12. Influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships Flashcards
what can be meant by later relationships
- childhood relationships
- adulthood relationships
Outline the influence of early attachment on later relationships: Introduction
The internal working model (as previously discussed by Bowlby) suggested that a child having their first relationship with their primary attachment figure forms a mental representation of this relationship
this internal working model acts as a template for future relationships
in other words, the quality of the child’s first attachment is crucial because it will affect the nature of their future relationships
a child’s whose first experience of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to assume that this is how relationships are meant to be
a child with bad experiences of their first attachment will bring these bad experiences to bear on later relationships
Outline the influence of early attachment on later relationships: influence on childhood
attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood
securely attached infants tend to go on to form the best quality childhood friendships, whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties (Kerns, 1994)
in particular, bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type. Myron-Wilson & Smith et al found that secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure-resistant were most likely to be bullies and insecure-avoidant were most likely to be victims
Evaluate the influence of early attachment on later relationships: influence on childhood
- STRENGTHS
P) support from Youngblade & Belsky (1992)
E) found that 3-5 year old securely attached children got along better with other children and were most likely to form close friendships
L) continuity between early attachment styles and quality of childhood relationships
Outline the influence of early attachment on later relationships: influence on adulthood
research indicates an intergenerational continuity between adult ATs and their children, including children adopting the parenting styles of their own parents.
there also appears to be continuity between early attachment styles and the quality of their later adult relationships.
if we have a secure attachment with our caregiver during childhood (result of sensitive parenting), we may go on to have close healthy relationships as adults with others, as well as our own children.
however, insecure-resistant children may feel less able to get close to others in different types of adult relationships or go on to engage in unhealthy relationships.
similarly, insecure-avoidant children often learn not to depend on others and as an adult may be distant romantically, unwilling to form close bonds with others.
however, those who have insecure childhood attachments are not necessarily condemned as research suggests it is possible for them to go on to develop secure relationships (eg case study of czech twins)
Evaluate the influence of early attachment on later relationships: influence on adulthood
- STRENGTHS
P) support from McCarthy (1999)
E) assessed the quality of adult relationships of 40 women aged 25-44 years with childhood insecure attachments
E) women with insecure-avoidant ATs had less successful adult romantic relationships, while those with insecure-resistant ATs had trouble forming non-romantic adult friendships
L) supports idea of internal working model
P) support from Hazen & Shaver (1987)
E) love quiz questionnaire assessing both childhood relationships with parents and adult romantic relationships
E) found strong correlation between child AT and adult relationships
L) we do develop an internal working model and follow an ‘attachment template’ and from early infancy to adulthood
E) HOWEVER, this is correlational so only establishing a relationship, not cause and effect
E) ALSO, involves data of retrospective nature so relies on accurate recollection of early relationships to caregiver which may not be accurate -> limit conclusions which can be drawn/lack validity
Evaluate the influence of early attachment on later relationships: general STRENGTH
P) support for influence of early attachment with both parents and peers on both childhood/adulthood relationships from longitudinal research
E) Simpson et al (2007) assessed ppts at 4 key intervals (infancy, early childhood, adolescence, adulthood)
E) found: securely attached infants had higher social competence as children. socially competent children (6-8) were closer to their friends in adolescence (16). children closer to friends in adolescence were more emotionally attached to romantic relationships in adulthood
L) relationships at each stage of childhood can impact on relationships at following stages of development
P) practical applications
E) by gaining improved understanding of the influences in relationships, we can develop strategies to improve ppls relationship success
E) eg identify certain parenting techniques leading to healthier, stable relationships (develop training for new parents to encourage healthy child development)
L) improve lives in real world
Evaluate the influence of early attachment on later relationships: general LIMITATION
P) internal working model = socially sensitive research
E) suggests people are somehow doomed to experience emotionally unsatisfactory relationships as adults if they have difficulties in childhood
L) negative impacts on people trying to overcome childhood problems, may lead to self fulfilling prophecy as the expectation damages their ability to form healthy relationships
E) deterministic/removed free will
