later relationships

A01-internal working model

• This internal working model acts as a template for future childhood and adult relationships.

• According to Bowlby, the quality of a baby’s first attachment is crucial because this template will powerfully affect the nature of their future relationships.

A01-Relationships in childhood

• .Rowan Myron-Wilson and Peter Smith (1998) assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 from London. 

• Secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying. Insecure-avoidant children were the most likely to be victims and insecure-resistant children were most likely to be bullies.

A01-Romantic relationships

• A classic study about romantic relationships and attachment, by Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver (1987).

• They analysed 620 replies to a 'love quiz' printed in an American local newspaper.

• The quiz had three sections. The first assessed respondents' current or most important relationship.

• The second part assessed general love experiences such as number of partners.

• The third section assessed attachment type by asking respondents to describe their feelings.

A01-Romantic relationships

• Hazan and Shaver found that 56% of respondents were identified as securely attached, with 25% insecure-avoidant and 19% There was a strong positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences. 

• Securely attached adults described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting,

• whereas the avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy .

• Suggests that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships

A01-Parent-child relationships

• There was a strong positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences. 

• Securely attached adults described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting, whereas the avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy.

A03-Research support

• One strength of research into attachment and later relationships is supporting evidence.

• For example, a systematic review of 40 studies conducted by River et al. (1011) concluded that early attachment style consistently predicts later romantic attachment style and relationship behaviour. 

• Secure infant attachment predicted high levels of relationship satisfaction. High levels of attachment anxiety, which characterises insecure-resistant attachment types, was found to be strongly associated with verbal aggression in romantic relationships.

A03-Validity issues

• One limitation of most research into the influence of attachment is that early attachment is assessed retrospectively.

• First, asking questions relies on the honest and accurate perception of the participants.