Influence of early attachment on later relationship Flashcards
Childhood relationship
affiliations with other people in childhood, including friends and classmates, and with adults such as teachers.
Adult relationships
those relationships the child goes on to have later in life as an adult.
- Include friendships and working relationships but most critically relationships with romantic partners and the persons own children.
Internal working model
Bowlby - child having their first relationship with their primary attachment figure forms a mental representation of this relationship.
- the quality of the child’s first attachment is crucial because this template will powerfully affect the nature of their future relationship.
- a child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to assume that this is how relationships are meant to be. –> will then seek out functional relationships and behave functionally within them
Relationships in later childhood
Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood.
Securely attached infants tend to go on to form the best quality childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties.
HAZAN & SHAVER - procedure
Analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local newspaper.
- had 3 sections
- 1st section assessed respondents’ current or most important relationship.
- 2nd section assessed general love experiences such as number of partners
- 3rd section assessed attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of 3 statements best described their feelings
HAZAN & SHAVER - findings
- 56% of respondents were identified as securely attached
- 25% insecure-avoidant
- 19% insecure-resistant.
Avoidant respondents tends to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy - suggest patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships.
