influence of early attachments

• 3 stages of early attachments researched:

  • childhood relationships
  • relationships in adulthood
  • parental relationships with own children
• loving + reliable first relationship:

  • assumes this is how relationships are meant to be
  • seek functional relationships e.g loving, warm, effectively communicating, not getting upset easily
• bad first relationship:

  • brings bad experiences to later relationships
  • struggle to form relationships + behave appropriately
  • too uninvolved/emotionally close, controlling, argumentative
• peer relationships in childhood:

  • Kerns - securely attached tend to form higher quality friendships
  • insecurely attached tend to have friendship difficulties in childhood
• Myron-wilson + Smith - attachment types+ bullying:

  • questionnaire, 196 children, 7-11 from London
  • secure - unlikely to be involved in bullying
  • insecure avoidant - victims of bullying
  • insecure resistant - bullied others
• relationships in adulthood (Hazan + Shaver) procedure:

  • 620 replies in love quiz in local us newspaper
  • 3 sections: current, most important relationships, general love experiences
  • choose 1 of 3 statements which described feelings well
• love quiz findings:

  • 56% secure
  • 25% insecure avoidant
  • 19% insecure resistant
• love quiz findings part 2:

  • secure = good+ longer lasting relationships
  • insecure = fear of intimacy + jealousy
  • proportions of attachment styles was same as adulthood + childhood - supports internal working model
• insecure avoidant adults:

  • memories of relationships: cold + neglecting
  • love experience: not durable + necessary for happiness
  • adult views: fearful of closeness
• secure adults:

  • memories of relationships: dependable + caring
  • love experience: trust + believe in enduring love
  • adult views : positive
• insecure resistant adults:

  • memories of relationships: positive + rejecting
  • love experience: preoccupied with love
  • adult views: fall in love easily + trouble finding love
• McCarthy:

  • studied 40 adult women, attachment assessed type in infancy
  • secure: best friendships + romantic relationships
  • insecure avoidant: struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships
  • insecure resistant: problems maintaining friendships
• parental relationships:

  • adults base parenting style of own internal working model, attachment types can be passed down generations
• Bailey et al:

  • studied attachment of 99 mothers to their babies + own mothers
  • mother infant through strange situation + mothers attachment through adult attachment interview
  • majority has same attachment to both mothers + babies
• EVALUTION: research support

  • review (Fearon + Roisman) found early attachment predicts later attachment + emotional wellbeing
  • strength of connection between early + later attachment depends on type e.g insecure avoidant = mild disadvantages, disorganised = linked to developments of mental disorders
  • supports notion of secure attachment advantages + disorganised correlates to serious disadvantages
• EVALUATION: problems with methodology:

  • most research isnt longitudinal ( dont revisit same person), instead ask questions about relationships with parents to identify type
  • 2 validity issues: relies on honesty + accuracy (social desirability bias) + difficult to know what is being assessed (childhood or adult)
  • methodology may be confounded with other factors = less meaningful
• EVALUATION: reductionism (CVs + alternative explanation):

  • mcCarthy assessed infancy attachment, assessment of childhood attachment is valid - however quality + later development can be affected by other variables e.g traumatic incidents
  • psychological approaches suggest alternative approaches e.g genetically influenced personality
  • not sure if early attachment or other factors influence later developments