Social-emotional development

Attachment

Strong, enduring, affectionate connection that humans share with the special people in their

• major development task in 1st year of life

• Limited research in non-western perspectives

Cupboard view

Freud and others - attachment is based on the provision of food needed for survival

Comfort view

Harlow and others - attachment goes beyond physical need + babies also need comfort and to be loved

Harlow’s study

Development of attachment

• baby monkey separated from mothers at birth

• mother infant bond not dependant on only hunger - allowed access to two surrogate mothers:

1. wire surrogate providing food

2. cloth surrogate, did not feed infant

Study results

Infant monkeys formed attachment to cloth surrogate - contact comfort over food

Attachment theory

Bowlby (1969)

• relationships are important!!

• mother-infant bond is an evolved response

• babies born with in-built behaviours keeping parent close = cry when want to be picked up, basis for early formation of relationship

Main features of secure infant attachment behaviour are most clearly observed from

6-7 months to 18 months - 2 years

Main features of secure infant attachment behaviour

• proximity seeking - closeness to caregiver

• comfort seeking - comfort such as from nearness and touch

• separation/stranger anxiety - seen cross culturally

• secure base - caregiver gives safe base where children can confidently explore environment

Attachment style can be measured using

Strange situation procedure

• 1-2yrs old

• controlled situation with series of separation and reunion with parent + interaction with stranger

• looks at associations between early attachment and psychological development

Secure attachment

(~60)

Characteristics: children use caregiver as secure base - show distress when caregiver leaves, comfort when return

Parental responsiveness: high

Insecure avoidant

(~15%)

Characteristics: seem indifferent to caregiver leaving and returning - do not seek contact + comfort

Parental responsiveness: low

Insecure anxious/ambivalent

(~10-15%)

Characteristics: show distress when caregiver leaves, indecisive response when return - seek and resists comfort

Parental responsiveness: inconsistent

Disorganised attachment

(~15; 80% in maltreated populations)

Characteristic: children appear disorientated/unresponsive/fearful with spurts of sudden emotion - lack organised strategy for achieving closeness with their attachment figure when distressed

Parental responsiveness: erratic, frightening, intrusive, withdrawal

Key factors affecting development of attachment

• quality of caregiving

• childs temperament

• family context

• cultural context

• opportunity to establish close relationship

Quality of caregiving

• best predictor of secure attachment = consistent, sensitive, responsive parenting

• can notice child’s signals, intentions = respond quickly and appropriately

• styles of parenting - authoritative vs. permissive vs. authoritarian vs. uninvolved

• genetically prewired behaviours (holding, smiling, when infant cries) facilitate parenting process

• individual differences in attachment - hormones, oxytocin

• serve and return relationship (behaviour, smiling, to engage adult = serve, adult response = return)

• fundamental to early brain + social development

Child’s temperament

• early appearing and stable behaviours

• biological

• persist through adulthood - become less extreme e.g. shyness

• activity, emotions, attention, self regulation, sociability

• two main dimensions - Kagan’s model:

• predict cognitive and social functioning

  • uninhibited = toddlers are talkative, infants cry less, less reactive, can lead to impulsivity (e.g. unsafe sex, alcohol dependance)

  • inhibited = infants more crying, toddlers shyer and quiet, less extreme

  • goodness of fit = sensitive parenting to encourage adaptive functioning and positive development

Family context

• low SES

• family stress and violence

• parental substance abuse + mental health

• divorce, migration, job loss

• harder to care for child alongside dealing with wider problems - influence parent responsiveness

• effects attachment quality

Cultural variations

• secure attachment most common cross-culturally

• original model based on western middle class families - individualist

• attachment theory suggests children’s needs for lover universal - key role of context in shaping how attachment and caregiving displayed

• perspectives form otehr ethnicities highlights similar focus raising emotionally secure children

What increases risk for child maltreatment

• family = lack of support, pressure, violence

• community = tolerating violence

• larger culture = policies that allow mistreatment, norms glorifying violence, SES

Prolonged or severe maltreatment

• chronic activations = dysregulation of stress response

• disruptions brain development

• increase risk for physical + psychological disorders

Neglect

Use it or lose it = neural connecti

Behavioural development

Cause by maltreatment

• promote violent behaviour to child = modeling

• anti-social behaviour, risk behaviour (sexual abuse)

• negative effect on schooling - poor compliance, low motivation

• substance abuse

Social emotional development

Cause by maltreatment

• self esteem and emotional regulation

• insecure attachment

• will go on to abuse own children

• mental health problem

• cognitive delays - complete tasks, not reach max intelligence, undermine chance of success at school

Strategies to prevent maltreatment

• teach parents how to raise children

• promote non violent behaviour

• education to improve children’s knowldge of abusive situations

• income and economic strengthening interventions

• safe environments

• support services for abused children

• enforce laws that ban violence

ACE study - what’s missing

• external stressors = violence, poverty, isolation

• protective factors = support, community services

• individual differences = not all high ACE mean poor outcomes, only indicates high risk

The brain continues to develop and adapt

Beyond childhood

Plasticity

Ability of nervous system to change neural connections

• continue to actively make effort to improve outcomes - not believe wellbeing is impossible