Influence of early attachment on childhood & adult relati..

• • Bowlby (1969) suggested that a child’s first relationship with their primary attachment figure forms a mental representation of this relationship which acts as a template for future relationships (i.e. an IWM).
• McCarthy (1999) studied 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were infants to establish their early attachment type. ​

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• McCarthy (1999): Findings


  1. Those assessed as securely attached infants had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships. ​
  2. Adults classes as insecure-resistant as infants had particular problems maintaining friendships​
  3. Those classed as insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships.
• Hazan & Shaver (1987): 'Love Quiz' (Procedure)


  Analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in American local newspaper.​

  The ‘love quiz’ had three sections: ​

  1. Assessed respondents’ current or most important relationship.​
  2. Assessed general love experiences such as number of partners. ​
  3. Assessed attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described their feelings.​
• 'Love Quiz': Fidnings


  1. 56% of respondents were identified as securely attached, 25% as insecure-avoidant and 19% as insecure-resistant. ​
  2. Those reporting secure attachments were the most likely to have good and longer lasting romantic experiences. ​
  3. The avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy.​

  These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships.
• What is the role of the Internal working model?


  Bowlby (1969) suggested that a child having their first relationship with their primary attachment figure forms a mental representation of this relationship. This internal working model acts as a template for future relationships.
• What did Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) want to investigate?

  
  

  Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) investigated the internal working model to see if there was an association between early attachment type and participation in bullying behaviour in childhood
• What was Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) procedure?

  • Sample consisted of 196 children aged between 7 and 11 years from a South East London primary school.
  • Children were assessed for attachment type and quality of relationship with parents
  • Children were then divided into secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachment types.
  • Involvement in bullying (as a perpetrator and victim) were examined by a test called the Participant Roles Scale, in which each child identifies their peers as either a bully, a victim of bullying or uninvolved in bullying.
• What was Myron-Wilson and Smith findings?

  • Secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying.
  • Insecure-avoidant children were most likely to be victims of bullying.
  • Insecure-resistant children were most likely to be rated by their peers as bullies.
• What did Myron-Wilson and Smith conclude?

  These findings support the continuity hypothesis suggesting there is a link between early attachment and the quality of peer relationships in childhood.

  
  

  Therefore attachment types predict some of the most negative types of interaction between peers.
• Hazan and Shaver (1987)

  
  

  conducted a study to test the internal working model, by investigating the idea that early attachment styles would be reflected in adult romantic relationships, as predicted by Bowlby
• What did Hazan and Shaver conclude?

  These findings suggest that early patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in adult romantic relationships, supporting the continuity hypothesis.
• EVALUATION- supporting research


  Supporting Research - There is supporting research for the internal working model as suggested by Bowlby's view, that an infant's first relationship with a primary attachment figure forms a mental representation for later relationship. For example, Simpson et al's (2007) longitudinal study assessed infant attachment type at one year of age (using the strange situation) and then gathered data through interviews and questionnaires up to the age of 20-23. They found that participants who were securely attached as infants were rated as having higher social competence as children, closer to their friends at age 16 and were more expressive and were emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early adulthood. This supports the view that attachment type does predict future childhood and adult relationships.
• EVALUATION -mixed findings


  Mixed Findings - In contrast to the support for the internal working model, findings from Zimmerman et al's (2000) longitudinal studies yielded mixed results. They found that childhood attachment type was not a good predictor of attachments in adolescence, and that life events often altered secure attachments to an insecure type in adulthood. Those who had changed attachment type had generally experienced a life event such as the loss of a parent, parental divorce or a life-threatening illness of a parent or child. Waters et al (2000) found that 44% of the infants who had experienced negative life events changed attachment classification from infancy to early adulthood. This suggests that although there is strong support for continuity of attachment, there is also evidence that positive or negative environmental changes can improve or compromise attachment type in later life.
• EVALUATION-Correlational research


  Correlational Research - One problem with the research linking the internal working model (early attachment) with later relationship experiences is that it is correlational rather than experimental. Therefore we cannot claim that the relationship between early attachment and later relationships is one of cause and effect. The temperament hypothesis is an alternative explanation to the continuity hypothesis. This view is that some infants are born friendly and this leads to secure attachment and also determines the kind of relationships they have later in life. This suggests it is not attachments in early life that lead to later relationships but the child's own innate temperament. This is a limitation as it is counter to Bowlby's view that the internal working model caused these later outcomes.
• EVALUATION-Deterministic


  Deterministic - Research suggests that very early experiences have a fixed effect on later relationships and, therefore, children who are insecurely attached at one year of age are doomed to experience emotionally unsatisfactory relationships in childhood and adult. This is fortunately not the case, as researchers have found plenty of instances where participants were experiencing happy adult relationships despite not having been securely attached as infants. Therefore the research does not suggest that an individual's past unalterably determines the future course of their relationship, it just suggests they are at a greater risk of future problems.
• Hazan and Shaver: Procedure


  • Analysed 620 responses (205 men and 415 women) to a 'love quiz' printed in a local North American newspaper.
  • Questionnaire asked questions about their current attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described their feelings about romantic relationships.
  • descriptions related to secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant attachments.
  • Also asked to complete a checklist describing childhood relationships with parents. In order to find out if there would be a correlation between adults' romantic relationship.
• Hazan and Shaver: Findings

  •Securely attached (56%)tended to have a positive internal working model and described their love experience as happy, friendly and trusting.

  •Insecure-avoidant (25%) were more doubtful about the existence or duration of romantic love. They also maintained they did not need love partners to be happy.

  •Insecure-resistant (19%) tended to fall in love easily, demonstrated jealousy and worried that their partners might abandon them.
• Hazan and Shaver also found a correlation between attachment type and the degree of sensitivity shown by mothers based on their memories of parenting styles.