A Child's Attachment, And Their Effects On Children's Personality

Perhaps the most influential explanation of attachment was presented by John Bowlby who began developing his ideas in the 1940s. Bowlby was commissioned by the World Health Organisation to investigate whether young children were likely to be harmed if they are separated from their mothers in the early years. (Hayes, 1996). Bowlby (1951) reported that infants possesses an innate need to attach to one main attachment figure (this was usually the mother). According to Hayes (1996), this is a special relationship which is qualitatively different from the relationship they form with any other kind of person. He described this as the process of monotropy; however, Bowlby did not deny that babies formed lots of attachments. (Bailey et al. 2008).

John Bowlby developed his Attachment Theory to examine and explore the contextual relationships between a child and their caregiver and their behavioral repercussions. He describes it is “a way of conceptualizing the propensity of human beings to make strong affectional bonds to particular others and of explaining the many forms of emotional distress and personality disturbance, including anxiety, anger, depression, and emotional detachment, to which unwilling separation and loss give rise” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 127). An infant’s attachment to their primary caregiver establishes a sense of security, through protection, so the infant is able to explore the world with confidence and without threat and risk. During a child’s

According to Ringel and Brandell (2012), Bowlby’s attachment theory was impacted by Spitz’s observation of abundant infants, Darwin’s evolutionary theory, and Harlow’s experiment with baby monkeys that were separated from their mothers (pp. 77-78). Bowlby’s conclusion is that infants’ basic survival needs are not just food and shelter but also love and nurturing (p. 78). Ringel and Brandell (2012), mention that from his work with children in orphanages and hospitals, Bowlby realized the influence of separation and loss on children’s development and the traumatic experiences is the base of attachment theory (p. 78).

There are various factors that contribute to huge challenges or issues in the attachment relationship or connection between parents and their children. Throughout the past few years, several attachment researches have been conducted to examine a wide range of various factors that contribute to these issues. The factors

Bowlby’s attachment theory has greatly influenced practice. His theory of attachment explains the importance of having a figure that the child shares a strong bond with. Having an attachment can significantly support a child’s development as Barbara Woods suggests that “his theory of attachment proposed that attachment is innate in both infants and mothers, and that the formation of this attachment is crucial for the infants development” Wood, B (2001, p.53). Bowlby believed that forming an attachment will help a child develop in all areas e.g. emotionally, physical and mentally. However if they did not form an attachment in the sensitive period, the child may have issues or problems in their cognitive, emotional and social development.

Mary Ainsworth was a psychologist that did a research studies about attachment between mothers and infants. Ainsworth’s research spanned four years of collection and it also took ten years to analyze. Ainsworth worked with John Bowlby and conducted research that provided an empirical support for his explanation of attachment. Ainsworth repeated part of her Ugandan studies in an American city where she observed the relationship between mothers and babies. Mary Ainsworth was known for her strange situation models. She begins

Theories about the bond between the child, its primary caregiver and its impact on child development had been numerous over the 20th century, yet nothing of scientific foundations could be said with regard to child-parent relationships and its effects, be they positive or negative. This was until John Bowlby developed his theory about attachment and Mary Ainsworth developed a method for assessing infant attachment, the strange situation. The strange situation has influenced our understanding of the importance of attachment between a child and its primary caregiver by giving us perspective on how the type of care given up to the first 18 months can set a precedent on the

In 1958, the Attachment theory came into existence. It was developed by John Bowlby on the notion that the quality of the parent -child relationship was essential for development and mental health (Howe, 2011, pg, 7). This thinking was in the context of distress shown by children when separated from their parents or when in unfamiliar surroundings. While having credit for the emergence of the attachment theory, Bowlby subsequently carried out a lot of research work with Mary Ainsworth concluding that children view their attachment figures as both a ?safe haven? to return to for comfort and protection and also a ?secure base? from which to explore their environment. The birth of children gives rise to the need to feel loved and wanted by caregivers, (Maclean and Harrison,2015 pg, 103), the absence of which might result in a range of behaviors to either

Attachment is a carefully constructed bond which is built on trust, love, and compassion between two or more people. The attachment theory in psychology arose due to the work of John Bowlby. In the early 20th century during the 1930’s, Bowlby was a psychiatrist at the Child Guidance Clinic in London, England in which he treated emotionally disturbed children from a variety of different experiences. His experience in the hospital in London caused him to view a child’s relationship with his mother in terms of development in emotion abilities, social abilities, and cognitive abilities. This led to the creation and theorization of the attachment theory of the bond between a mother and her child.

