Developmental psychology - week 8

Attachment

Attachment Theory - Bowlby

His theory was that young children are biologically predisposed to bond with a caregiver, in order to maximize their chances of survival. Lorenz illustrated this with establishing a bond with newly hatched goslings.

What is attachement?

Bowlby - an enduring, long-lasting, emotional bond with a specific person.

The importance of attachment for development was highlighted through studies of institutionalized children children were listless and depressed.

Many researchers believe that the importance of the parent-child bond extends beyond childhood - influencing adult relationships and self-worth in adulthood.

Primate evidence from Harlow

Monkeys who were deprived of early social interaction showed relationship difficulties later in development, and they would self-mutilate. They reacted badly to their offspring, using poor attachments as they would be neglectful and aggressive. Thus, this supports the importance of parent-child bonding in early development.

Touching and caressing, tender in caring therapy (TAC-TIC)

Patterns of physical contact between parent and infant indicate the quality of attachment and development. This includes early skin-skin contact such as bonding, establishing breast-feeding; stabilizing heart and breathing rates.

Premature infants were given TAC-Tic (2×10 minutes per day): they would begin oral feeding earlier and also go home earlier. De la Roiste & Bushnell, 1996 found that they also had higher IQs at 1 years old.

Benefits of touch therapy

Jumo (1999) found that infant massage increases security of attachment at 12 months. Brief massage of pre-schoolers prior to nap-time were shown to have behavioural benefits: improved co-operation and reduced time to go to sleep.

Fiel et al. (1996) found that babies of depressed and adolescent mothers had improved behaviors (reduced stress levels and were more easily soothes), as a result of infant massage.

Bowbly’s five stages of attachment

1. Infant orientates and signals without discrimination (Birth - 6 weeks) - In the first stage of attachment, the infant begins to signal or communicate needs (e.g., crying, smiling, gazing) through general behaviors that are not directed toward any specific person. At this stage, the baby is not yet differentiating between different individuals but responds to anyone who provides comfort, food, or attention.

2. Infant preferentially orientates to and signals at one or more discriminated persons (6 weeks - 6 months) - the infant begins to show a preference for certain people, typically the primary caregiver(s), although the attachment may not yet be exclusive. The baby will begin to respond differently to familiar people (e.g., smiling at the mother but not at strangers).

3. Infant maintains proximity preferentially to a discriminated person (6 months to 2-3 years) - In this third stage, the infant’s attachment to a specific caregiver(s) becomes much clearer and more exclusive. The child now actively seeks closeness and proximity to the primary caregiver and becomes distressed when separated from them

4. A goal-corrected partnership is formed (post 3 years) - a more sophisticated understanding of their relationship with their caregiver, The child realizes that the caregiver has their own needs and goals, which might occasionally conflict with the child's needs. The child begins to negotiate and adjust their expectations of the caregiver. This is when a more mature, interdependent relationship begins to form, where the child recognizes the need for compromise, and communication becomes more reciprocal.

5. Lessening of attachment as measured by the child maintaining proximity (post 3 years) - The fifth stage is characterized by the gradual lessening of the intensity of attachment behaviors as the child matures and becomes more independent. Although attachment is still present, the child is now able to function more autonomously, explore further from the caregiver, and develop broader social relationships.

To whom are children attached?

Early articles focused on the attachment relationship with the mother - but later research shows that early attachments are usually multiple, the strongest attachment is usually the mother but not always.

Attachments are formed to: Responsive persons who interact and play a lot with the infant, the caregiving itself is not such an important factor.

Attachment figures provide children with a secure base, which makes it possible for infants and toddlers to be confident in exploring novel environments on their own.

Attachment studied: The strange situation

Ainsworth examines the quality of infants’ attachment to their primary caregivers: Infants (1 year old) are exposed to various episodes, there are 2 separations and 2 reunions with the primary caregiver, there are interactions with a stranger (both alone and with the primary caregiver present). Three attachment categories were discovered, and one further category of attachment was added later.

Ainsworth was interested to see how the infants would react when the mother left the room. Ainsworth argued that you could use these reactions to determine the quality of attachment between an infant and their caregiver.

The attachment styles found were: secure, ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganised.

Secure attachment

• A healthy relationship with the primary caregiver

• Maintains proximity and interaction during reunion

• Show appropriate distress when left alone

• 50-70% of infants (the most common)

• Categorised with high-quality, contented relationship with the child’s attachment figure

• When placed in the strange situation, a securely attached infant would likely be upset when the caregiver leaves and happy to see the caregiver return. These infants would recover quickly from any distress.

• A secure attachment allows children to use caregivers as a secure base for exploration

Ambivalent attachment

• Clingy and crave close relationships but struggles to trust

• Resist interaction during the reunion despite staying close to the caregiver

• Distress when left alone

• A smaller number (10%) of infants show an ambivalent attachment style

• Infants are clingy and stay close to their caregiver rather than explore the environment

• When placed into the strange situation, insecure/ resistant infants often become very upset when they are left alone by the caregiver and are not readily comforted by strangers. When the caregiver returns, they are not easily comforted and paradoxically seek and resist comfort from the caregiver.

