Attachment Flashcards
What is the most important predictor of a child’s future personality development?
The child’s early development with the primary caregiver
What are infants evolutionarily primed to do?
Form a close enduring dependent bond on a primary caregiver beginning in the first moments of life
What does the vulnerability of the infant require?
That care be provided by the adult and the infants behaviour and inherent faculties ensure that a bond will be created
How do infants respond to other people to form bonds?
Attend to human voices, recognise human faces and gaze into parent’s eyes when being fed
What are the different attachment styles?
Secure (70%), insecure avoidant, insecure ambivalent/resistant, disorganised
What was the “strange situation” study?
An observational study of attachment in infants aged 12-18 months?
What are the stages of the “strange situation” study?
Mother, infant and experimenter Mother and infant alone Stanger joins mother and infant Mother leaves baby and stranger alone Mother returns and stranger leaves Mother leaves, infant is alone Stanger returns Mother returns and stranger leaves
How do adolescents with insecure avoidant attachment view themselves and other?
See self as unloved, self reliant
See others as rejecting, controlling and intrusive
What are some characteristics of adolescents who are insecure avoidant attached?
Avoid intimacy, dependence and disclosure Hard to engage, seen as cold View relationships as unimportant Don't feel huge need for other people Indifferent to other's views
What has insecure avoidant attachment been linked with in adolescents?
Higher incidence of physical illness (somatising) and hard drug use
How do adolescents who are ambivalent attached view themselves and others?
Have low value of self, see self as ineffective and dependent
See others as insensitive, unpredictable and unreliable
What are some characteristics of adolescents with ambivalent attachment?
Disruptive, attention seeking and difficult to manage
Alternate between friendly charm and hostile aggression, dysregulated emotions
Display antisocial behaviour, impulsivity and poor concentration
What is a secure base?
Attachment figure/relationship provides a safe space from which to explore the world
What is a safe haven?
Attachment figure/relationship is a safe place to retreat to at times of danger or anxiety
How do infants begin to develop beliefs about themselves, others and the world?
Through their attachment relationship and how effective they experience themselves as being
What happens if a child has mainly adverse and frightening experiences?
They develop a distressful and negative working model of the world around them
What is attunement?
Process between caregiver and infant in which they are able to tune in to each others physical and emotional states
What are the different attachment perspectives?
Developmental psychology and neuropsychoanalytic
What is the developmental psychology approach to attachment?
Early relationships with the attachment objects causes an infant to form internal working models for relationships
What is the neuropsychoanalytic approach to attachment?
Affective exchanges between infant and caregiver provide a foundation for neurological development
Why is it difficult to reverse attachment disorders after the age of four?
Difficult to reverse damage as brain pathways have been laid down = brain 25% of adult weight at birth and 90% by age 3
What are some behavioural signs of disordered attachment?
Lack of self control and normal fear
Self destructive behaviour and destruction of property
Aggression towards others and animals
Consistently irresponsible, difficulties with change
Stealing, lying, hoarding, inappropriate sexual behaviour
Sleep disturbances, abnormal eating habits
Enuresis and encopresis, poor hygiene
How may cognitive functioning be impaired in children with disordered attachment?
Lack of cause and effect thinking
Learning and language disorders
Distorted self image, grandiose sense of self importance
All or nothing sense of thinking
How is social functioning impacted by disordered attachment?
Superficially engaging, lacks trust in others
Lack of eye contact and peer relationships
Indiscriminately affectionate with strangers
Victimises others/blames others, cant tolerate limits
How is emotional functioning altered in children with disordered attachment?
Core emotions are intense = anger, pain, fear, shame
Often appear disheartened or depressed with mood swings
Struggle to express emotions
What are some physical aspects of disordered attachment?
Poor hygiene, chronic body tension, accident prone, high/low pain tolerance, tactilely defensive
What are some causes of disordered attachment?
Unplanned pregnancy, postnatal depression/psychosis
Neglect or abuse, separation from primary caregiver
Maternal substance abuse, traumatic experiences
Frequent moves, undiagnosed painful illnesses
Poor parenting skills, parental attachment difficulties
What can working with young people with disordered attachment cause?
Counter-transference issues (ie anger, sadness, fear etc)
Why may interactions with these patients prove frustrating for health care professionals?
Staff may find it difficult to accept that these children respond in a non-therapeutic manner
What are some differing approaches that the MDT may use when trying to manage a child with disordered attachment?
More/less punitive, more/less restrictions, more immediate rewards, change medication when not needed, more one on one time, early discharge
How should disordered attachment be managed?
Clear assessment of both attachment and family system, and how these have causes the current difficulties
What must young people with disordered attachment be able to make sense of?
Their history and current functioning
How should professionals act when engaging with patients suffering from disordered attachment?
Develop trust = eye contact, voice tone, never threaten
Be consistent, calm and a good role model
Be available, responsive and caring
How should health professionals approach managing a patient with disordered attachment?
Be curious and empathetic regarding the young person’s resistance to treatment intervention
Have realistic expectations
What should be instilled and improved in patients with disordered attachment in their management of their condition?
Develop a balance between autonomy and dependency
Restore self esteem
Allow young person to express their feelings
How do infants with secure attachment react during the “strange situation” study?
Distressed when mother leaves, avoids stranger when alone but friendly with mother present, positive and happy when mother returns, uses mother as safe base to explore environment
How do infants with ambivalent attachment react during the “strange situation” study?
Show signs of distress when mother leaves, avoids stranger and shows fear, approaches mother when she comes back but resists contact, cries more and explores less than other types of attachment
How do infants with insecure avoidance attachment react during the “strange situation” study?
Show no signs of distress when mother leaves, OK with stranger and play normally with stranger present, show little interest when mother returns, mother and stranger equally able to comfort child
