Caregivers' Behavior Contributes to Offspring Behavior

The Strange Situation is meant to be a snapshot of the relationship between infant and caregiver, and provide insight into the dyadic patterns that define this bond. Securely attached children are thought to have a primary caregiver who is sensitive, available and receptive to their infants needs. Insecure-avoidant children have primary caregivers who are intrusive, controlling and hurtful. These caregivers may be present in the infant’s life but unable to understand their infants needs, and provide the correct response. Caregivers of insecure-ambivalent infants have been found to be unresponsive to the needs of the infant, and very often unavailable. The effect of this treatment is that the infant is starved for affection and attention. The infant also feels the need to amplify their needs in an effort to reach their caregiver (Barnett & Vondra, 1999).

Ainsworth (1978) developed the Strange Situation Theory, which is how one is able to view the different levels of attachment (Groh, Roisman, Booth-LaForce, Flaley, Owen, Cox, & Burchinal, 2014). The first attachment is secure attachment, which is when a child is able to greet and seek out contact with the caregiver upon arrival after a stressful separation (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). The next is anxious-avoidant/resistant (insecure) attachment, when the child has no want to contact with the caregiver while showing signs of resistance upon the return (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). The last and the most crucial to child development is disoriented/ disorganized attachment; conflicting responses from the child which show hostile and aggressive behavior toward the caregiver (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). All of these attachements show the different types of ways that a child can communicate with their caregiver. These actions are the representations of their early attachment and experiences with the caregiver (Siebert & Kerns, 2015). If there are no changes toward the environment, the attention

Mary Ainsworth is known for her ‘Strange Situation’ (Custance 2010) studies with children. Her theory was that the quality of an infant’s attachment depends largely on the kind of attention the infant has received. She observed the attachment styles of children, mostly aged between 12 and 24 months, by placing them in an environment and recording their reactions to their mothers (or primary caregivers) leaving the room and then returning. Based on these observations Ainsworth concluded that there are different types of attachment. Three types of attachment are: ‘anxious-avoidant’, where the child shows little upset with the stranger, but will avoid contact with the parent on their return. The ‘securely attached’ child is one that will show moderate levels of proximity seeking towards the parents and is upset by their departure but deals with the parents return positively, often returning to play. The third type is the ‘anxious-resistant’ child; greatly upset by the parent’s departure and on reunion seems angry and will not be comforted or picked up (Custance 2010).

The past violence that the subject and his brother suffered through is a large factor in their need for violent satisfaction. The lack of emotional support and adoration can connect with the subject’s sexual gratification that he achieves through killing. Relentless abuse ongoing throughout childhood backed by neglect in school (often connatural with social mistreatment) can “create a violent, deviant personality” (Pakhomou, 220). Children are greatly impact with what surrounds them. The negativity and violence that are exposed to them will form lasting flashbulb memories that can shape not only their actions in the future but how they understand and perceive life. Violence plays a big part in developing the characteristics of a serial killer, but there are also other components that can lead to a distraught and homicidal person. In a research composed by James Beasley, he presents several different factors of development into becoming a serial killer through the case studies of seven offenders. Offender number three had multiple challenges that led him to become as aggressive and hostile as he was. As a child, his mother was completely absent and was an alcoholic. His stepfather, who physically and verbally abused him, lacked the comfort and attention any child would need. After learning that he would repeat the third grade, his behavior became hostile and he showed a lack of self-esteem. At the age of seven, the subject already began to show

Overtime violence interrupted youth’s ability to focus, trust, communicate, believe and consider a future for themselves. Children who are exposed to high levels of risk factors are more violent than youths who are not exposed to such factors.

According to attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982, 1979), attachment patterns are formed in the context of early childhood experiences with caregivers and maintained by interpersonal relationships in adulthood. Attachment is defined as an affectionate bond between two individuals that endures through space and time and serves to join them emotionally. Attachment trauma may be especially problematic because of its influence on the course of psychological, social, emotional and physiological development over one 's lifetime. Also, if a child is traumatized by reason of caregiver neglect or maltreatment, significant damage in attachment development may occur. Past research discovered that over two-thirds of maltreated children develop insecure attachment styles (Friedrich, 2002). Moreover, children who have experienced abuse or neglect in early childhood

