Thrive Approach Essay

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An important aspect of the Thrive approach is the role the relationship between the child and the adult plays in supporting emotional development and well-being. Both attachment and relationships have a paramount role within this area of development and it is clear that the Thrive approach has embedded principles of attachment theory within it (Bowlby, 1969; Ainsworth, 1973). Bowlby (1953) stated that a child should experience an uninterrupted relationship with their mother. Whilst he recognised that in some cases this would be a mother substitute he remains clear that a child forms just one attachment. He continued to state that this first attachment with the caregiver acts as the basis for all future relationships. To some extent, this remains …show more content…

For example, a study by Chisholm et al. (1995) compared Romanian orphans adopted before the age of four months against those who had spent at least eight months within the orphanage against a control group. It was found that the orphanage group were less secure and they had more behavioural issues compared to the other groups. From this it can be suggested that forming early attachments is desirable (Goldberg, 2000). Furthermore, it can be claimed that the formation of attachments is not exclusive to the mother (or mother surrogate) and attachments can be formed with more than one person (Tizard, 2009; Lamb, 2002). Therefore, if it is possible to form multiple attachments, could attachments formed at school effectively support a child in developing secure attachments and consequently being able to making meaningful attachments and relationships later on in life? Cassidy and Shaver (1999) suggested that for children who experience challenging circumstances it is possible that alternative attachment figures can provide them with a ‘safety net’ for future development (p.685). Whilst this may be the case for some children, others who have experience negative attachments may find it difficult to trust adults enough to form relationships (Schofield and Beek, 2014). Therefore, the question is posed; if a caregiver is

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