Attachment Theory Flashcards
What are the classifications of attachment?
- Secure
- Insecure-Avoidant
- Insecure-Resistant
- Disorganised
Describe Secure Attachment
- Type B - 55-65% of the population
- Children who show some distress when their caregiver leaves but are able to compose themselves knowing their caregiver will return.
- Feel protected by their caregivers
- Use the caregiver as a secure base in which to explore the environment
- Seek out the caregiver in times of distress
- Easily soothed by caregiver when upset
- Caregiver is sensitive to child cues and signals, and responds appropriately to their needs.
Describe Insecure-Avoidant attachment
- Type A - 20-25% of the population
- Do not orient to the caregiver whilst investigating the environment
- Independent of the caregiver both physically and emotionally
- Do not seek out the caregiver when distressed
- Caregiver is insensitive and rejecting of their needs, and often unavailable during times of distress
Describe the insecure-resistant attachment
Type C - 10-15% of the population
- Clingy and dependent behaviour towards the caregiver
- Rejecting caregiver during interaction
- Fails to develop any feelings of security from the caregiver
- Difficulty in moving away from the caregiver to explore novel environments
- When distressed - difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the caregiver
- Inconsistent level of response to their needs from the caregiver
Describe disorganised attachment
Type D - 15-20% of the population
- Associated with trauma - abuse, neglect, loss
- Defined by fear or fright
- Lack of attachment behaviour
- Odd or ambivalent behaviour - no organisation of behaviour
- May seek out comfort but fear close proximity with caregiver
- Depressed, Freeze, Withdrawn
What are the impacts of secure attachment?
Confidence and social-emotional wellbeing, good social relationships
What are the impacts of insecure attachment?
- Poor social skills, behavioural problems/conflict, anxiety/depression
How do you measure attachment in a 1-2 year old?
Using the Strange Situation Procedure
- Parent and infant introduced to experimental room
- Parent and infant are alone. Parent does not participate while infant explores.
- Strenger enters, converses with parent, then approaches infant. Parent leaves.
- First Seperation Episode: Stranger’s behaviour is geared to that of infant.
- Second Seperation Episode: infant is alone
- Continuation of te Second Seperation Episode: stranger enters and gears behaviour to that of infant
- Second Reunion Episode: Parent enters, greets infant, and picks up infant, stranger leaves conspicuously
Videotaped recordings of the childs behaviour and emotional responses over the 30 minutes are then coded into one of the four attachment classifications.
How would you measure attachment is a 4-7 year old?
Story Stem Attachment
- Children are asked to respond to a set of narrative story stems where tey are given the beginning of a story highlighting everyday scenarios with an inherant dilemma.
- Children are then asked to ‘show me and tell me what happens next’
- Allows assessment of the child’s expectations and perceptions of family roles, attachments and relationships, without asking the child direct questions about their family which might cause them confict or anxiety.
- Relies upon non-verbal as well as verbal commuication in the analysis of narratives
- Interviews are videotaped and later coded
e. .g little pig, insecure-resistant child will say that mummy pig is angry when they get home
How would you identify attachment type in a child from 7-15 years?
Child Attachment Interview
- Focuses upon current memories and assess children’s perceptions of their attachment figures current availability and sensitive responsiveness through eliciting internal representations of attachment figures.
- 19 questions require children to recall and describe their attachment experiences with, and perception of their attachment figures, in particular at times of hurt, emotional upset, illness, seperation and loss.
- Relies upon non-verbal as well as verbal communication in the analysis of narratives.
Yields attachment strategies of secure, dismissing, preoccupied and disorganised.
e.g. ‘Can you tell me three words to describe your relationship with your mum, that is, what it’s like to be with your mum?’
In attachment-based interventions, how does video interaction guidance work?
- Purpose is to enhance relationships, communication and social and emotional wellbeing
- 3 sessions/3 filmed interactions
- Focus on positive interactions between parents and children
- Parent only discussions with trained facilitator
In attachment based interventions, what is parental sensitivity and behaviour training?
- Purpose is to encourage parents to understand and manage child behaviour
- Between 5 and 15 sessions weekly
- Focus on improving parents sensitivity and quality of parenting
- Parent only or parent-child
In Attachment based interventions, what are home-visiting programmes?
- Purpose is to improve parental communication and relationship with child.
- 12 weekly or monthly sessions lasting 30-90 minutes over 18 months.
- Focus on supporting positive parent-child interaction using role modelling and reinforcing positive interactions.
- Parent-child
In attachment-based interventions, what is parent-child psychosocial therapy?
- Purpose is to improve the parent-child relationship by improving the way they interact with their social environment.
- Examples include but are not limited to cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling
- Include varying number of sessions depending on the specific therapy being used
- Can be parent or child only, or parent-child
