Dr. Sigmund Freud thought the experiences in the first five years were the most critical for the development of personality. It is where it all begins. We all go through stresses in life but it is the well-developed adult that is able to handle stress and how they handle it. It all starts with attachment between the caregiver and the infant. The emotional bond that forms between an infant and a primary caregiver is called attachment. Bonding is a continuation of the relationship that began during pregnancy. The physical and chemical changes that were happening in the body of a mother remind her of the presence of that little person who was growing inside her. Birth reinforces that bond and gives it validity. Now she can see, feel, and talk to the little person that she knew only as a movement in her belly and the heartbeat she heard through the ultra sound. Bonding allows her to transfer her love for the infant inside to the outside. Inside, she gave her blood and outside, she gives her milk, her attention with her eyes, hands and voice. Bonding brings mothers and newborns back together. Attachment is a very important development in the social and emotional life of the infant, usually forming within the first six months of the infant’s life and showing up in a number of ways during the second six months, such as wariness of strangers and fear of being separated from the caregiver. According to psychologist Mary Ainsworth, attachment is a connection between two people that creates a bond. It is that bond that causes the desire for contact with that person and the feeling of distress when separation occurs from that person. This special tie between two human beings that bind them together is what attachment is. Attachment aids a n... ... middle of paper ... ...Weller, Aron, Sirota, Lea & Eidelman, Arthur I. (2003). Testing a family intervention hypothesis: The contribution of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) to family interaction, proximity, and touch. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 94-107. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.17.1.94 Feldman, Ruth, Weller, Aron, Sirota, Lea & Eidelman, Arthur I. (2002). Skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) promotes self-regulation in premature infants: Sleep-wake cyclicity, arousal modulation, and sustained exploration. Developmental Psychology, 38, 194-207. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.2.194 Lyons-Ruth, Karlen, Easterbrooks, M. Ann & Cibelli, Cherilyn Davidson. (1997). Infant attachment strategies, infant mental lag, and maternal depressive symptoms: Predictors of internalizing and externalizing problems at age 7. Developmental Psychology, 33, 681-692. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.4.681
Harrison, L. J. and Ungerer, J. A., (2002). Maternal Employment and Infant-Mother Attachment Security at 12 Months Postpartum. Developmental Psychology, Vol. 38, No. 5, 758-773.
The concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the right help, this child may harbor these ill feelings for life.
Through the well-studied idea of maternal-infant attachment there has been important insight into a child’s development. Mary Ainsworth found through her “Strange Situation” experiment that there are three distinct types of attachment that infants form; anxious avoidant, secure, and anxious resistant (O’Gorman, 2013). Later a fourth attachment style known as, disorganized attachment, was identified (CITE). Secure attachment is linked to maternal sensitivity just as insecure attachment is linked to maternal rejection or unpredictable maternal response to an infant’s desires and needs (Kinsvatter, Desmond, Yanikoski, & Stahl, 2013). Infants are “at risk” of developing an insecure attachment to their mother when they are placed in alternative care before nine months of age (Stifter, Coulehan, & Fish, 1993). This is concerning in that we see there are negative effec...
Harry Harlow’s work on attachment was conducted on two groups of rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were separated from their mothers and were subsequently given a choice of two surrogate mothers, one made of wire, the other of towelling (or terry-cloth)(Custance 2010). In one group the wire mother provided food in the form of a baby feeding bottle containing milk and the terry-cloth mother provided no food. In the other group the wire mother did not provide food and the terry-cloth mother did. The young monkeys would cling to the soft terry-cloth mother whether or not it provided them with food, and they chose the wire surrogate mother only when it provided food. The monkeys would go to the terry-cloth mother for comfort when frightened or anxious no ...
Hamilton 's 2000 research suggests that attachment classification at 12 months predicts attachment in late adolescence. Hamilton (2000) designed a study to asses weather infants attachment would remain stable over time. Hamilton (2000) recruited 205 American families during the mothers third trimester of pregnancy. The study included both conventional and non conventional families to asses weather this effected attachment stability (Hamilton, 2000). Infants attachment style was measured at 12 months using Ainsworth 's (something) Strange situation task. Results from the strange situation task classified 153 infants as secure, 30 infants as avoidant, and 19 as resistant, there was no classification difference between conventional and non conventional families (Hamilton, 2000). About 16 years later families were contacted by mail for a follow up study, However due to varying circumstances only 30 participants out of the original sample size were available (Hamilton, 2000). Attachment in adolescents was measured using the AAI task which was developed by George, Kaplan and Main in 1984 (Roisman, Holland, Furtuna, Fraley, Clausell & Clarke 2007). Its a semi-structured interview with 20 question that take about an hour (Roisman et al., 2007).The results showed that 77% of participants retained the same classification from infancy to adolescences (Hamilton, 2000) . The results also suggested there was no difference of attachment stability between conventional or non-conventional families (Hamilton, 2000) . Hamilton’s (2002) study supports previous research in the area of attachment
According to Klaus and Kennell, there are specific events, including skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant that must occur directly following the birth of a primate infant. This maximizes the chances of survival for the newborn not only because their mother is a source of food, but also because they will learn the culture they need to be successful in their environment. In the study, Klaus and Kennell test how much time a baby spends crying when they are separated from their mother. They concluded the increased time in babies that were separated was due to the anxiety that separation caused. The difficulty in this is that the cause of the baby’s distress is subjective. Also the notion of critical period proposed that the bonds and lessons taught during that time could not be developed later.