Attachment is a term used to describe the dependency relationship a child develops towards his or her primary caregivers. It is first observable during the latter half of the first year of life and develops progressively over the first four years of life. It is most readily observed in the behavior of children when they are sick, injured, tired, anxious, hungry or thirsty. Although early attachment research focused on the mother and infant, it is now generally accepted that children develop multiple attachment relationships. An ‘attachment figure’ is defined as someone who provides physical and emotional care has continuity and consistency in the child’s life, and who has an emotional investment in the child’s life. This can include parents (biological, foster, adopted), grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and alternate caregivers (e.g. child-care workers). Given that children are able to form multiple attachments, the question has been asked as to which attachment relationship is most influential on children’s developmental outcomes.

surrounding environment (Bowlby, 1982) including family, friends, teachers, and other members of the community. Children who are securely attached have been found to have parents whose parenting style is attentive and responsive to the child’s needs while those whose parents are undependable, inconsistent and neglectful have children who are more likely to display signs of insecure attachment (including ambivalent or avoidant) (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970;Bowlby, 1982; Jurbergs & Ledley, 2005).

adults, later on. A general assumption, according to Delson, et al., 2004 is that factors as the

Research has shown that children who have secure attachments to their primary caregivers become self-reliant, are more confident and are able to form strong, healthy relationships as they enter into adult-hood (Sroufe, L. A., 2005; Garcia-Sierra, P., 2012). On the other end of the spectrum, children growing up with a disorganized attachment to their primary caregiver have difficulty with social relationships and emotional regulation (Stronach et al., 2011). It is important for caregivers, as well as teachers to understand the 4 types of attachment and the behaviors associated with each so that they can best support the children under their direct supervision.

Avoidant infants, who have learned that their proximity seeking will be rejected, show a pattern of avoidance to their primary caregiver. Anxious-ambivalent (or anxious-resistant) infants, who have learned that attachment figures are inconsistent and unreliable, are preoccupied with the whereabouts of their attachment figures, and often display ambivalent or conflicted behaviours toward them. Although these internal working models may be malleable and subject to revision in the light of new attachment experiences (Hazan & Shaver, 1987), they seem to be resistant to change and extend into adulthood (Fraley, 2002). This may be due, at least in part, to the reciprocal nature of interactions with others: not only do working models shape an individual’s interactions with the environment, but they also shape the interpretation of the environment’s effects on the individual, and therefore tend to reinforce the individual’s original belief (e.g., an avoidant individual will often interpret people’s actions in a negative way, which supports their negative beliefs about people, and reinforces their underlying

Bowlby, an early psychologist studying attachment styles theorized that the attachment relationship that a child has with his/her primary caregiver will determine the attachment style the child develops (Bowlby, 1969). When caregivers provide a safe and trusting environment and are responsive to the needs of the child, the child develops a secure attachment style. When the child does not receive the positive reinforcement of a healthy relationship with their primary caregiver the attachment style developed is dismissive, anxious, or fearful. The attachment style is carried into their adult relationships and influence the success or failure of their adult relationships. The attachment style appears to be more flexible than first thought with trauma and negative life events having influence on the stability of the attachment style. This paper will review research and articles about attachment style in relation to positive and negative child-caregiver relations and the stability of the attachment style over time.

Through much research and experimentation, it has been proven that there are three main attachment styles that children might have. These three forms of attachment include: secure attachment, avoidant attachment and ambivalent attachment (Grison, 2016, p.128). Based on those attachment patterns observed by Mary Ainsworth’s “Strange-Situation Test”, a child who has a secure attachment with their caregiver will be “distressed when the caregiver leaves and quickly comforted when they return” (p.128). Oppositely, a child with an avoidant attachment is “not distressed when the caregiver leaves and avoids them when they return” (p.128). In addition, an ambivalent attachment is reflected when a child is “inconsolably upset when the caregiver leaves and will both seek and reject caring contact when the caregiver returns” (p. 128). Each of these types of attachment result directly from the relationship that a child has with their parents. If a child spends a lot of time with their parents, they are

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.

Lastly, avoidant attached infants are untroubled when the caregiver leaves and returns. The infant wants to keep closeness to the caregiver but this attachment style lets the infant maintain closeness to the caregiver even in the face of rejection. In order to control their feelings of distress and to prevent more rejection, the infant may just give up on seeking closeness to the caregiver (Walsh, 2015).