Aineworth's Attachment Theory Analysis

The origins of Attachment theory can be traced to the influential work of John Bowlby (1958). Bowlby’s work as a psychiatrist in a Child Guidance Clinic in London caused him to consider the significance of the child’s relationship with their mother in terms of their cognitive, emotional and social development. Specifically, it contributed to enthralling his interests surrounding the link between early infant separations with the mother and later maladjustment, leading Bowlby to formulate the Theory of Attachment. Bowlby argues that this attachment between the mother and child is different in a qualitative form from any other form attachment. This theory, although seminal, holds many criticisms from others, stating that children learn more from their peers rather than from their parents (Harris, 1998). A separate criticism is that of Field’s (1996), who evaluates the many limitations of the Attachment Theory.

Within the outline of attachment theory, Mary Ainsworth was the first to provide a detailed description of maternal sensitivity. Maternal sensitivity is a mother 's ability to perceive and understand the meaning behind her infant 's behavioral signals, and to respond to them quickly and appropriately. In study with 73 mothers and their second-born child, stability and main-level differences between measures of maternal sensitivity across settings and over time were studied. Maternal sensitivity was considered at three and six months during bathing, free play on mother’s lap and the starting point and gathering episode of the Still Face Paradigm. Harsh discipline was predicted by maternal sensitivity at three months, which was fully mediated by maternal sensitivity at six months. The widespread attention for sensitive parenting behavior is certainly not without ground, since many studies have shown major relationships between maternal sensitivity and a variety of positive outcomes such as secure attachment, self-regulation, social functioning, and cognitive competence. What started with Ainsworth’s elaborate full-day observation developed into more well-organized methods used across a variety of settings ranging from natural daily routines to play and stress-encouraging patterns.

B1/A2/A*1-John Bowlby’s attachment theory is a positive aspect to this transition as the child are likely to gain secure attachments with their key worker which enables them to work closely with each other, this then allows the child to be more comfortable with any support they receive throughout the process, however the child may become too attached to their key worker and may face issues later when the times comes for them to separate therefore it is important for children to spend time with other members of staff. Children can be attached to other practitioners other than their key worker so it is important for both to communicate to ensure that the key worker knows everything about the child and keep on track with any paperwork they have to complete about the child and keep track of the child’s progress and development. I think that Bowlby attachment theory is important within this transition as the child going into care needs a secure attachment to someone as the attachment to their parents will be disrupted and the child needs someone for support especially a child of this age. The child can make an attachment to their foster carer however this also may be difficult if the child is in temporary foster care and are removed from care, this may cause the child distress as all the attachments they have made are being disrupted. There are many criticism of Bowlby’s theory, one of these are that Bowlby believed that ‘Bowlby suggested that a child would initially form only

Theory based strategies help carers of Looked after Children to facilitate and rebuild secure attachments when they are supporting and working with children in care, or if they move placements for example, into an adoptive or foster family. These strategies help the carers manage and understand challenging behaviour that is often caused as a consequence of an insecure attachment. Attachment can be defined as a long-lasting bond that is developed by infants towards their parents and is described as ‘a positive emotional link between two people – a link of affection’. (Lindon,1998,35,Cited in Crawford et al, 2005). Attachment disorders can impact on a child’s developmental wellbeing throughout childhood and into adolescence. Evaluating the attachment theory can show different ways these disorders affect the relationship of the child and carer.

Attachment is an integral part of the human condition, through it bonds are created between child and caregiver and these bond help contribute to a developing person’s sense of self and the world around them. These feeling of connection carry over from parent, to child, to later life from the person to their partner and then their own children. Attachment theory grew out of the understanding that young children in their early fragile stages of development require protection and security to increase their chance of survival, protection is present in the form of the parents from whom physical and a psychological sense of security comes. The infant sees their parents as a protector and a secure base through which they can always turn to in moments of stress when experiencing the world (Browne & Shlosberg, 2006).

Interventions The following interventions would be what I recommend for Meredith to be able to develop a secure attachment with people in her life. Have therapy sessions based on having secure relationships • As Meredith’s counsellor, I would need to show Meredith that secure relationships can happen whether they are romantic relationships or whether they are relationships with friends and co-workers. • If Meredith is still with Derek working with Derek and Meredith as a couple to work on their relationship because Meredith should be able to fill the void, she is feeling in her life.

