Insecure Attachment

Research has revealed that there is a strong relationship between insecure attachment and a history of abuse and neglect (Begle, Dumas & Hanson, 2010). Insecure attachments are formed due to parenting stress and abusive parenting behavior. Parenting stress and abusive parenting behavior form children’s mental schemas of how the world works based upon early interactions with caregivers. These mental schemas construct their expectations about relationships. Ultimately

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)

They are also more likely to have inadequate social skills, more hostile behavior, and trouble following the rules. Research suggests this occurs because children are stressed from the long hours, and because of the low quality of the daycare. (Berk, 2012) An important factor in preventing insecure attachment is attending a high quality daycare and good communication between the family and the daycare. Family circumstances play a huge role in attachment security. Parents must find a good balance between children, work, and stress to ensure their child has a healthy attachment. Families with excessive stress are more prone to attachment insecurity. Exposure to an insensitive or uncaring environment at home and in a daycare setting magnifies the chances of having an insecure attachment. (Berk, 2012) Children may have emotional issues when there is no attachment to one or more adults. Neglect and child abuse both contribute to insecure attachment. (Berk, 2012)

In Chapter two of Eric Jensen’s book, Teaching With Poverty in Mind, he re-illustrates the four major risk factors that are affecting children raised in poverty. The four risk factors are Emotional and Social Challenges, Acute and Chronic Stressors, Cognitive Lag, and Health and Safety Issues. According to Jensen’s Emotional and Social Challenge theory, when a relationship is formed with the parent, children develop healthy social skills at an early age. Jensen implies that children in poverty suffer emotional and social challenges due to the lack of connection with their parent. He states, “Low-income parents are often overwhelmed by diminished self-esteem, depression, and sense of powerlessness and inability to cope- feelings that may get

A study conducted by Termini et al (2009) asserted that in order for a child to develop into a successful adult, they need a positive experience and the encouraging influence of a parental figure. The interactions between parent and child are learning experiences that will be imprinted on them across a lifetime. When unhealthy and abusive bonds are formed, the children will grow into adults with anti-social behaviors. These bonds can be established as early as infancy in many cases. Although the age range utilized for this experiment were 5 to 19 years of age, due to the importance of understanding various attachment styles across a lifetime, it is critical to further understand this course of research. Furthermore, previous research has established a pattern of personality traits often demonstrated by victims of child abuse. The research conducted by Termini et al (2009) primary focus is on individuals who were diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder. Individuals diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder typically have a history of being

I would like to think that I have a secure attachment style, which I do in certain instances. Of course that is my endeavor, to have a secure attachment style, which everybody should try to do also; however, I find myself exhibiting a mixture of two other attachment styles. The first style I have a propensity to exhibit is the disorganized attachment style, the second is the avoidant attachment style. While I do not think I am as bad as I was before, I still struggle with the two. Taking this course has helped me put a name to the characteristics I show.

Securely attached infants have a good quality of relationship with their parents. In the strange situation, where parents leave their child alone or with a stranger in a room full of toys, these children are upset when their parents leave, but easily comforted when they return. The child uses the parent as a “secure base” from which to explore the environment. In the strange situation, insecure/resistant infants

In order for children to thrive, infants need to experience healthy nurturing relationships with their mother or caregiver. Nevertheless, without a mother infant attachment bond the growth and development of personality would be non-existent to the infant or child. For the explanation if attachment, family factors do play an imperative role for positive development in a mother infant attachment bond. Studies show that an individual who has a healthy relationship with parent s will have a positive or nurturing relationship with their peers (Richters & Walters, 1991). Individuals who are alienated growing up are more prone to the development of eating disorders or self-harm behaviors that had negative experiences growing up in a house hold with conflicts, or the lack of socialization skills (Richters & Walters, 1992).

There are a number of influences that contribute to the formation of attachments and the differences among individuals. One influence on attachment is the amount of time a caregiver spends with an infant. The amount of time can be affected by the age, health, and social status of the mother. For example, a younger, teenage mother, may return to school in order to complete their education. Returning to school can preoccupy a mother and create a disconnect when an infant’s distress and behaviors are not attended to or ignored. Another example of how the amount of time spent with an infant can be affected is a single-mother or a mother who returns to work within the sensitive time of an infant’s development. Similar to the younger mother example,

