Attachment: Concepts and Measurement Flashcards
what is attachment theory?
the idea that early caregiver-child relationships have long-term consequences for development
what research did bowlby conduct and when?
1947, retrospective research and found 61% of juvenile thieves suffered early prolonged maternal separation during childhood
what did bowlby conclude after his research?
postulated that quality of parental care in early childhood was vital for mental health
what were affectional bonds viewed as before the 1950s?
secondary, whereas bowlby challenged the view that these attachments were as important as primary drive reduction
what is attachment?
strong affectional bond and disposition to seek proximity and contact with someone
what are attachment behaviours?
any form of behaviour resulting in attaining or maintaining proximity to some other clearly identified individual
difference between proximity seeking and proximity maintaining behaviours
seeking - crying, smiling, reaching
maintaining - following, clinging
how did ainsworth and bell (1970) contribute to attachment theory?
theoretically:
- understanding individual differences in attachment styles
methodologically:
- using laboratory methods to study attachment behaviours in 12-20 month old infants
bowlby (1969) formation of early attachments
- phase I (before 3 months)
- phase II (3-6 months)
- phase III (9-24 months)
- phase IV (30 months)
phase I (before 3 months)
responds to others with limited discrimination
phase II (3-6 months)
responds to one or more discriminated figure, begins ‘greeting’ on return and ‘crying’ on departure
phase III (9-24 months)
proximity maintaining behaviours towards discriminated figure
phase IV (30 months)
goal-corrected partnership and formulates internal working model
schaefer and emerson (1960)
landmark longitudinal study which found indiscriminate use of proximity seeking behaviours before 30 weeks, after then they become specific to chosen caregivers
fearon and roisman (2017) hypotheses derived from attachment theory
universality and normality
continuity
sensitivity
competence
universality and normality hypothesis
all infants become securely attached to one or more caregivers
continuity hypothesis
patterns of attachment are stable over the lifespan
sensitivity hypothesis
early attachment security is dependent on caregiver responsiveness to child’s signals
competence hypothesis
secure attachment leads to positive outcomes in a variety of domains
what are the broad types of measure used to study attachment?
- attachment behaviour
- attachment representations
attachment behaviour
assessment focused on children’s observable attachment behaviour
strange situation procedure (12-20m)
attachment q-sort (12m-6y)
attachment representations
how we think about close relationships we have with others
child attachment interview (7y)
adult attachment interview (16y)
SSP: what was created?
ainsworth and bell (1970) used a mildly stressful scenario to observe exploratory and attachment behaviours in 1-2y
SSP: types of attachment
- secure
- avoidant
- resistant
- disorganised
SSP: secure attachment
60%
- may or may not cry upon separation
- quick and positive reaction to reunion
- contact with caregiver reduces distress
SSP: avoidant attachment
15%
- no distress when separated
- does not approach caregiver at reunion
- caregiver and stranger treated similarly
SSP: resistant attachment
10%
- marked distress when separated
- resists contact at reunion
- contact does not reduce distress
SSP: disorganised attachment
15%
- no consistent pattern
- may react with disorientation or fear
reliability and validity of SSP
- consistency across observers and time
- low test-retest after 2 weeks, but strong after 12-18 months
- moderate rank order stability
- not very ecologically valid
attachment q-sort (AQS)
waters (1980) developed a more ecological assessment by observing children in homes for 2 hours to compare against a prototype secure profile
reliability and validity of AQS
- suited for 12-48 months
- strong test-retest stability
- lengthy, no distinction between insecurity, and lack of valid caregiver ratings
adult attachment interview (AAI)
van ijzendoorn (1995) looked at recollections about early relationships to reveal representations, using standardised protocol of 15 questions
what does AAI score?
reflection - sense-making of experiences
coherence - evidence and consistency
AAI: types of attachment
secure
dismissing
preoccupied
unresolved
AAI: secure attachment
- talks easily about relationships
- coherent and consistent accounts
- understands past difficulties
AAI: dismissing attachment
- difficulty remembering experiences
- describes parents positively but does not give evidence
- dismisses importance of relationships
AAI: preoccupied attachment
- excessive attention to caregiver memories; loses focus
- confused, angry
AAI: unresolved attachment
- experience of trauma
- still focused on unresolved issues from past
reliability and validity of AAI
strong test-retest 78% reliability within same category
autobiographical memory, IQ, and social desirability not associated with attachment group
CAI
goetz (2018) studied children’s representations and perceptions of their attachment figures’ availability, using verbal and non-verbal information to analyse their narratives
reliability and validity of CAI
- high inter-rater reliability and test-retest between 3-12 months
- validity as clinically referred children show higher levels of insecure attachment
universality and normality within attachment styles
- all infants show attachment behaviours, and preferential bonds for caregivers
- secure attachment is the norm as allows for exploration
what is the emphasis in north america and europe?
- single maternal caregiver (monotropism) and independence of child
studies are mainly confined to this region, despite being only 10% of child world population
mesman (2016) universality does not preclude culture-specific patterns
- attachment styles vary between countries
(indonesia 52% secure vs mexico 77%) - primary attachment figures differ in cultures with more caregivers
- may experience different forms of attachment or exploration behaviour
predictors of attachment security
- parental views of own childhood attachment experiences
- mind-mindedness
fearon (2010) meta-analysis on disorganised attachment
connections between disorganised attachment and higher externalising behaviours, but lower for girls than boys
how did bowlby (1977) show causality and continuity?
strong causal relationships between individuals’ experience with their parents and later capacity to make affectional bonds
prototype account
early caregiving experiences give rise to attachment representations, which become persisting ‘working models’ to shape interpersonal relationships with others
evidence of prototype account
- meta-analysis moderate evidence for stable classifications (opie, 2021) using different measures– secure 67%, avoidant 25%, resistant 28%
- groh (2014) early attachments predict later attachment status (secure-secure 61%) but not universal for all (resistant-preoccupied 1.5%)
revisionist account
early caregiving experiences give rise to attachment representations, but changes in caregiving experiences can lead to updated or revised representations
booth-la force (2014) lawful discontinuity can be seen in changing attachment types:
secure → secure – stable positive environment
insecure → insecure – stable negative environment (greater declines in parental sensitivity)
insecure → secure – improving circumstances (higher parental sensitivity in childhood)
secure → insecure – declining circumstances (higher levels of negative life events)
what do practical challenges consider?
- longitudinal research is expensive and time-consuming
- absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
- need to explore attachment security concerning more than one caregiver
- begin investigations during the first year of life before attachment relationships have formed
- distinguish between concurrent and predictive relations