In the Strange Situation 12 to 18 month olds undergo multiple phases to determine their attachment style (Ainsworth et al., 1978). The infant is placed in a novel environment where multiple stages take place including: the infant and caregiver interacting, introduction of a new individual, caregiver leaving and stranger attempting to comfort the child and finally the mother returning and the stranger leaving (Ainsworth et al., 1978). In another trial the mother leaves again and the stranger returns and tries to interact with the child then the mother returns for the final time (Ainsworth et al., 1978). The reunion between the mother and infant and the way the child reacts determines the type of attachment the child has to the caregiver (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Secure infants represent that majority and use the caregiver as a secure base, seek them out when they are absent and are comforted when the caregiver returns (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Insecure-avoidant infants are not dependent upon the caregiver when navigating the environment, nor do they depend upon them when distressed (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Insecure-resistant infants will often act needy and dependable but reject the caregiver when they interact, they do not obtain security from the caregiver and consequently does not
The attachment theory, presented by Mary Ainsworth in 1969 and emerged by John Bowlby suggests that the human infant has a need for a relationship with an adult caregiver, and without a subsequent, development can be negatively impacted (Hammonds 2012). Ainsworth proposes that the type of relationship and “attachment” an infant has with the caregiver, can impact the social development of the infant. As stated by Hammonds (2012), attachment between a mother and a child can have a great impact on the child 's future mental
Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)
Attachment, the product of nature and nurture, is critical to human development. Children learn about important aspects of their physical, emotional and social world through experience. The value of this experience is directly proportional to the quality of the attachment children are forming with their caregivers. Through the positive experience of emotional connectedness, children learn to build and maintain loving, trusting and secure relationships with others. If the caregivers are available to them, sensitive to their signals, consistently responsive to their needs, infants develop secure style of attachment. If the caregivers are indifferent or neglectful, inaccessible, unresponsive and unreliable, infants are prone to developing anxious, avoidant or disorganized attachment style (Pearce, 2009). Difficulties in forming childhood relationships significantly increase likelihood of interpersonal conflicts in adulthood. Anxiety disorder, PTSD, dissociative identify disorder, borderline, narcissistic personality disorder are dysfunctions that are linked to attachment insecurities. Interpersonal adult conflicts, such as divorce, family abuse, child neglect, sexual abuse, substance abuse are responses to emotional dysregulation caused by deep wounds in
Infant attachment is the first relationship that occurs between infants and their mothers or other primary caregivers (Craig & Dunn, 2010). The mother-infant attachment begins at birth and is considered by a group of...
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure, insecure/resistant, insecure/avoidant and disorganized/disoriented, later leading to research studies done to observe this behavior and how it affects a child in their adolescence and adulthood.
Crugnola, C.R., Tambelli, R., Spinelli, M., Gazzotti, S., Caprin, C. & Albizzati, A. (2011). Attachment patterns and emotion regulation strategies in the second year. Infant Behaviour and Development, 34(1), 136-151. Doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2010.11.002
A number of studies focused on the mother- infant relationship and the effect of child care on the development of such relationship (Belsky, 1989; Lamb, Sternberg, & Prodromidis, 1992). Attachment theory indicates that a secure relation formation between child and caregiver is important for the child to develop flexible behavioural system and adapt easily to new situations. Bowlby (quoted by Lamb, Sternberg, & Prodromidis) summarised that attachments form around middle of the first year and are strengthened later in the year. It comes as no surprise that studies done by Barglow, Vaughn, & Molitor (1987); Belsky & Rovine (1988); Vaughn, Gove, & Egeland, (1980) , as quoted by Egeland & Heister (1995), reported that entry of infants before 12 months of age to child day care is linked to increased risk of insecure-avoidant attachment. Assessments were based on Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (Ainswoth, Blehar, Water, & Wall, 1978) to measure the infant-mother attachment. While these children might not reject attention from parents, they also did not seek comfort, showing no preference between a parent and a complete stranger.