In the first few months of life, the sole purpose of any child’s behaviour is to survive. This, more often than not, results in actions that reduce the risk of harm and increase the chances of longevity. Of these behaviours, some argue that the most influential is attachment behaviour. “Attachment behaviour is any form of behaviour that results in a person attaining or maintaining proximity to some other clearly identified individual who is conceived as better able to cope with the world”(Bowlby, 1982). Therefore, children will make an effort to stay close to and under the protection of their primary caregiver. According to Webster, “through interactions with their primary caregiver, the child develops expectations and understandings about the workings of relationships. These mental representations of relationships become internalized to the degree that they influence feelings, thought and behaviour automatically and unconsciously” (1999, p.6). Moreover, the response of the identified individual plays a huge role in the child’s perception of the outside world. If the caregiver responds to the child’s needs in a caring and protective manner, the child will feel safe and comfortable in his or her surroundings. If, on the other hand, the caregiver is often emotionally and/or physically unavailable, the child is likely to

Firstly, issues surrounding poverty and social class. A study conducted by Everett Waters in 1978 found that out of the 50 middle-class children that were observed, 48 maintained their attachment from 12 to 18 months (Birns, 1999, p. 14). A further study conducted by Vaughn et al in 1979 using the ‘Strange Situation’ method and questionnaires. Found that through the 100 under-privileged mothers and infants surveyed, the change of attachment classification was directly linked to the mothers’ stress; the extent of the stress experienced by the mother’s impacted on the infant’s attachment (Birns, 1999, p. 15). Along the same lines, studies conducted by AECOM found that disadvantaged children over the ages of 3 had significantly lower scores, compared to the scores of middle-class children (Birns, 1999, p.

Problem behaviors in single parent homes could be the result of low income within the household. It was reported that 80% of single mother households had incomes of $15,000 of below (Peden, 2004). Loss of economic security can cause many problems in a single parent household. Economic problems may cause a loss of attachment between the parent and the child (Hollist &McBroom, 2006). Poverty has shown to cause poor mental health in single mothers and therefore having a bad influence on children. Poor mental health also had an effect on the mother's ability to perform at work or simply left them unemployed.

Economic circumstances has an influence on multiple areas that affect infant development. Income related difference in parenting appear early in the infants life; for instance, on average low income mothers are less affeffectionate, less responsive to infants’ distress signals, and they are more likely to have harsh parenting styles. Children from a low income have fewer stimulating experiences and learning materials than children from higher income households. This leads to apparent differences that during the first years and often last into adulthood. One of those differences are that the children from low income are more likely to have increased behavioral problems and lower cognitive scores. Furthermore, children from a high income family usually experience psychological stress because the parents pressure the child to overachieve. The financial situation can also affect if the infant is able to get the nutrition intake that is needed, and if the infant is unable to get the right nutrition that will lead to other areas of development being affected.Financial situations

Poverty brings several things with it that increase the infant’s risk to physical, emotional, and cognitive harm. The infants and children raised in poverty are less likely to receive basic medical treatment. Untreated illnesses can have lifelong effect on a child. Poverty is a generational issue and often times the mothers has not been taught basic play and interaction skills with their newborn from their mother. It is rare that one moves beyond their scope of life experience. Poverty is one of the risk factors that have additional consequences that accompany it. The families are more likely to live in substandard conditions that expose the infant to environmental risks such as contaminated drinking water and lead. Additional stressors during this stage are financial stressors and depression among the infant’s caregiver. These issues can lead to ignoring of the infant’s emotional needs and the infant misses the opportunity to create a lifelong bond with another and trust in another being able to meet their needs. Inadequate parenting can occur over a child’s entire life span with different and yet still devastating results. As stated in by Hutchinson in her book Dimensions of Human Behavior, Changing the Life Course (2008):

Poverty is a generational issue, and most of the time mothers do not know how to care emotionally for their children. Poverty is one of the risk factors that have additional consequences that accompany it. Poverty brings several things with it that increase the infant’s exposure to physical, emotional, and cognitive harm. Infants and children raised in poverty are less likely to receive basic medical treatment and simple untreated illnesses can have a devastating lifelong effect. Families are more likely to live in substandard conditions that expose the youth to environmental risks such as contaminated drinking water and lead. Underlying stressors associated with poverty are financial stressors and depression among the youth’s caregiver. These issues can lead to ignoring of the infant’s emotional needs and the infant misses the opportunity to create a lifelong bond with another and trust in another being able to meet their needs. Inadequate parenting can occur over a child’s entire life span with different and yet still devastating results. As stated in by Hutchinson in her book Dimensions of Human Behavior, Changing the Life Course (2008):