Attachment

Attachment is a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals which is seen as essential for each individuals emotional security. This endures over time and takes a few months to develop.

Revision

• Isabella et al (1989)

• Meltzoff and Moore

Reciprocity

• Tronick - Still Face 

Role of the Father

Ao3

• Geiger (1996) - playmate

• Hrdy (1999) - biological difference, fathers less able to detect low levels of distress

• McCallum and Golombok - children of single-sex parents do not grow up differently.

Cultural Variations

• van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)

  • consistent with Ainsworth

  • meta-analysis

    • statistical review

    • publication bias

• Tronick et al (1992)

  • Supports Ijzendoorn

  • Secure is the most common

• Cultural Bias

  • Imposed etic - Ainsworth Study

• Secure attachment is norm

  • innate and universal - Bowlby

• Secure is optimal

• Clearly shows cultural practices have an influence

Learning Theory - Cupboard Love Theory

• attachment through conditioning

Ao3

• Animal studies

• Schaffer and Emerson - less than 50% had primary attachment to who gave them food

• incomplete theory

  • Bowlby argued evolutionary basis of attachment

Monotropic Theory - Evolutionary Basis

Staying close to primary caregiver for protection and increases chance of survival

Reason of attachment

• monotropy

• social releasors

• critical period - 2 years

• sensitive period - 5 years

  • less socially sensitive

• internal working model

Ao3

• Incomplete theory

  • Learning Theory

Maternal Deprivation

• continuity hypothesis

Ao3

• RWA

  • Key workers

  • Hope and Homes for Children closed 37 orphanages

Caregiver-Infant interactions

Attachment can be recognised when certain behaviours are displayed:

1. Proximity

   The child will stay close to the caregiver.

2. Seperation Distress

   The child will be upset when the caregiver leaves.

3. Secure Base Behvaiour

   The child will frequently return to the caregiver when playing.

Reciprocity: Each individual responds the other and elicits a response from them. It is a form of turn-taking which involves paying close attention to each other’s verbal signals and facial expressions.

Brazelton et al (1975) described reciprocity as like a dance because it is just like a couple’s dance where each partner responds to each other’s moves.

Alert Phases: Where a baby signals with social releasers that they are ready to interact.

Feldmand and Eidelman (2007) suggested that mothers pick up on alert phases 2/3s of the time meaning that the baby takes an active role in interactions.

Feldman (2007) argued that reciprocity increases in frequency around 3 months as the infant and caregiver pay increasing attention to each other’s verbal and facial communications. It was suggested that being responsive and sensitive to this behaviour lays strong foundations for attachment.

Interactional Synchrony: When the baby mirrors their caregiver’s actions or emotions. Also referred to as imitation or simply copying. The infant and caregiver act simultaneously and are synchronised.

Caregiver-Infant Interactions: Evaluation

Research Evidence

Interactional Synchrony

Meltzoff and Moore (1977)

• It was observed that the beginnings of interactional synchrony can be seen in babies as young as 2 weeks old.

• An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures, the babies’ response was filmed and labelled by independent observers.

• Babies’ expressions and gestures were more likely to mirror those of adults than chance would predict, meaning that there was a significant association.

Isabella et al (1989)

• Observed 30 mothers and babies to assess the degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-baby attachment.

• It was found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment.

Reciprocity

Tronick (1972) - Still Face Experiment

• The experiment found that infants try to achieve a connection with their caregivers.

• It found that babies become increasingly distressed when the primary attachment figure ignored their social releasers.

Babies and Studies

• The observations are filmed so that it can be analysed later.

  • The researchers are unlikely to miss any key behaviours.

  • Inter-rater reliability can be established

  • Babies do not know they are being observed so their behaviour does not change.

  • The research should have good reliability and validity.

• One limitation of research is that it is hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour

  • It is difficult to be sure what the baby actually intends.

  • Therefore, it cannot be certain that the behaviours seen in caregiver-infant interactions have a special meaning.

  • Researchers have to make inferences about the intentions of the actions therefore, the validity is questionable.

Real World Application

• Research into caregiver-infant interactions has useful applications

  • Isabella et al (1989) found that the more securely attached the infant, the greater the level of interactional synchrony.

  • Mothers could be encouraged to devote time each day to developing interactional synchrony with their child in order to improve their attachments.

