Influence of early attachment on later relationships Flashcards
What did Bowlby say is important in early attachment that could affect later relationships?
- Internal working model
What is the internal working model?
- Our mental representations of our relationships with PAF, which acts as a template for future relationships
What did Kerns say attachment type is associated with?
Quality of peer relationships in childhood
What do securely attached babies go on to form in childhood?
Best quality childhood friendships ( Kerns)
What do insecure- resistant babies struggle with in childhood?
difficulties in friendship (Kerns)
What did Wilson and Peter smith assess?
Attachment type and bullying involvement
How did Wilson and Peter Smith assess attachment type and bullying?
- Used standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 from London
What did Wilson and Peter Smith find about secure children?
Very unlikely to be involved in bullying
What did Wilson and Smith find about insecure-avoidant children?
more likely to be the victims of bullying
What did Wilson and Smith find about insecure-resistant children?
They were more likely to be the bullies
What two major experiences do the IWM affect?
- Romantic relationships
- parental relationships with own children
Who did McCarthy (1999) study?
40 adult women
When did McCarthy assess the 40 adult women and why?
assessed when they were babies to establish their early attachment type
What did McCarthy find about those assessed as securely attached babies?
Best adult friendships and romantic relationships
What did McCarthy find about those assessed as insecure-resistant babies?
They had problems maintaining friendships
What did McCarthy find about those assessed as insecure-avoidant babies?
Struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships
What study showed the affect of IWM on childs ability to parent own children?
Bailey et al assessed attachment of 99 mothers to their babies and their own mothers - using the stange situation and adult attachment interview
What research is there to support influence of early attachment on later relationships?
> Fearon and Roisman
- early attachment consistently predicts later relationships
- this with secure attachments- advantageous for future development
- Insercure-avoidant- fairly mild disadvantages in development
- Disorganized - associated with later mental disorder
What is the counterpoint for research supporting influence of early attachment on later relationships?
- Becker-stoll et al
- Longitudinal study, followed 43 participants from 1
- At age 16 she assessed attachment
- found no evidence of continuity
What is the limitation that research into the influence of early attachment is assessed retrospectively?
- Research not longitudinal, ask about relationships
- Causes two validity problems
1) questions relies on the honesty & accurate perception of the participants
2) hard to know if assessing early attachment or in fact adult attachment - measures of early attachment used in most studies may be confounded by other factors
What is another limitation of research into the influence of early attachment on later development to do with variables?
- associations between early attachment & later development are affected by CV’s
- e.g. Parenting style or genetically influenced personality may be an influence on attachment quality and later development
- not enitrely sure that it is early attachment that affects later relationships
