{"id":380,"date":"2021-07-08T19:25:21","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T19:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/child\/?post_type=chapter&p=380"},"modified":"2024-07-12T18:06:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T18:06:11","slug":"attachment-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/child\/chapter\/attachment-2\/","title":{"raw":"Attachment","rendered":"Attachment"},"content":{"raw":"Psychosocial development occurs as children form relationships, interact with others, and understand and manage their feelings. In social and emotional development, forming healthy attachments is very important and is the major social milestone of infancy. Attachment<\/strong> is a long-standing connection or bond with others. Developmental psychologists are interested in how infants reach this milestone. They ask such questions as: How do parent and infant attachment bonds form? How does neglect affect these bonds? What accounts for children\u2019s attachment differences?\r\n

Early Attachment Research<\/h2>\r\nResearchers Harry Harlow, John Bowlby, and Mary Ainsworth conducted studies designed to answer these questions. In the 1950s, Harlow conducted a series of experiments on monkeys. He separated newborn monkeys from their mothers. Each monkey was presented with two surrogate mothers. One surrogate mother was made out of wire mesh, and she could dispense milk. The other surrogate mother was softer and made from cloth: This monkey did not dispense milk. Research shows that the monkeys preferred the soft, cuddly cloth monkey, even though she did not provide any nourishment. The baby monkeys spent their time clinging to the cloth monkey and only went to the wire monkey when they needed to be feed. Prior to this study, the medical and scientific communities generally thought that babies become attached to the people who provide their nourishment. However, Harlow (1958) concluded that there was more to the mother-child bond than nourishment. Feelings of comfort and security are the critical components of maternal-infant bonding, which leads to healthy psychosocial development.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/OrNBEhzjg8I\r\n
Video 1.\u00a0<\/strong>Harlow's Studies on Dependency in Monkeys.<\/em><\/div>\r\nBuilding on the work of Harlow and others, John Bowlby developed the concept of attachment theory. He defined attachment as the affectional bond or tie that an infant forms with the mother (Bowlby, 1969). He believed that an infant must form this bond with a primary caregiver in order to have normal social and emotional development. In addition, Bowlby proposed that this attachment bond is very powerful and continues throughout life. He used the concept of a secure base to define a healthy attachment between parent and child (1988). A secure base<\/strong> is a parental presence that gives children a sense of safety as they explore their surroundings. Bowlby said that two things are needed for a healthy attachment: The caregiver must be responsive to the child\u2019s physical, social, and emotional needs; and the caregiver and child must engage in mutually enjoyable interactions (Bowlby, 1969).\r\n

Ainsworth's Strange Situation<\/h2>\r\nWhile Bowlby thought attachment was an all-or-nothing process, Mary Ainsworth\u2019s (1970) research showed otherwise. Ainsworth wanted to know if children differ in the ways they bond, and if so, how. To find the answers, she used the Strange Situation<\/strong> procedure to study attachment between mothers and their infants (1970). In the Strange Situation, the mother (or primary caregiver) and the infant (age 12-18 months) are placed in a room together.\u00a0 There are toys in the room, and the caregiver and child spend some time alone in the room. After the child has had time to explore their surroundings, a stranger enters the room. The mother then leaves her baby with the stranger. After a few minutes, she returns to comfort her child.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/dtAyPy1OZCw\r\n\r\nVideo 2.\u00a0<\/strong>Secure and Insecure Attachment.\u00a0<\/em>\r\n

Types of Attachment<\/h2>\r\nBased on how the toddlers responded to the separation and reunion, Ainsworth identified three types of parent-child attachments: secure, avoidant, and resistant (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970). A fourth style, known as disorganized attachment, was later described (Main & Solomon, 1990).\r\n