• However, this advice is socially sensitive.

  • It suggest mothers should not return to work too soon in order to spend time interacting with their child to ensure a strong attachment.

  • This may lead to guilt on the part of the mother.

  • It also ignores the role of the father and other caregivers.

Shaffer’s Stages of Attachment

Stage of Attachment: Qualitatively different infant behaviours are linked to specific ages and all babies go through them in the same order.

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

By observing attachment behaviours of babies, they were led to develop an account of how attachment behaviours change as a baby gets older. They proposed that there were four identifiable stages of attachment (AISM).

The longitudinal study involved 60 babies (31 boys, 29 girls) from working-class families in Glasgow, who were visited every month of a year and a last time at 18 months.

1. Asocial Stage

   Age: 0-8 weeks

   Typically, observable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is fairly similar. There is a preference for other people over inanimate objects, there is a tendency to prefer the company of familiar people, and are easily comforted them.

2. Indiscriminate Attachment

   Age: 2-7 months

   A baby will start to display more obvious and observable social behaviour with a clear preference for being with other humans. They can recognise and prefer the company of familiar people but can be comforted by any person. No signs of separation anxiety or stranger anxiety.

3. Specific Attachment

   Age: 7-12 months

   A baby starts to show the classic signs of attachment towards one, specific person. This includes stranger anxiety and separation anxiety. The person the infant has the specific attachment is called the primary attachment figure and is often who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s signals with the most skill.

   65% of the cases the primary attachment figure was the mother.

4. Multiple Attachments

   1 year onwards

   Secondary attachments are formed and attachment behaviours are displayed towards several people.

   Shaffer and Emerson observed that 29% of the children formed secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment. By age 1, the majority of babies had developed multiple attachments.

Deprivation

Maternal Deprivation

The consequences of no attachment

The theory focuses on the idea that the continual presence of care from a mother, or mother-substitute, is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers, both emotionally and intellectually.

Maternal deprivation refers to the separation between a caregiver and a child. Deprivation consequences include:

1. Intellectual Development

   Maternal Deprivation would experience delayed intellectual development shown through abnormally low IQ.

2. Emotional Development

   Bowlby identified emotionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions towards others. This prevents a person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality.

   Affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims, so lack remorse for their actions.

44 Juvenile Thieves (1944)

Aim: To see if early separation from the primary caregiver was associated with behavioural disorders.

Procedure

• Bowlby studied 88 children from the Child Guidance Clinic, London, who were emotionally maladjusted.

  • Half of the children were accused of stealing → 44 Juvenile Thieves.

  • The rest made up the control group.

• Bowbly conducted interviewed with the children, family, and friends

  • All thieves were interviewed for signs of being affectionless psychopaths.

  • Families were interviewed to establish whether the thieves had experienced prolonged periods of separation from their caregiver.

    • Separations were due to continual or repeated stays in hospitals or foster homes with few visits from their family.

• The children completed IQ tests, emotional assessments, and a separate report by a social worker, psychologist, and Bowlby (psychiatrist) was carried out.

Findings

• 14/44 thieves were categorised as affectionless psychopaths.

  • 12 out of 14 had experienced prolonged periods of separation from their caregiver in the first 2 years of their lives.

• 5 out of the 34 (not categorised thieves) had experienced prolonged separation.

  • In total, 40% of the thieves experienced prolonged separation.

• Out of the control group, only 2 had experienced prolonged separation.

Conclusion

• There is a suggested link between early separation and later maladjustment.

• Maternal deprivation appears to lead to affectionless psychopathy.

• Bowlby proposed that there is a critical period for attachment.

  • The first 2 years of a child’s life are a critical period in emotional and psychological development.

  • Prolonged or frequent separation during this period and experiencing deprivation of emotional care may lead to psychological damage.

Romanian Orphans

The effects of deprivation can be researched by studying the experience of orphans. This is often referred to as the effects of institutionalisation.

Orphanhood in Romania became prevalent as a consequence of leadership of dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu (1960s to 1980s).

• Birth rates increased due to a ban on abortion, and contraception being forbidden.

• This increase in births resulted in many children being abandoned in orphanages especially those with physical and mental disabilities.

  • These vulnerable groups were subjected to institutionalised neglect, physical, and sexual abuse, and even drug use to control behaviour.

