Influence of Early Attachment on Later Relationships

Question 1

How does the Internal Working Model affect later relationships?

Answer 1

Bowlby suggested a baby’s first relationship with the PAF leads to a mental template for all future childhood and adult relationships. The quality of the first attachment is crucial because this template with affect long-term relationships. A functional relationship means the baby will form functional attachment and seek out functional relationships, but the opposite is also true.
Parents being too uninvolved or emotionally close = insecure-avoidant.
Parents being controlling and argumentative = insecure-resistant.

Question 2

How do relationships in childhood affect later relationships?

Answer 2

Securely attached babies tend to form the best quality childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached babies have friendship difficulties. Wilson and Smith assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children ages 7-11 from London in 1998. Secure children were least likely to be involved in bullying. Insecure-avoidant children were most likely to be victims and Insecure-resistant most likely to be bullies.

Question 3

What is the strength - Research Support

Answer 3

A strength of the research into attachment and later relationships is supporting evidence. Reviews of evidence by Fearon and Roisman have concluded that early attachment consistently predicts later attachment, emotional well-being and attachment to own children. Insecure-avoidant conveys fairly mild disadvantages for any development, disorganised attachment is strongly associated with later mental disorder.

Question 4

What is the counterpoint - Research support

Answer 4

Not all evidence supports the existence of close links between early attachment and later development For example the Regensburg Longitudinal study followed 43 individuals from 1 year to age 16. Attachment was assessed from 1 to 16 and there was no example of continuity. This means it is not clear to what extent the quality of early attachment predicts later development

Question 5

What is the limitation - Validity issues with retrospective studies

Answer 5

One limitations that early attachment is assessed retrospectively. Most research is not longitudinal, instead researchers ask adolescent or adult participants questions about their relationship with parents, and identify attachment type from this. This causes 2 validity issues - you are relying on honesty and accuracy from participants and it is difficult to separate early and current attachment. This means that the measures of early attachment may be confounded with other factors making them meaningless.

Question 6

What is the limitation - confounding variables?

Answer 6

A further limitation is the existence of confounding variables. Some studies assess attachment in infancy, meaning the assessment of early attachment is valid. However, these may have validity problems because associations between attachment quality and later development may be affected by confounding variables. Parenting style may influence both attachment quality and later development, and genetics may be an influence on both factors.