general love experiences

  3: attachment type

  • 56% identified as securely attached - most likely to have longer-lasting romantic experiences
  • 25% identified as insecure-avoidant - tended to reveal jealously and fear of intimacy
  • 19% identified as insecure-resistant
• Internal working model - parental relationships in adulthood

  People base their parenting style in their internal working model. Attachment type tends to be passed on through generations.

  Bailey - assessed attachments of 99 mothers to 1-year-old babies and to their own mothers.

  mother-baby - assessed through strange situation

  mothers attachment - adult attachment interview

  • majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers
• AO3 - assed retrospectively (influence of early attachments)

  • most studies are not longitudinal
  • they ask adolescent or adult ppts questions about their relationships
  • this relies on honesty and accurate perception
  • and it is very hard to know whether what is being assessed is early attachment or adult attachment
  • lacks validity - studies confound with other factors making them meaningless
• AO3 - confounding variables (influence of early attachments)

  • associations between attachment quality and later development may be affected by confounding variables
  • parenting style may influence both attachment quality and later development
  • genetically-influenced personality may be an influences
  • can never be sure that is early attachment
• AO3 - probabilistic (influence of early attachments)

  • insecure attachment does not invariably cause increased risk of developmental problems
  • other factors involved
  • knowing attachment type may give opportunity to intervene and help their development.
  • however it may lead to self-fulfilling prophecy.