Attachment

Question 1

What are the four types of child rearing?

Answer 1

Authoritative
Authoritarian
Permissive
Uninvolved

Question 2

Describe and evaluate authoritative child rearing

Answer 2

Clear expectations, willingness to explain, warmth and support, encouragement of independence

Pro: Promotes strong emotional wellbeing, strong social skills, resilience and independence

Con: Time-consuming, may lead to feelings of stress if the child feels over demanded

Question 3

Describe and evaluate authoritarian child rearing

Answer 3

Strict rules, high expectations, little emotional support, focus on obedience and punishment

Pro: Provides structure and consistency, respect for authority

Con: Lack of emotional connection, rebellion and defiance, low self-esteem

Question 4

Describe and evaluate permissive child rearing

Answer 4

Minimal rules, high warmth, lack of structure

Pro: Strong emotional bond, room for creativity and independence

Con: Entitlement, lack of discipline, behavioural issues

Question 5

Describe and evaluate uninvolved child rearing

Answer 5

Minimal interaction and lack of guidance, neglect, low supervision

Pro: Self reliance; children might learn to solve problems on their own promoting independence

Con: Emotional and behaviour problems due to lack of support; low self esteem, may struggle to form their own healthy relationships

Question 6

What makes authoritative child rearing effective?

Answer 6

Parents act as role models and exhibit the same behaviours in which they expect from their children

They create a warm, loving space where they encourage the child to have mature behaviour and express their thoughts, feelings and emotions

This increases the child’s self-esteem and reduces anxiety by promoting emotional regulation

Question 7

What is child maltreatment?

Answer 7

Child maltreatment is physical, sexual, emotional and/ or psychological abuse or neglect of a child, especially by a parent or caregiver

This negatively impacts the child and the consequences include impaired lifelong physical and mental health issues

Question 8

Describe and evaluate different origins of child maltreatment

Answer 8

History of abuse; abused parents are more likely to continue the cycle

Substance abuse; parents are erratic, impaired judgment, increases likelihood of abuse

Poverty/ unemployment; insecurity and stress may cause a parent to act abusively towards their child

Pro: Essential to understand different origins to help reduce the risk of child abuse

Con: Complexity of factors; often due to a multitude making it hard to pinpoint a single cause

Question 9

What is secure attachment?

Answer 9

Consistent care and support
Emotional availability
Encouragement of exploration and independence
Trust and confidence
Positive self image

Question 10

What is insecure-avoidant attachment?

Answer 10

A type of attachment which can cause individuals to have difficulty forming and sustaining close relationships

Typically develops in the first 18 months of life when a child’s caregiver is emotionally unavailable

Question 11

What is insecure-resistant attachment?

Answer 11

Identified by Ainsworth during the Strange Situation experiment

Child is not willing to explore and seeks greater proximity to caregiver, both show separation & stranger anxiety

They seek contact with reunited mother but quickly reject her

Question 12

What is disorganised/ disorientated attachment?

Answer 12

When a child’s caregivers, their only source of safety, becomes a source of fear

Develops usually due to childhood fear, inconsistencies and even abuse

Leads to mental health issues and difficulties in relationship formation later in life

Question 13

What is attachment q-sort?

Answer 13

A tool used to measure a child’s attachment to their primary caregiver (between 12-48 months)

Question 14

Explain stability of attachment

Question 15

Describe and evaluate Bowlby’s attachment theory

Answer 15

Bowlby theorised that young children are biologically predisposed to bond with a caregiver, to maximise their chances of survival. Konrad Lorenz illustrated this by establishing a bond with newly hatched goslings. The goslings later struggled to survive and reproduce as they did not have this primary bond with their mother.

It has been criticised this theory is overemphasised where Parke 1981 found that qualitatively different attachments provide efficient benefits

Question 16

Factors affecting attachment security:

Early availability of a consistent caregiver

Question 17

Factors affecting attachment security:

Quality of caregiving

Question 18

Factors affecting attachment security:

Infant characteristics

Question 19

Factors affecting attachment security:

Family circumstances

Question 20

Parents internal working models:
Multiple attachments

Answer 20

For children who experience inadequate parental care, extended family members can provide support

Allows them to form relationships other than their parents which extends to friends and teachers

They learn to trust the world around them, different people provide different experiences and perspectives

Question 21

Parents internal working models:

Fathers

Answer 21

Supportive and affectionate fathers can help their children to develop a sense of security and good emotional wellbeing

Children with involved fathers;
Attain higher academic achievement
Less likely to act out
Have higher self-esteem
Often grow up to be involved parents themselves

Question 22

Explain cross-cultural differences in regard to attachment

Question 23

Explain cross-cultural differences in regard to child rearing practices

Question 24

What is maternal deprivation? What are its consequences?

Answer 24

Maternal deprivation describes the inadequate care provided to a child by their mother during the first five years of their life (Term was introduced by Bowlby)

This can lead to psychological problems and juvenile delinquency later in life

Also, an inability to form healthy relationships in the future, affectionless and issues in cognitive development

Question 25

What is attachment?

Answer 25

Attachment describes the strong, emotional bond between people

Young children are biologically predisposed to bond with a caregiver, to maximise their chances of survival to adulthood

Question 26

Touching and Caressing, Tender in Caring (TAC-TIC)

Question 27

Bowlby’s 5 Stages of Development

Answer 27

1. Infant orientates and signals without discrimination
2. Infant prefentially orientates to and signals at one or more discriminated persons
3. Infant maintains proximity preferentially to a discriminated person
4. Goal-corrected relationship is formed
5. Lessening of attachment as measured by the child maintaining proximity

Question 28

What is a secure base?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

The Strange Situation; Ainsworth

Answer 29

Aim: To examine the quality of infants attachment to their primary caregivers

Procedure: 1 year old infants; 2 separations and 2 reunions with care giver, interactions with a stranger (both alone and with mother present)

Findings: Identified three main attachment styles, secure, insecure avoidant and insecure ambivalent/ resistant based on children’s behaviour during the experiment