The Attachment Theory The attachment theory talks about the early significance and developments of attachment between infants and their mothers. Attachment can be defined as intense, emotional ties to specific people. The attachment process can be divided into pre-attachment, discriminate and indiscriminate and multiple attachment phases.

Tammy James is a 35 year old African American female, born female. She currently has a boyfriend, but is not married, and she has also never been married. Tammy is currently working as a Home Care specialists for the elderly population in an agency which the agency provides healthcare and personal care in the patient’s home. She does not work there full-time, but her grandmother provides a lot of financial stability for the mother and her children. Tammy has three children ages five and seven years old, and a seven month old. Tammy and her three children live with her grandmother in a single-family home. Tammy’s speech is within normal limits (WNL), and rapport is becoming established successfully through weekly home visiting and unconditional positive regard. Tammy’s mood euthymic and affect is congruent to content, she is Oriented X4. She is neatly groomed in loose fitting pants, and tank top with sweater, closed-toe shoes, and her hair is pinned back. Tammy has had previous experience with Child Development

Mary Ainsworth is known today as “The Mother of the Attachment Theory”, and it is by no fluke that she earned this title. In 1969, the British psychologist took on the studies of John Bowlby consisting of infant humans and their attachment styles towards their caregiver. While Bowlby already had his own theories, Ainsworth took his ideas and ran with them. She developed a study known as the “Strange Situation.” During this experiment, she took infants ranging from 12-24 months and categorized them according to their reaction to a stressful situation.

Attachment I feel is a very influential element to establish from the beginning of life. As a mom it happened the moment I found out I was pregnant. Not all moms have this feeling but what a bond I have established with my daughter. From day one we began the journey of trust, love, and reliability. I feel I had a lack of this bond with my mother, so I have tried to break the cycle and make it better with my daughter.

This essay aims to analyse the topics of attachment and emotional development in relation to our understanding of developmental disorders. It will start outlining what developmental disorders are (Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder etc.) and then it will introduce Theory of Mind and the False-belief task’s critique, John Bowlby’s hypothesis, Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory and Strange Situation experiment and their critiques. Finally it will discuss the relevance of these studies for the assessment of the cited disorders.

Family life can sometimes be perceived as chaotic and unreasonable when faced with challenges. However, from a systems theory perspective, these erratic behaviors can often be explained by the interdependent workings of the family itself and reveal reason within chaos. Applying the attachment theory to this theory, an explanation for a child’s reactions within the situation and in the future can be attributed to the relationship between the caregiver and the child. When considering the day I left my mother’s drug use in Mississippi for my father’s family in Florida, it is difficult to see reason in why I eventually moved back to Mississippi. However, looking back at our first Florida family dinner and the conversations each Hollowell had

From my standpoint, the concept of love is puzzling and we have struggled to understand it for many years. My own definition of love is an opening to our hearts and mind which causes an emotion that holds the most happiness. Over the years, researchers have developed theories and perspectives of love. According to Family and Personal Development it stated, “Attachment theory focuses on how children develop attachment to their caregivers, usually their parents, in infancy.” (265) Although this theory is a child development theory, it has been applied to adult attachment since the late 1980s. Also including, the development of intimate and love relationships. Attachment starts at a young age, beginning with parents, followed by peers, close friends,

Although the previous study brought about some uneasy feelings, there have been other studies done on the attachment styles in regards to support seeking and caregiving in intimate relationships. A particular study, done by Collins and Feeney (2000), used the attachment theory as a framework for exploring support-seeking and caregiving processes in adult intimate relationships. They examined how support-seeking and caregiving behaviors are coordinated in and how these behaviors are related to support seekers' own perceptions of their interaction and their mood after the interaction took place. They also examined how individual differences in attachment style shape the nature and quality of support interactions and how these interactions are

At another extreme, there are others who would tell parents to respond to their crying infants. Proponents of this practice believe that responding to a crying infant will contribute to the development of infant trust and attachment. According to Ludington-Hoe, Cong & Hashemi (2002), failing to respond to an infant’s cries quickly, regularly and thoroughly may lead to low self-esteem and a damaged attachment between the caregiver and the infant. Yet, there are still many parents who delay responding to infant crying due to the belief that infants can be spoiled when their cries are answered. Parents can be reassured that this belief is not supported by any research and neuroplasticity suggests that managing early infant crying appropriately