Bowlby's Phases of Attachment and Separation Anxiety

Phases of Attachment According to John Bowlby

  • John Bowlby described a series of phases of attachment that occur in the first two years of life. These phases illustrate a developmental trajectory where infants transition from a broad need for human interaction to an exclusive attachment with a primary caregiver.

Phases of Attachment

  1. Preattachment Phase

    • Age Range: Birth to 6 weeks

    • Characteristics: Infants exhibit behaviors that signal they are open to forming bonds with any human beings. They do not distinguish between caregivers and strangers and respond to everyone similarly.

  2. Attachment-in-the-Making

    • Age Range: 6 weeks to 6-8 months

    • Characteristics: Infants begin to show preferences for familiar caregivers over strangers. While they still do not exhibit clear attachment behavior, they start to develop a sense of trust and attachment towards those who care for them regularly.

  3. Clear-cut/True Attachment

    • Age Range: 6-8 months to 2 years

    • Characteristics: Infants demonstrate a strong preference for a specific caregiver, exhibiting distress when that individual leaves. They show clear attachment behaviors, such as separation anxiety and the desire for proximity to their attachment figure.

Types of Attachment

  • Indiscriminate Attachment: This refers to the early state when infants do not differentiate between various individuals and can attach to anyone.

  • Secure Attachment: This type develops when infants feel safe and protected by their caregiver, leading to healthy emotional and social development.

  • Discriminate Attachment: As infants progress in their development, they begin to show preferences and can distinguish between caregivers and strangers.

  • Specific Attachment: Eventually, infants form a singular attachment to a specific caregiver, usually the one that provides the most care and comfort.

Separation Anxiety Across Cultures

  • Timing: The onset of separation anxiety is a universal phenomenon, occurring across different cultures and societies.

  • Intensity: While the timing is consistent, the intensity of separation anxiety can vary significantly from one culture to another.

  • Developmental Sequence: Separation anxiety typically emerges in the second half of the first year, reaching its peak during the second year. This pattern holds true worldwide, suggesting that these behaviors have a strong biological basis.

Adaptive Value of Separation Anxiety

  • Evolutionary Significance: Separation anxiety plays a crucial role in ensuring the infant remains close to their caregiver.

  • Communication of Distress: It serves as a signal of distress to adults, alerting them to the child's needs.

  • Survival Advantage: In ancestral environments, maintaining close contact with caregivers was likely a survival advantage, as it reduced the risk of danger for the vulnerable infant.

Strange Situation Test (SST) by Mary Ainsworth

  • The Strange Situation Test is an experimental procedure designed to observe attachment behaviors in children.

  • Setup: The test involves a sequence of episodes in which a parent and a baby enter a playroom filled with toys, and the following events occur:

    1. The parent and child start together in the playroom.

    2. The parent leaves the room, leaving the child with a stranger.

    3. The stranger then interacts with the child, first engaging with the parent and then approaching the infant.

    4. The parent returns to the room after a brief absence.

    5. The parent leaves again, and then returns once more.

  • Observations: Observers analyze the infant's explorations, reactions to the stranger, distress responses, and behaviors during reunions with the caregiver.

  • This collection of behaviors provides insight into the quality of the infant's attachment to their caregiver.

Main Attachment Classifications (Mary Ainsworth & SST)

  • Secure Attachment:

    • In the SST: Infants are distressed when the caregiver leaves but are easily comforted upon their return, seeking contact and resuming play. They use the caregiver as a secure base for exploration.

  • Insecure-Avoidant Attachment:

    • In the SST: Infants show little distress when the caregiver leaves and avoid or ignore them upon their return. They may explore independently but do not seek comfort from the caregiver.

  • Insecure-Resistant/Ambivalent Attachment:

    • In the SST: Infants become extremely distressed when the caregiver leaves and are not easily comforted upon their return. They may both seek and resist contact with the caregiver, exhibiting anger

  • Anxious- Resistant:

    • attachment is characterized by a mixed response where infants show significant anxiety and clinginess towards the caregiver. In the SST, these infants may become intensely upset when the caregiver departs and may remain highly agitated, showing difficulty in settling even after the return of the caregiver, indicating a lack of consistent attachment behavior.

Consequences of Attachment: Insecure attachment styles, such as Anxious-Resistant, can lead to long-term emotional and social challenges, including heightened anxiety, difficulties in forming relationships, and a reliance on maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Long-term consequences of anxious-resistant attachment include difficulties in emotional regulation, challenges in forming stable relationships in adulthood, and increased vulnerability to anxiety disorders.