Attachment Theory and Research Flashcards
What is attachment
Close bond with a parent or primary carergiver
John Bowlby
Found that significant proportion of children with behavioural issues had difficult relations with their primary caregiver
Bowlby’s attachment theory - Preattachment
- Birth to six weeks
- Innate signals attract caregiver, infant comforted by caregiver
Bowlby’s attachment theory - Attachment in the making
- Six weeks to eight months
- Develops expectations and trust
- Infant preferential to familiar people
Bowlby’s attachment theory - Clear cut attachment
- Eight months to 18 months
- Infant actively seeks contact with caregivers
- Caregiver becomes secure base
- Beginning of separation anxiety
Bowlby’s attachment theory - Reciprocal relationships
- 18 months onwards
- Increased understanding of caregiver’s feelings and motives
- Working partnership
- Reduction in separation anxiety
Measuring attachment (Ainsworth, 1973)
Infant’s behaviour coded for style of attachment to the mother
Styles of attachment - Secure
- 50-60% of infants
- Leave mothers side to play but will check back
- Distressed by separation from mother
- Mother is a secure base
Styles of attachment - Avoidant
- 15% of infants
- Tend to avoid mother in room
- Fail to greet mother in reunion
Styles of attachment - Ambivalent
- 9% of infants
- Clingy during initial play
- Distressed by mothers absence
- Shows some seeking of contact with mother on return but combined with resisting behaviours`
Styles of attachment - Disorganised
- 15% of infants
- No consistent way of coping
- Confused and contradictory
- May freeze
Points on styles of attachment
Is a characteristic of a relationship between two people and it is possible for an infant to have different attachment relationships with different carers
Attachment influences - Maternal sensitivity hypothesis
The key to maternal sensitivity is consistently responsive caregiving, securely attached infants show evidence of maternal sensitivity
Attachment influences - Genetic influences
Genes can affect the way environment influences attachment security
Serotonin transporter gene 5HTT
5HTT II is protective for children raised in institutions and protects against certain attachment styles
Internal working model of attachment
Early attachment relationships lead to the development of the internal model that guides expectations of relationships throughout life
Adult attachment interview - Secure
- Recalls earlier attachment-related experiences objectively and openly
- Sees them as important with a balanced account
Adult attachment interview - Avoidant
- Dismisses attachment relationships as of little concern, value or influence
- Poor recall with inconsistent account
Adult attachment interview - Ambivalent
- Focused on parents
- Give confused and angry accounts caught up in memories
Adult attachment interview - Disorganised
- Have experienced a trauma associated with attachment figure
- Have not come to terms with this an account may lack reasoning
Effects on childhood emotion
9-11 year olds who have secure attachment more likely to report positive mood and regulate their mood using positive strategies
Attachment throughout lifespan
Attachment style in infancy predicts how adult interacts with their own ifant
Ways to break intergenerational transmission - Therapy
Aids adults in overcoming early adversity and insecure attachment and leads to positive parenting even in high stress conditions
Ways to break intergenerational transmission - Parenting training
Huber (2015) study using circle of security, after 20 weeks of therapy parents had more positive representations
