4. Attachment

John Bowlby

1907-1990

• believed behavior issues originated from past experiences

• founder of

Attachment theory

infants have an innate biological drive to form a close emotional bond with a primary caregiver

Proximity maintenance

wanting to be near their primary caregiver

Safe haven

returning to their primary caregiver for comfort and safety if they feel afraid or threatened

Secure base

treating their primary caregiver as a base of security from which they can explore the surrounding environment - the child feels safe in the knowledge that they can return to their secure base when needed

Separation distress

experiencing anxiety in the absence of their primary caregiver - they are upset when the caregiver leaves, but happy to see them and easily comforted when they return

Four phases of Bowlby’s attachment development theory

• Pre-attachment phase

• First phase

• Second phase

• Final phase

Pre-attachment phase

0-2 months: little differentiation between familiar and unfamiliar people (because they can’t recognize faces yet !!)

• sleep, eat, use the bathroom

• feeding and time spent together is important

First phase

2-7 months: foundations of attachment

• baby can start to recognize faces and see properly, see colors

• forming attachment with primary caregiver because they can see their face and remember who they are

Second phase

7-24 months: stranger anxiety

• strength

Final phase

After 2 years: partnership between child and caregiver

• child knows they can leave and come back and the primary caregiver will still be there

Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation study

measures the security of attachment in one to two year olds by observing different combinations of a baby, mother, and stranger, and the baby’s reaction to the situations

• 1960s

Mary Ainsworth’s types of attachment

• Secure attachment

• Ambivalent attachment

• Avoidant attachment

• Disorganized attachment

Secure attachment

show distress when separated from mother, avoidant of stranger unless accompanied by mother, happy to see mother after separation

• 70% of kids

Ambivalent attachment

show intense distress when separated from mother, significant fear of stranger, approach mother but reject contact after separation

• 12-15% of kids

Avoidant attachment

show no interest when separated from mother, play happily with stranger, ignore mother after separation

• 12-15% of kids

Disorganized attachment

inconsistent attachment behaviors

• added in 1990 by Main and Solomon

• 4% of kids

“Good enough parenting”

Donald Winnicott’s idea that parents do not need to be perfect, and minor manageable parental failures are healthy because they teach a child to tolerate frusturation and adapt to the real world

• Winnicott worked at the Tavistock Clinic in the 1950s

Impact and legacy of attachment theory

• recognition of the importance of secure care relationships

  • made people want to put more effort into children and raising them

• foster care reforms

• Children Act 1989 (Foundling hospital)

Critiques of attachment theory

• emotional development is not fixed by age 2

  • foundation of the first attachment is important, but it won’t necessarily determine relationships for the rest of your life

• underestimates peer relationships (they also have a big impact)

• it puts pressure on primary caregivers (mothers)

Are attachment styles fixes?

No, attachment styles can shift across the lifespan

• adverse early life experiences can later be reversed by positive experiences

Reactive attachment disorder

a child is unable to form an attachment with their primary caregiver