Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Importance of attachment in child development
Attachment concept in family systems
Role of attachment in infant attachment
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Importance of attachment in child development
Caldera, Y. M., & Hart, S. (2004). Exposure to child care, parenting style and attachment security. Infant and Child Development, 13(1), 21–33. doi:10.1002/icd.329 In this journal, it includes information about the effects of the security of attachment from parents who have their infants/toddlers with them, to parents who have them in daycare. These sixty mothers went through an observation with their child to understand how their interaction was during a planned task. This observation was performed in order to comprehend if infants/toddlers were at higher risk of having security attachment issues in a daycare and parents not being involved, which proved not to be true. Although, more research needs to be studied to find out further about the significance of child care and attachment securities. I chose this journal because I myself wanted to see if the findings were true about mothers and the way they interact with their children. I too believed that it was truthful about how they considered the mothers could not have been fair in answering the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). Madigan, S., Moran, G., Schuengel, C., Pederson, D. R., & Otten, R. (2007). Unresolved maternal attachment representations, disrupted maternal behavior and disorganized attachment in infancy: Links to toddler behavior problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(10), 1042–1050. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01805.x In this study, researchers took sixty-four adolescent mothers and their infants to participate in a 24-month study. The researchers wanted to test Bowlby’s attachment theory to find out if Bowlby was correct about if unusual parenting escalates the child’s possibility of abstaining psychopathological effects. The participants were moth... ... middle of paper ... ...n reunited. There was no evidence to prove attachment insecurities by overnight stays with a parent. This information was useful in that it provided different procedures in trying to find a pattern for attachment issues of infant/toddlers of divorced parents or parents who are unmarried, or a parent who abandon the child. Although, for infants repeated overnight stays can be related to attachment issues, but for toddlers the connection was less pleasant to them. I actually chose this reading to see if it could help explain to me why I use to have so many security issues, even though I was sociable. I feel that I was sociable, so it would make up for the lack of things going on at home. I had a lot of issues in my life and my father was never around. Growing up I had anger, resentment towards my mother, and I acted out. This was an interesting article for me.
The Strange Situation, in which infants are exposed to eight different episodes involving the mother and/or a stranger, is widely used to test attachments, although there are many different views regarding its validity and reliability. In order for the Strange Situation to be considered reliable, a child tested at different times should produce the same reaction every time; this was supported by Main, Kapland and Cassidy’s 1985 study which found that 100% of infants who had been securely attached before 18 months were still securely attached at 6 years, and 75% of those who had been anxious-avoidant remained so. One interpretation of attachment type (based on the Strange Situation) is that it is a fixed characteristic and therefore cannot be changed, but if there is a change in family circumstances this is often not the case. Attachments to mothers and fathers have been proven to be independent – Main and Weston (1981) found that children reacted differently depending on which parent they were with. This shows that the attachment types shown by the Strange Situation are based on qualities of distinct relationships as opposed to a child’s characteristics.
Daisy broke the promise she made to Gatsby when she told him she would wait for him. She ended up marrying Tom Buchanan, which also became the father of her child. She refers to her daughter as beautiful and gullible. She thinks women are just a pretty pawn in a man’s world (Fitzgerald). Gatsby set a goal that he would win Daisy back and would not give up on it until he achieved it. The attraction between Gatsby and Daisy is what causes her to be the one that allows him to fall into the love of his vision. There is not much detail that there is romance is this book but Fitzgerald allows us to see that she is not really what Gatsby sees her to be (Pidgeon).
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
Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981). Differences in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person.
An infant’s initial contact with the world and their exploration of life is directly through the parent/ primary caregiver. As the child grows, learns, and develops, a certain attachment relationship forms between them and the principle adult present in this process. Moreover, this attachment holds huge implications concerning the child’s future relationships and social successes. Children trust that their parental figure will be there; as a result, children whom form proper attachments internalize an image of their world as stable, safe, and secure. These children will grow independent while at the same time maintaining a connection with their caregivers. (Day, 2006). However, when a child f...
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.
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)
Weinfield, N., Sroufe, L., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E. (2008). Individual differences in infant-caregiver attachment: Conceptual and empirical aspects of security. In J. Cassidy, P. Shaver (Eds.). Handbook of Attachment: Theory, research, and clinical application (2nd ed.) (pp. 78-101). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.
The first theory that will be explored and further critiqued is Attachment theory a basic explanation of this theory is “Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space”(McLeod, 2009) The attachment between one person to another does not have to be reciprocal, this is because it is characterized by the specific behaviours in children alone, for example crying when they are hungry or upset when feeling threatened. The theory of attachment originated from the work of John Bowlby a psychoanalyst who “believed that mental health and behavioral problems could be attributed to early childhood (McLeod, 2007) he suggested that children were biologically born to form attachments with others such as a mother or parent as a coping mechanism to help them survive. According to both professors of psychology Cassidy and Shaver (1999) from birth any disruptions between mother-child relationships can be pre-cursors of later psychopathology; this is because they believed that a relationship with the
The child feels more desire to explore when the caregiver is around, and he or she is discontented when the caretaker goes away. This pattern of attachment is characterized by high discriminative aspects where the child highly sensitive to the presence of strangers (Newton, 2008). A child becomes happy where the caregiver is present and dull when the caregiver goes away. Secure attachment level and intensity is determined by the caregiver sensitivity to the needs of a child. Consistent response to a child needs by the caregiver or parents will create a relatively strong secure attachment pattern. Care and attention are the major determinants of secure attachment and a child who revives a lot of attention and care from his or her parent are much prone to develop secure attachment, and it is an indication that the parent is responsive to the child
Attachment theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver. The theory proved that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social and emotional development in an infant. It is critical for this to occur in the child’s early infant years. However, failed to prove that this nurturing can only be given by a mother (Birns, 1999, p. 13). Many aspects of this theory grew out of psychoanalyst, John Bowlby’s research. There are several other factors that needed to be taken into account before the social worker reached a conclusion; such as issues surrounding poverty, social class and temperament. These factors, as well as an explanation of insecure attachment will be further explored in this paper.
“Attachment is as essential for the child’s psychological well-being as food is for physical health,” claimed Bowlby, B (2001, p.54). Bowlby claimed in this statement that attachment is a necessary thing that a child needs in order to develop healthily. There is evidence from other theorists who support Bowlby’s theory of attachment, such as Harlow, whose approach is based upon a caregiver’s sensitivity and attachment. Ainsworth is another theorist whose research supports Bowlby’s theory of attachment. In her strange situation study, she tested for the attachment types and what effects they had on a child’s behaviour.
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
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.