There has been much research on attachment between parent/caregiver and child, but the most recognizable of this research is mostly credited to Mary Ainsworth’s (1970) study of one year-olds and their mothers in the ‘Strange Situation’. The words attachment and bonding are often used synonymously to describe the relationship between parent and child. According to scientists, these terms are distinctive by definition. Attachment is the child’s way of using the parent/primary caregiver as security, safety and source of comfort from which to explore (Waters & Cummings, 2000). Bonding is the formation of a mutual emotional and psychological closeness between a child and the parent(s)/primary caregiver; mostly in the interest of the parent. Attachment theory is of importance when related to parenting for children. Ainsworth describes three types of attachments: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant. A fourth type was later added to describe disorganized attachment. A review of the Strange Situation procedure and interventions to help children develop healthy attachments to primary caregivers is described in this report.

Ainsworth et al (1978) researched secure and insecure attachments using the 'Strange Situation'. This was to research individual in attachment and to see what types of attachment were formed between the mother and baby. One year old babies were observed during seven episodes to find evidence of separation protest

John Bowlby was the founder of attachment theory. Bowlby (1988) states that attachment behaviours are a biological function that serve the purpose of gaining security and protection from attachment figures who are perceived as being “better able to cope with the world” (p. 26). These biological functions can be recognised in specific conditions and behaviours that will assist in us in gaining or maintaining closeness and proximity to attachment figures. Attachment figures can be our parents, or can be other

John Bowlby (1907 - 1990) was a British developmental psychologist in the psychoanalytic tradition, notable for his pioneering work in attachment theory. The most famous and enduring work of John Bowlby was theorizing about attachment styles of infants with primary caretakers. He observed and generalized from his observations, and hence developed a scientific theory (attachment theory). In his view, attachment behaviour was an evolutionary survival strategy for protecting the infant from predators, and attachment theory reflects that. Mary Ainsworth, a student of Bowlby’s, further extended and tested his ideas.

An infant with a secure attachment style has a natural bond with their parent, where they are able to trust them, at the same time leaving their side to discover and explore their surroundings. In an insecure/resistant attachment the relationship the child has with their mother or caregiver is very clingy, thus making them very upset once the caregiver is away. When the mother or caregiver is back they are not easily comforted and resist their effort in comforting them. In an insecure/avoidant attachment the infant is, “indifferent and seems to avoid the mother, they are as easily comforted by a stranger, as by their parent” (Siegler 2011, p.429). Lastly, the disorganized/disoriented attachment is another insecure attachment style in which the infant has no way of coping with stress making their behavior confusing or contradictory. Through these brief descriptions of the attachment theory, many researchers have defined the turning point in which each attachment definition can have an influence on one’s self esteem, well-being and their marital relationship.

John Bowlby (1907 – 1990) was a British psychologist most known for his work developing Attachment Theory. Bowlby initially graduated in 1928 at age 21 from Trinity College at Cambridge going on to gain various postgraduate degrees. Bowlby spent most of his early career working with children at various institutes such as the London Child Guidance Clinic where he worked as a psychiatrist. It was not until 1946 that the beginnings of his theory were laid down when he joined the Tavistock Insititue, researching the effects on young children when separated from primary caregivers (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2016). Bowlby’s work was gradual with his theory slowly developed with three main papers published in 1958, 1960 and 1963 that outlined his Attachment Theory (Holmes, 1993).