Secure Attachment<\/h3>\r\nThe most common type of attachment\u2014also considered the healthiest\u2014is called secure<\/strong> attachment<\/strong>. The secure child feels confident that their needs will be met in a timely and consistent way. The child prefers their caregivers over others. A young child will use the caregiver as the base for exploration, providing assurance and enabling discovery. In the Strange Situation, securely attached children were distressed when their caregivers left the room, but when their caregivers returned, the securely attached children were happy to see them.\r\n\r\nSecurely attached children have caregivers who are sensitive and responsive to their needs. in North America, this interaction may include an emotional connection in addition to adequate care.\u00a0However, even in cultures where mothers do not talk, cuddle, and play with their infants, secure attachments can develop (LeVine et. al., 1994).\u00a0Secure attachments can form provided the child has consistent contact and care from one or more caregivers.\u00a0Consistency of contacts may be jeopardized if the infant is cared for in a daycare with a high turn-over of caregivers or if institutionalized and given little more than basic physical care.\u00a0And while infants who, perhaps because of being in orphanages with inadequate care, have not had the opportunity to attach in infancy can form initial secure attachments several years later, they may have more emotional problems of depression or anger, or be overly friendly as they make adjustments (O\u2019Connor et. al., 2003).\r\n
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Watch It<\/h3>\r\nVideo 3.\u00a0<\/strong>This video\u00a0demonstrates Ainsworth's protocol for assessing the quality of a child's attachment to their caregiver and the typical response of a securely attached child.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/QTsewNrHUHU\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Avoidant Attachment<\/h3>\r\nWith avoidant<\/strong> attachment,\u00a0<\/strong>a\u00a0s<\/span>tyle marked by\u00a0insecurity, is\u00a0characterized by a tendency to avoid contact with the caregiver and with others.\u00a0This child may have learned that needs typically go unmet and learns that the caregiver does not provide care and cannot be relied upon for comfort, even sporadically.\u00a0An insecure-avoidant child learns to be more independent and disengaged.\u00a0Such a child might sit passively in a room filled with toys until it is time to go.\r\n\r\nDuring the Strange Situation, the child is unresponsive to the parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, and does not care if the parent leaves. The toddler reacts to the parent the same way they react\u00a0to a stranger.\u00a0 When the parent does return, the child is slow to show a positive reaction. Ainsworth theorized that these children were most likely to have a caregiver who was insensitive and inattentive to their needs (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978).\r\n
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Watch It<\/h3>\r\nVideo 4.\u00a0<\/strong>This video depicts a child with the avoidant attachment style.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/AGRT6VjnTm8\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment<\/h3>\r\nThe\u00a0anxious-ambivalent attachment<\/strong>\u00a0is another insecure syle. These\u00a0children tend to show clingy behavior and are hesitant to engage in activities or play aware from the caregiver.\u00a0It is as if the child fears that the caregiver will\u00a0abandon them and clings accordingly.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0child may cry if separated from the caregiver and also cry upon their return.\u00a0They seek constant reassurance that never seems to satisfy their doubt.\u00a0This type of insecure attachment might be a result of not having their needs met in a consistent or timely way.\u00a0Consequently, the infant is never sure that the world is a trustworthy place or that he or she can rely on others without some anxiety.\u00a0A caregiver who is unavailable, perhaps because of marital tension, substance abuse, or preoccupation with work, may send a message to the infant they cannot rely on having their needs met.\u00a0A caregiver who attends to a child\u2019s frustration can help teach them to be calm and to relax.\u00a0But an infant who receives only sporadic attention when experiencing discomfort may not learn how to calm down.\r\n\r\nDuring the Strange Situations, these children do not explore the toys in the room, appearing too fearful. When the caregiver leaves, the child becomes extremely disturbed and angry with the parent. Furthermore, when the caregiver returns, the children are difficult to comfort. Resistant attachment is thought to be the result of the caregivers\u2019 inconsistent level of response to their child\u00a0(Ainsworth & Bell, 1970).\r\n
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Watch It<\/h3>\r\nVideo 5.\u00a0<\/strong>The final segment of this video demonstrates the behavior of a child with an anxious-ambivalent attachment style.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/DRejV6f-Y3c?t=161\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Disorganized-Disorientated Attachment<\/h3>\r\nFinally, the\u00a0disorganized-disorganized<\/strong> attachment\u00a0<\/strong>represents the most insecure style of attachment and occurs when the child is given mixed, confused, and inappropriate responses from the caregiver.\u00a0For example, a mother who suffers from schizophrenia may laugh when a child is hurting or cry when a child exhibits joy.\u00a0The\u00a0child does not learn how to interpret emotions or to connect with the unpredictable caregiver.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>This type of attachment is seen most often in kids who have been abused or severely neglected. Research has shown that abuse disrupts a child\u2019s ability to regulate their emotions.\u00a0<\/span>These children behaved oddly in the Strange Situation. They freeze, run around the room in an erratic manner, or try to run away when the caregiver returns (Main & Solomon, 1990) and their behavior tends to be unpredictable in response to the protocol.\r\n\r\nHow common are the attachment styles among children in the United States? It is estimated that about 65 percent of children in the United States are securely attached.\u00a0Twenty percent exhibit avoidant styles and 10 to 15 percent are resistant.\u00a0Another 5 to 10 percent may be characterized as disorganized.\r\n

