ATTACHMENT IN CHILDHOOD

Question 1

What is Attachment?

Answer 1

John Bowlby
A strong emotional bond that develops between children and their primary caregivers

Question 2

Name some Behavioral manifestations of attachment

Answer 2

Stranger anxiety (peaks at 6mths – 18mths): distress over contact with unfamiliar people
– Separation anxiety (peaks at 12-16mths – 2-3 years): distress over being separated from a primary caregiver
- Treating the carer as a safe haven: source of physical and emotional comfort; someone that helps you calm down, co-regulates your emotion
– Treating the carer as a secure base from which to explore the world

Question 3

Why do we attach at all?

Answer 3

It enhances fitness
Fitness = probability of an organism passing on its genes to the next generation
maintaining proximity reduces chance of death, more resilience etc.

Question 4

What are the environmental preconditions of attachment formation?

Answer 4

HYPOTHESIS A: Attachment is a secondary by-product of being fed- a conditional response to being fed. Baby associates food
comfort with the feeder, and so get attached to the feeder
– HYPOTHESIS B: Attachment as a primary process - reflection of our essential need for a relationship. It originates in the experience of contact comfort (skin-on-skin touch)
e.g. Harry Harlow’s “Surrogate mothers” studies- 1958- Monkey Terrycloth wire feeding

Question 5

Is there a critical period of attachment for children?

Answer 5

(Rutter et al 2004) Study Romanian adoptee
Attachment disorders (disinhibited attachment) was present in 16% of those adopted before 18 months; 33% in those adopted between 24 and 42 months)
- sensitive period rather than critical

Question 6

Name four Ainsworth’s attachment patterns

Answer 6

secure attachment,
insecure-avoidant attachment,
insecure-ambivalent/resistant attachment.
disorganized attachment

Question 7

What causes different attachment styles?

Answer 7

1. Genes: Behavioral genetics - Modest role of heritability, but environmental factors more important, at least the earlies
   stages
2. Caregivers: Caregiver’s responsivity and consistency
   Caregiver’s mental representations of own history of
   attachment, as measured by Adult Attachment Interview (van
   Ijzendoorn, 1995)

Question 8

What is the lifespan perspective

Answer 8

Assumes that development occurs along multiple dimensions and that there are both gains and losses in function along different dimensions throughout the course of life

Question 9

Does attachment affect the child?

Answer 9

Some continuity exists from early childhood until adulthood [but it need not be very strong]
Genes matter [but their expression is modified by experience]
Early experience matters [but its role may be modified by later experience]
Negative effects of adverse childhood experiences can be undone to some extent
Relationship between early years and later years are probabilistic rather than deterministic