After the regime of dictator Ceauşescu ended in 1989, the orphanages were unveiled to the wider world. This gave a unique, yet tragic, opportunity for psychologists to study the effects of institutionalisation.

• In 1989, there were approximately 100,000 children in orphanages.

  • However, sources estimate 170,000.

    • It is not possible to obtain reliable data on practices that took place under the regime.

• Overall, it is estimated that 500,000 children were raised in institutional orphanages.

Rutter et al. ERA

Rutter et al (2010) conducted a longitudinal study of English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA). It began in the 1990s.

Aim: To investigate the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions.

Procedure

• Experimental Group

  • 165 Romanian children who spent their childhood years in Romanian orphanages and were adopted by families in the UK.

    • 111 were adopted before the age of 2.

    • 54 were adopted by the age of 4.

• Control Group

  • 52 British children, who were adopted before they were 6 months old.

• The social, cognitive, and physical development of all infants was examined at regular intervals and interviews were conducted with adoptive parents and teachers.

  • Intervals: ages 4, 6, 11, 15 and 22-25.

Findings

• At the point of adoption and when they arrived in the UK,

  • Romanian orphans showed delayed development on all elements of progress.

  • The Romanian orphans under-preformed compared to the British children.

• By the age of 4, the Romanian children,

  • Adopted before 6 months were at the same level as the British Children.

    • The mean IQ was 102

      • → compared with 86 for those adopted after 6 months and 2 years.

      • → compared with 77 for those adopted after 2 years.

  • These differences remained until age 16.

Results

• Those adopted after 6 months continued to show significant deficits

  • In terms of social, cognitive, and physical development.

  • More likely to experience with making or maintaining peer relationships.

  • More often categorised as having disinhibited attachment disorder.

    • Symptoms include attention seeking, clinginess, and social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards adults both familiar and unfamiliar

• In contrast, those children adopted before 6 months rarely displayed disinhibited attachment.

Conclusion

• Institutionalisation can have severe long-term effects on development

  • Especially if children are not provided with adequate emotional caregiving.

• However, the long-term consequences may be less severe if children have the opportunity to form attachments.

Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEI)

Zeanah et al (2005) conducted research into Romanian orphans in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEI).

Aim: to examine the effects of early institutionalisation on attachment type.

Procedure

• The attachment type of 145 children aged 1 year to 31 months using the Strange Situation.

  • 95 children spent 90% of their lives in institutional care.

  • 50 never lived in an institution, this was the control group.

• Carers were asked about unusual social behaviour.

  • Behaviour associated with disinhibited attachment.

    • A form of insecure attachment were children do not discriminate between people → they show equal affection to strangers as they do to people they know well.

Findings

• 74% of the control group were classified as being securely attached to their caregivers.

  • Disinhibited Attachment = less than 20% of the control group.

• 19% of infants in the experimental group were deemed to have a secure attachment

  • Disinhibited Attachment = 44% of the institutionalised children

Conclusion

• Infants who spend their early years in institutional care are less likely to develop a secure attachment

  • Early years spent with an absence of a primary attachment figure to provide consistent and sensitive emotional caregiving.

• They are far more likely. as a result, to experience a disinhibited attachment.

Deprivation: Evaluation

Maternal Deprivation

Pratical Applications

• The Maternal Deprivation Theory has significant real world applications.

  • The theory highlights the importance of positive attachment experiences within the first 5 years, this has been instrumental in the developments of good childcare practices.

• Greater stability in childcare practice has been developed through daycare centres assigning caregivers to children.

  • Hospital visiting hours have been reviewed so that children can maintain contact with their parents.

• Furthermore, some national governments have offered more financial support for young families in terms of maternity and paternity leave.

  • For example, Sweden offers 480 days parental leave highlighting its commitment to support children’s early attachment experiences.

Scientific Basis

• Bowlby’s claim, that deprivation has the potential to cause long-term harm, is supported by his 44 Juvenile Thieves study.

  • His study is a case study which provides rich detail supporting his claim.

• However, there are various limitations to his study:

  • The study used retrospective data collection which may not be accurate.

    • The participants and others who were interviewed were asked to recall experiences from years earlier, but these responses would have been subjected to inaccuracies and distortions.

    • Some details may have been over or under-estimated.