Influences on Attachment Formation<\/h2>\r\nWhile Ainsworth\u2019s research has found support in subsequent studies, it has also met criticism. Some researchers have pointed out that a child\u2019s temperament<\/strong> (which we discuss next) may have a strong influence on attachment (Gervai, 2009; Harris, 2009), and others have noted that attachment varies from culture to culture, a factor that was not accounted for in Ainsworth\u2019s research (Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, & Morelli, 2000; van Ijzendoorn & Sagi-Schwartz, 2008).\r\n\r\nAttachment styles vary in the amount of security and closeness felt in the relationship and they can change with new experiences. The type of attachment fostered in parenting styles varies by culture as well.\u00a0For example, German parents value independence and Japanese mothers are typically by their children\u2019s sides.\u00a0As a result, the rate of insecure-avoidant attachments is higher in Germany and insecure-resistant attachments are higher in Japan.\u00a0These\u00a0differences reflect cultural variation rather than true insecurity, however (van Ijzendoorn and Sagi, 1999). \u00a0Keep in mind that methods for measuring attachment styles have been based on a model that reflects middle-class, US values and interpretation.\u00a0Newer methods for assessing attachment styles involve using a Q-sort technique in which a large number of behaviors are recorded on cards and the observer sorts the cards in a way that reflects the type of behavior that occurs within the situation.","rendered":"

Psychosocial development occurs as children form relationships, interact with others, and understand and manage their feelings. In social and emotional development, forming healthy attachments is very important and is the major social milestone of infancy. Attachment<\/strong> is a long-standing connection or bond with others. Developmental psychologists are interested in how infants reach this milestone. They ask such questions as: How do parent and infant attachment bonds form? How does neglect affect these bonds? What accounts for children\u2019s attachment differences?<\/p>\n

Early Attachment Research<\/h2>\n

Researchers Harry Harlow, John Bowlby, and Mary Ainsworth conducted studies designed to answer these questions. In the 1950s, Harlow conducted a series of experiments on monkeys. He separated newborn monkeys from their mothers. Each monkey was presented with two surrogate mothers. One surrogate mother was made out of wire mesh, and she could dispense milk. The other surrogate mother was softer and made from cloth: This monkey did not dispense milk. Research shows that the monkeys preferred the soft, cuddly cloth monkey, even though she did not provide any nourishment. The baby monkeys spent their time clinging to the cloth monkey and only went to the wire monkey when they needed to be feed. Prior to this study, the medical and scientific communities generally thought that babies become attached to the people who provide their nourishment. However, Harlow (1958) concluded that there was more to the mother-child bond than nourishment. Feelings of comfort and security are the critical components of maternal-infant bonding, which leads to healthy psychosocial development.<\/p>\n