Attachment Theory and Research

Question 1

What is attachment

Answer 1

Close bond with a parent or primary carergiver

Question 2

John Bowlby

Answer 2

Found that significant proportion of children with behavioural issues had difficult relations with their primary caregiver

Question 3

Bowlby’s attachment theory - Preattachment

Answer 3

• Birth to six weeks
• Innate signals attract caregiver, infant comforted by caregiver

Question 4

Bowlby’s attachment theory - Attachment in the making

Answer 4

• Six weeks to eight months
• Develops expectations and trust
• Infant preferential to familiar people

Question 5

Bowlby’s attachment theory - Clear cut attachment

Answer 5

• Eight months to 18 months
• Infant actively seeks contact with caregivers
• Caregiver becomes secure base
• Beginning of separation anxiety

Question 6

Bowlby’s attachment theory - Reciprocal relationships

Answer 6

• 18 months onwards
• Increased understanding of caregiver’s feelings and motives
• Working partnership
• Reduction in separation anxiety

Question 7

Measuring attachment (Ainsworth, 1973)

Answer 7

Infant’s behaviour coded for style of attachment to the mother

Question 8

Styles of attachment - Secure

Answer 8

• 50-60% of infants
• Leave mothers side to play but will check back
• Distressed by separation from mother
• Mother is a secure base

Question 9

Styles of attachment - Avoidant

Answer 9

• 15% of infants
• Tend to avoid mother in room
• Fail to greet mother in reunion

Question 10

Styles of attachment - Ambivalent

Answer 10

• 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`

Question 11

Styles of attachment - Disorganised

Answer 11

• 15% of infants
• No consistent way of coping
• Confused and contradictory
• May freeze

Question 12

Points on styles of attachment

Answer 12

Is a characteristic of a relationship between two people and it is possible for an infant to have different attachment relationships with different carers

Question 13

Attachment influences - Maternal sensitivity hypothesis

Answer 13

The key to maternal sensitivity is consistently responsive caregiving, securely attached infants show evidence of maternal sensitivity

Question 14

Attachment influences - Genetic influences

Answer 14

Genes can affect the way environment influences attachment security

Question 15

Serotonin transporter gene 5HTT

Answer 15

5HTT II is protective for children raised in institutions and protects against certain attachment styles

Question 16

Internal working model of attachment

Answer 16

Early attachment relationships lead to the development of the internal model that guides expectations of relationships throughout life

Question 17

Adult attachment interview - Secure

Answer 17

• Recalls earlier attachment-related experiences objectively and openly
• Sees them as important with a balanced account

Question 18

Adult attachment interview - Avoidant

Answer 18

• Dismisses attachment relationships as of little concern, value or influence
• Poor recall with inconsistent account

Question 19

Adult attachment interview - Ambivalent

Answer 19

• Focused on parents
• Give confused and angry accounts caught up in memories

Question 20

Adult attachment interview - Disorganised

Answer 20

• Have experienced a trauma associated with attachment figure
• Have not come to terms with this an account may lack reasoning

Question 21

Effects on childhood emotion

Answer 21

9-11 year olds who have secure attachment more likely to report positive mood and regulate their mood using positive strategies

Question 22

Attachment throughout lifespan

Answer 22

Attachment style in infancy predicts how adult interacts with their own ifant

Question 23

Ways to break intergenerational transmission - Therapy

Answer 23

Aids adults in overcoming early adversity and insecure attachment and leads to positive parenting even in high stress conditions

Question 24

Ways to break intergenerational transmission - Parenting training

Answer 24

Huber (2015) study using circle of security, after 20 weeks of therapy parents had more positive representations