Avoidant attachment

• There is no preference for parental presence

• Ignores the caregiver on return, avoiding eye contact and turning away

• Independent

• The final category of infants that Ainsworth identified show an insecure/avoidant attachment style (15%)

• Infants with this type of attachment seem somewhat indifferent (unresponsive) towards their caregiver and in some cases may even avoid them

• When placed in the strange situation, these children seem indifferent (not stressed or clingy) towards their caregiver both when the caregiver is in the room and when the caregiver returns. If these children become upset when the caregiver leaves the room, they are as easily comforted by a stranger as by the caregiver.

Disorganised attachment

• Inconsistent parenting

• Bizzare responses to separation and reunion

• Behavior is inconsistent or contradictory, showing no clear patterns

• A small number of children (15%) didn’t fit into Ainsworth’s three categories, so they were placed in a fourth category

• When placed into the strange situation these infants have no consistent way of coping with the stress involved

• Typically, their behavior is confused or even contradictory at times (looking away while the parent is holding them, crying unexpectedly when calm), and they often appear dazed or disoriented.

How does attachment impact our relationships as adults

• Secure: able to seek support in relationships

• Ambivalent: need reassurance from partners

• Avoidant: preference for casual relationships

• Disorganised: intimate relationships feel confusing

Is there a long-term impact?

Establishing a secure attachment early in development predicts closer, more harmonious relationships with peers, positive peer and romantic relationships, and good emotional health in adolescence.

Securely attached children are more likely to earn higher grades and are more involved in school activity than insecurely attached children.

Cross-cultural validity - Japanese babies are rarely left alone and as a consequence, most babies score as ambivalent.

Measuring attachment beyond infancy

Infant attachment studies focus on proximity, and we can measure more abstract qualities by:

• Using internal working models of children’s relationship with their caregiver.

• Cognitive structures that embody the memories from day-today interactions with the attachment figure.

• Schemas that guide children’s actions with attachment figures based on previous interactions, expectations, and affective experiences with them.

Separation anxiety test (SAT) - showing separation experiences. Asking how the child would feel and act, and how they would feel if they were in the situation.

Adult attachment interview (AAI) - semi-structured interview to probe memories of one’s own early childhood experiences. Produces four responses: autonomous, dismissive, enmeshed, and unresolved.

Maternal deprivation

Bowlby (1950) ‘maternal deprivation’ hypothesis was very influential. It states that children should not be deprived of contact with the mother during a critical period (first 3 years) when the primary attachment relationship is being formed. There is evidence from effects of ‘broken homes’, hospitalisation, and institutional care of negative outcomes if this happens.

Criticisms of maternal deprivation

• The presence of another attachment figure can compensate for separation from the mother.

• Improved institutional care has fewer dramatically harmful effects than the pre-war orphanages of Bowlby’s experience.

• Deprivation effects may not be irreversible if given the corrective treatment.

• Correlations between separation experience in childhood and later negative outcomes cannot determine the cause.

Implications of attachment styles: childcare and family structure

1. Childcare settings - childminders, daycare, relatives

2. Father involvement - depends on engagement, accessibility, and responsibility. Generally, father involvement has positive aspects.

3. Grandparents - may have a direct or indirect influence on grandchildren. Sometimes they may have roles as surrogate parents, or in divorced families.

4. Type of family - nuclear, single parents, lesbian/gay parents, step and reconstituted families.

Implications of attachment styles: parenting styles

Authoritarian - strict ideas about discipline and behavior that are not open to discussion.

Authoritative - willing to explain, discuss, and possibly adapt ideas about behavior and discipline.

Permissive - relaxed ideas about behavior and discipline.

Physical punishment: the smacking debate

The debate whether smacking and hitting is acceptable as a method of discipline or is it abuse: Many countries have outlawed physical punishment, some researchers argue that all smacking is harmful - whilst other researchers argue that only severe or predominant use of smacking is harmful.

Maltreatment, abuse, and neglect

WHO’s definition of child maltreatment is broad: “All forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship
of responsibility, trust, or power.” WHO also gives separate definitions of neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Neglect is the most frequent but it is difficult to assess it as parents may be secretive about it and children are too young to seek help.

Maltreatment incident (Hussey et al, 2010): Maltreatment can have long-term and wide-ranging detrimental effects such as on delinquency, mental health, and suicidal ideation.

Protective factors for maltreatment, abuse, and neglect include a resilient personality, coping strategies, some good relationships and support, and later cognitive re-appraisal and therapy.

WHO definitions:

Supervision neglect: left home alone when an adult should
have been with you
➢ Physical assault: slapped, hit or kicked
➢ Physical neglect: basic needs not taken care of, such as
keeping clean, providing food or clothing
➢ Contact sexual abuse: touched sexually or forced to
touch someone sexually or to have sexual relations

Belsky’s model of parenting

A useful conceptualization of parental functioning (normal range of parenting). Distinguishes 3 main influences on the quality of parental functioning:

1. Personal psychological resources of a parent - good mental health and healthy representation of relationships.

2. Contextual sources of support - financial support and emotional support from friends/family.

3. Characteristics of the child - whether they are of easy or difficult temperament.