influence of early attachment on later relationships

Question 1

internal working model

Answer 1

acts as template for future childhood and adult relationships
quality of babys first attachment crucial bevase template will powerfully affect nature of their future relationships
loving relationship- assume how relationships meant to be, seek out functional relationships and behave functionally within them
bad experience- bring bad experiences to bear on later relationships, struggle to form relationships or not behave appropriately, display insecure avoidant or insecure resistant behaviour

Question 2

relationships in childhood

Answer 2

attachment type associatd with quality of peer relationships
securely attahced-tend to go form best quality childhood friendships
insecurely attached-friendship difficulties
bullying behaviour predicted
myron wilson and smith-assessed attachment ype and bullying involvement usig standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 from london, secure children unlikely to be involved, insecre avoidant most likely to be victims, insecure resistant- most likely to be bullies

Question 3

relationships in adulthood

Answer 3

romantic relationships and parental relationships
mccarthy- 40 adult women assessed when babies to establish their early attachment type, securely attached had best adult friendships and romantic relationships, adults classed as insecure resistant had prpblems maintaning, insecure avoidant struggled with intimacy
bailey-99mothers to their babies and their mothers, majority women had same attachment classification both their babies and own mothers

Question 4

research support (eval)

Answer 4

supporting evidence
reviews concluded early attachment consistenylu predicts laterattachment emotional wellbeing and attachment to own children
how strong relationship is between early attachment type and later development depends on attachment type and aspect of later development
insecure avoidant - convey milkd disadvantages for any aspect of development
disorganised attachment- associated with later mental disorder
secure attachment- convey advantages for future development while disorganised attachment disadvtnage children

not all evidence supports close link
regensburg-longitudinal study followed 43 individuals from 1, 16 attachment assessed using adult attachment interview and there was no evidence of continuity
not clear extent of quality of early attachment really predicts later development may be other important factors

Question 5

validity issues with retrospective studies (eval)

Answer 5

assessed retrospectively
most research not longitudinal
ask adolescent or adult pps questions about their relationship with parents and identify attachment type
asking questions relies on honesty and accurate perception
very hard to know whether what is being assessed is early attachment or adult attachment
measures of early attachment used in most studies may be confounded with other factors making them meaningless

Question 6

confounding variables (eval)

Answer 6

confounding variables
some assess in infancy means assessment of early attachment is valid
even these studies may have validity problems because associations beween attachment quality and later development may be affected by confounding variables
parenting style may influence both attachment quality and later development
genetically influenced personality may be influence on both factors
can never be sure that it is early attachment and not some other factor that is influencing later development