  • The results may be influenced by researcher bias.

    • Bowlby designed and conducted the interviews himself and as a result, his presence and interpretation might have influenced the outcome of the research.

    • The diagnosis of affectionless psychopathy might have been distorted by researcher confirmation bias.

Counter Evidence

• There is research conflicting the findings of the 44 Juvenile Thieves study.

  • Lewis (1944) replicated the 44 Juvenile Thieves study with a larger sample but found no link between early deprivation and criminal behaviour.

• This highlights how the original research was only correlational.

  • A cause-and-effect relationship has not been established, and Lewis’s replication suggests there may be confounding variables.

  • For example, the immediate cause of separation (neglect or abuse) might have caused the problems experienced at adolescence rather than the separation itself.

• Another confounding variable could be the attachment type.

  • Barrett (1997) found that securely attached children are more resistant to the negative effects of maternal deprivation compared to insecurely attached children.

Criticism

• Rutter (1982) argued that Bowlby confuses deprivation with privation.

  • He argues privation (not forming an attachment at all) leads to more damaging consequences for the child than breaking an attachment.

  • He argues that many of the 44 thieves experience privation rather than deprivation.

• He concludes that Bowlby overestimates the seriousness of the effects of deprivation.

• However, a contemporary study found that there is a permanent effect of separation.

  • Levy et al (2003) found that separating baby rats from their mother, for as little as one day separated, had a permanent effect on their social development.

Romanian Orphans

Research Evidence

• Rutter’s findings and conclusions are supported by other research.

  • Chugani et al (2001) administered PET scans on a sample of 10 children adopted from Romanian orphanages.

  • These were compared to a control group of 17 normal adults and 7 children.

• It was found that there was mild neurocognitive impairment, impulsivity, attention, and social deficits.

  • Decreased activity in multiple parts of the brain.

• This supports Rutter’s findings of the effects of institutionalisation.

• Furthermore, there are few confounding variables.

  • Most of the children from the Romanian orphanages were given up by loving families rather than being institutionalised because of war, parental death, or other traumatic events.

• However, there are some confounding variables as deprivation is only one factor in development.

  • Romanian infants also experienced no mental stimulation, malnourishment - the treatment within the orphanages was extremely poor because of the over crowding.

  • Thus, there are confounding variables as deprivation may not be the only cause.

• There are profound negative effects on cognitive and physical development, but the research lacks internal validity as it is only a correlational relationship.

• Researchers from King’s College London have shown that the brains of young adult Romanian adoptees are smaller than English adoptees.

  • Romanian adoptees who were institutionalised as children are around 8.6% smaller than the brains of English adoptees who have not suffered this deprivation.

• Furthermore, there is a link between the time spent in institutions and brain volume.

  • The longer the time the Romanian adoptees spent in the institution, the smaller the total brain volume.

  • Each additional month of deprivation associated with 0.27% reduction in total brain volume.

• These reductions were associated with

  • lower IQ

  • More symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Practical Application

• Rutter’s findings, the findings of the BEI project, and other case studies like it, have strong RWA in social services.

  • Before, mothers would keep the infant for a substantial period, before adoption, by which the critical period of attachment had passed.

• Singer et al (1985) stated that children adopted as early as one-week are as securely attached to their adoptive mothers as biologically related family would be.

  • Subsequently, adoptions are aimed to happen within the first week of a baby’s life where possible to ensure attachments can be made with adoptive parents.

• Furthermore, the studies have led to the closure of many institutional care.

  • For example, the charity Hope for Homes for Children has closed 150 orphanages and have united approximately 20,000 children with family, or family-based care.

  • Their aim is to prevent the damage done by institutional care as highlighted by psychological research.

• This highlights the importance of the studies on institutionalisation for social services to improve the lives of children, these studies have strong real-world application.

Ethics

• A limitation of the BEI Project is the questionable ethics regarding the methodology.

  • The BEI randomly allocated the children to foster care, or institutional care.

  • This raises ethical concerns as it can be viewed as unethical to randomly allocate children to different care systems.

• The research is socially sensitive.

  • The results have shown that late-adopted children typically have poor development outcomes.

  • These results can alter people who know the individuals’ perceptions of them.

• It is also socially sensitive as it can be distressing to mother’s who had to give up their children after the critical and sensitive period research have concluded.