Influence of early attachment on later relationships

What is internal working model?

Bowlby (1969) suggested that a baby’s first relationship with their primary attachment figure leads to a mental representation of this relationship. This internal working model acts as a template for future childhood and adult relationship

Describe Smith’s study on relationships in later childhood

Attachment type is associated with the quality of per relationships in childhood. Securely attached infants tend to form the best quality childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties (Kerns). In particular, bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type. Smith 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 most likely to be victims and insecure-resistant children were most likely to be bullies.

Describe McCarthy’s study on romantic / friend relationships in adulthood

Studied 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were infants to establish their early attachment type. Those assessed as securely attached infants had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships. Adults classed as insecure-resistant as infants had particular problems maintaining friendships whilst those classed as insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships.

Describe Hazan and Shaver’s study on romantic relationships in adulthood

• Conducted a classic study of the association between attachment and adult relationships.

• Procedure- they analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local newspaper. The quiz had three sections:

  • 1. Assessed respondents current or most important relationship

  • 2. Assessed general love experiences such as number of partners

  • 3. Assessed attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described their feelings

• Findings - 56% of respondents were identified as securely attached with 25% insecure avoidant and 19% insecure - resistant. Those reporting secure attachments were the most likely to have good and longer lasting romantic experiences. The avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy. These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships.

Describe Bailey’s study on relationships in adulthood as a parent 

Considered the attachments of 99 mothers to their babies and to their own mothers. Mother-baby attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation and mother attachment to their own mother was assessed using an adult attachment interview. The majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers.

Give a strength of research into attachment and later relationships

• Supporting evidence. Reviews of evidence looking at the association between early attachment and later development (e.g. Fearon & Roisman) have concluded that early attachment consistently predicts later attachment, emotional well-being and attachment to own children. How strong the relationship is between early attachment type and later development depends upon both the attachment type and the aspect of later development. So, whilst insecure-avoidant attachment seems to convey fairly mild disadvantages for any aspect of development, disorganised attachment is strongly related with later mental disorder. This means that secure attachment as a baby appears to convey advantages for future development while disorganised attachment appears to seriously disadvantage children.

Give 2 limitations of research into attachment in later relationships

• Assessed retrospectively. Most research on the link between early attachment and later development are not longitudinal. Instead, researchers usually ask adolescent or adult participants questions about their relationship with parents and identify attachment type of this. This causes two validity problems. First, asking questions relies on the honesty and accurate perception of the participants. Second, it means it is very hard to know whether what is being assessed is early attachment or in fact adult attachment. This means that the measures of early attachment used in most studies may be confounded with other factors making them meaningless.

• Existence of confounding variables. Some studies do assess attachment in infancy (e.g. McCarthy) which means that the assessment of early attachment is valid. However, even these studies may have validity problems because associations between attachment quality and later development may be affected by confounding variables. For example, parenting style may influence both attachment quality and later development. Alternatively, genetically-influenced personality may be an influence on both factors. This means that we can never be entirely sure that it is early attachment and not some other factor that is influencing later development. In addition to this, it seems likely that the influence of early attachment is probabilistic (Clarke & Clarke). This means that an insecure attachment does not invariably cause an increased risk of later developmental problems – no one is doomed to be the victim of bullying or to never have a successful romantic relationship as a result of their early attachment. It is just a question of increased likelihood. By knowing someone’s attachment status we have an opportunity to intervene and help their development. However, we may also become too pessimistic and create a self-fulfilling prophecy