How Internal And External Factors Influence The Quality Of Attachment

Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)

To develop into a psychologically healthy human being, a child must have a relationship with an adult who is nurturing, protective, and fosters trust and security.19 Attachment refers to this relationship between 2 people and forms the basis for long-term relationships or bonds with other persons. Attachment is an active process—it can be secure or insecure, maladapative or productive. Attachment to a primary caregiver is essential to the development of emotional security and social conscience.20 Optimal child development occurs when a spectrum of needs are consistently met over an extended period. Successful parenting is based on a healthy, respectful, and long-lasting relationship with the child. This process of parenting, especially in

In this discussion, the primary caregiver will be the mother. Attachment is considered vital for later life in terms of social development. Evidence for this was provided by Waters et al. (1979); children who were securely attached in their infancy years were prone to be more popular and sociable in nursery at the age of 3.5 years. In comparison, Erickson et al. (1985) found that insecurely attached children had more difficulty in being sociable in later life, displaying hostility, withdrawn and lacked social skills. If a child is in non-maternal care, this

Another concept through which the presenting issue can be examined, is by focusing on Brian and Steve’s attachment style with their family of origin. Bowlby (1979) deliberated that in-order for babies to survive, there is a biological drive to seek proximity to the primary caregiver. An individual’s ability to respond, process elements of their dynamic environment and store these internal representation in their neurobiology to aid survival, forms the premise of attachment theory (Perry & Pollard, 1998). There are four attachment styles: secure attachment, avoidant attachment, ambivalent attachment and disorganised attachment. The characteristic of behaviour in individuals varies significantly between each styles. A securely attached

Attachment is defined as a deep, affectionate, and enduring emotional bond that forms between two people, namely an infant and a caregiver. It is developed during the first years of an infant’s life and has four types depending on the quality of the attachment: secure, ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganised. It has been reported that approximately only 60 to 65 percent of children form secure attachment to their caregivers. Research indicates that the early attachment relationship is an essential foundation for later development. Insecurely attached infants are more likely to grow into aggressive, defiant and hyperactive individuals with lower academic skills compared to securely attached children, they are also more prone to psychiatric disorders and other problems. In contrast, individuals who form a secure attachment in their infancy are more resilient to depression, parental stress, family instability, and poverty compared to those who form an insecure attachment. Given the prevalence and consequences, it is important to educate parents on the impacts that attachment quality can have on a child’s development and later life.

A child’s ability to function and comply with society’s rules and regulations rely on a healthy early childhood attachment. Attachment is the biological instinct for infant to seek closeness to their caregiver. A secure attachment develops through consistent and positive, interactions between the caregiver and the child. A child’s physical development, mental development, social development, and ability to form daily living skills, all begin to develop through that secure development but continues to develop through continued nurture throughout that child’s life. Children who fail to receive a secure attachment will most likely struggle with self-regulation making it hard to control behaviors and impulses.

Secure and loving relationships are vital in order for us to, "… survive, learn, work, love and procreate" (Perry, 2013). This is especially true during the first few years of life in which infants cannot advocate for themselves. In order to survive, infants depend on their caregivers to address their needs and provide for them (Shaffer & Kipp, 2014). In addition, research has found that many of the characteristics that are typically associated with a healthy and happy person such as the ability to love, empathy, and caring are connected with the type of attachment that was developed during infancy and early childhood (Perry,

Studies have shown agreement in nonclinical samples between parents’ interpretations of their early family relationships and the security of attachment the child has with them. Many previous studies focus on main and direct effects of parents’ attachment histories on their children’s adaptation, which are believed to be mediated by the quality of current family relationships. The early relationships that parents have with their own parents had created

The formation of attachment begins at birth with the child forming some type or form of attachment with their parents or primary caregiver. Hopefully, the child is able to form a proper or secure attachment with their parent or primary caregivers because the attachment formed between the parents or primary caregiver acts the foundation for how well the child will be able to form attachments with others outside the immediate family (Gullone, Ollendick, King,2006).This is because the type or level of attachment the child was able to form with his or her parent generally predicts the type or level of attachment the child will form with others outside their intermediate family. However, as the individual interacts with the outside world more and

The majority of developmental theories say that children must develop a secure primary attachment in order to develop in a healthy manner. A secure and strong attachment is clearly essential for healthy future relationships. John Bowlby’s studies in childhood development led him to the conclusion that a strong attachment to a caregiver provides a necessary sense of security and foundation. Without such a relationship in place, Bowlby found that a great deal of developmental energy is expended in the search for stability and security. In general, those without such attachments are fearful and are less willing to seek out and learn from new

Young children need to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver in order for their social and emotional development to occur normally. Without this attachment, they will suffer serious psychological and social impairment. During the first two years, how the parents or caregivers respond to their infants, particularly during times of distress, establishes the types of patterns of attachment their children form. These patterns will go on to guide the child’s feelings, thoughts and expectations as an adult in future

In this essay the reader will gain an insight into the importance of services such as The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme in relation to attunement and attachment, the importance of healthy attachment behaviors, how and why ECCE workers must be able to provide a secure base for healthy attachments and what can happen if healthy attachment behaviors are not learned. John Bowlby first introduced his theory of attachment and its central role in child development more than 50 years ago. “The attachment theory focuses on how children develop within relationships, and the impact that this has for later social and emotional development. This in turn impacts on cognitive development, the way in which the child learns and understands

The definition of attachment involves an affectional bond that infants need to form with a differentiated and preferred individual that becomes an attachment figure, consisting in a sustained nurturing relationship with the sensitive caregiver (Bowlbly, 1979). Attachment is conceptualized as an evolutionary feature: individuals can create a secure base around which one is able to explore and gain independence as well as a safe haven to which individuals can return and be reassured in a situation of distress or danger (Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby, 1969). On the contrary, unresponsive or atypical ways of parenting can lead to aberrant behaviours or, if others risk factors are present, to psychopathology (Jacobsen, Edelstein, Hoffman, 1994; Schaffer, 1996). Secure attachment with the primary caregiver is necessary for social and emotional regulation as well as cognitive and resilience abilities(Bowlby, 1982; Ainsworth & Bell,1970); insecure attachment affects individuals’ life in many aspects, especially the ability to face distress (Macbeth et al., 2011), and not too rarely the aftermaths of an insane attachment can culminate in personality disorders (Crawford et al.,

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.

Attachment theory is a concept that explores the importance of attachment in respect to direct development. “It is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space” (Bowlby, 1969; McLeod, 2009). It is the relationship that develops within the first year of the infant’s life between them and their caregiver. The theory also relates to the quality of the attachment that is shown in the behavior of the infant (Rieser-Danner, 2016). Attachment theory shows that infants need a close nurturing relationship with their caregiver in order to have a healthy relationship. Lack of response from the caregiver