Parenting and Attachment Flashcards
what is attachment?
a strong enduring relationship, with a desire to seek proximity and contact
what are attachment behaviours?
behaviours that result in seeking or maintaining proximity to another individual
bowlby’s attachment theory
saw prolonged maternal separation as a cause of delinquent character development
what did bowlby speculate?
caregiver absence has a large impact on children’s emotional wellbeing and mental health
when are internal working models of relationships developed?
after 2-years-old, where children develop representations of caregiving behaviour and self
feelings of security encourage _________ behaviour
exploration
feelings of fear encourage _________ behaviour
attachment
what is necessary for attachment?
sustained parental contact and responsive parenting
what does the quality of early caregiver-child relationships influence?
mental health and capacity to develop relationships
what did ainsworth develop?
the strange situation test
strange situation test
observed individual differences in exploration and attachment behaviours in 1- to 2-year-olds in response to stress
when was increased exploration behaviour found?
when the parent was present
when was increased attachment behaviour found?
when the parent left
what is attachment security?
a balance between attachment and exploration
three types of attachment classification
secure, avoidant, resistant
secure attachment
70%
the child quickly and positively responds to the caregiver upon return
avoidant attachment
20%
not distressed when separated and fails to greet parent on reunion
resistant attachment
10%
very distressed when parent leaves and may react positively upon reunion. the parent is not effective at reducing stress and the child resists contact
what can impact children’s attachment quality?
individual differences in parental sensitivity
what does parental sensitivity consist of?
- awareness of child’s signals
- interpretation of signals
- appropriate response
- promptness of response
which caregivers were more likely to end up in the secure attachment classification?
those that exhibited the most sensitivity
what determines the security of attachment?
early parenting quality
bakermans-kranenburg (2003) found intervention training…
had a significant .39 effect on infant attachment quality- the primary determinant of their attachment securityu
bakermans-kranenburg (2003) found intervention training…
had a significant .39 effect on infant attachment quality- the primary determinant of their attachment security
alternative nature influences on attachment security
strange situation measures differences in reactivity and regulation, rather than quality of caregiver-child relationship
what do heritable traits (temperament) capture?
an endogenous, innate difference between children
groh et al (2017) conducted a meta-analysis and found…
high levels of negative temperament were not associated with secure or avoidant behaviour
a modest association between negative temperament and resistance attachment
what is indicated by twin studies?
common environment determines individual differences in attachment
proof attachment is not determined by genetics
it is relationship-specific, as children can receive a different attachment classification depending on the caregiver they are seen with
evidence of a gene-environment interaction
children with different temperaments (reactivity and regulation) may respond to caregiving in different ways
what did klein-velderman (2006) find among high-reactive infants?
intervention increased attachment security (.64) which was not seen in low-reactive infants (.11)
what can genetically based temperaments impact?
the degree to which parenting influences attachment security
