John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

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).

When babies and young children feel valued, secure and trust the people around them, they are more likely to thrive and achieve their developmental goals. Certain areas of development are linked to the strength of attachment that children have with those around them, especially emotional and language development. We also know that children learn from those they have a strong bond with and so cognitive development can also be linked to strong relationships. This is of course equally true with their primary carer, for example their parents, as well as with their key person in their setting.

After the death of my husband, I have watched my children grapple with grief. At times it seems as if they are in a tug-of-war with God. Losing a loved one has always been a part of life and eventually everyone will go through a time when they will have to grapple with grief. The death of a father at any age can be devastating, but when children lose their father at a young age their feelings of security disappear. If children lose their attachment to their father they are left wondering if they can even trust to put that attachment somewhere else due to the fear of losing it again. Children grieve differently than adults.

John Bowlby had worked with residential school children as a volunteer early on in his career and had determined that the children who suffered the most from anger outbursts, aggressivity, and whom her termed “affectionless” were also the children who had suffered the most maternal deprivation (). Bowlby advanced that the loss of the mother figure was extremely distressing and damaging and could influence adults' behavior years later. Hence, where psychoanalysis had been concerned “solely with the imaginings of the childish mind, the fantasied pleasures and the dreaded retributions” (Fonagy), Bowlby showed that humans do not develop in a void or as “individual monads” but as members of interacting systems. Bowlby developed his theory on attachment for several decades, and at a time where any dealings with childhood trauma were still rigorously influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis through the likes of psychoanalysts such Anna Freud or Melanie Klein. Even Winnicott was “revulsed” upon reading Bowlby's papers (siegel). It certainly was a bitter pill to swallow for psychoanalysts who had been repeating since Freud that the newborn was a little tyrant fighting for oral gratification at the mother's breast and merely clinging on to fulfil sexual instinctual needs. Bowlby's work was thus eschewed for a considerable time, despite his involvement with the World Health Organisation and the considerable empirical weight that was added to his findings by Mary Ainsworth's studies in

Technology has taken over our lives and we are constantly being distracted. According to Jana Brech, teachers have noticed that attention spans of children are getting shorter as they opt for screen based activities over regular reading. Their attachment style may also play a role in how much they pay attention to given assignments. As a result, technology can be affecting college student’s attention span and their attachment style may have a role on who pays more attention. John Bowlby came up with an attachment theory in 1969, he proposed the emotional bond between a child and their primary caregiver which has an affect on the child’s psychological development shaping their personality and the way they will cope.

An attachment is a strong emotional connection in which animals, and people, depend on each other for a sense of security. Attachment is not always reciprocal and is characterized by specific behaviours in children such as seeking proximity to the attachment figure when upset or threatened (Bowlby 1969.) Within the context of child psychology, attachment is the strong bond which forms in early years of life between babies and their primary carers. This concept helps explain development and personality.

When researching treatments for addiction, it is safe to say that because all addicts are unique there will not be a solution that is equally effective for all. There for we must take a relative look at what is measurable. In relation to comorbid psychological conditions, when addicts were screened for lifetime histories of interpersonal trauma instead of PTSD, rates rose from 30-59% up to 55-99% (Padykula, 2010). These alarming rates force us to take a second look at what exactly is the disease of addiction. Is it a mental disease that can be solved with psychoactive drugs, a physiological disease that cannot be cured and only maintained like cancer, or as Padykula put it; an attempt to regulate one’s attachment system in the

When it was time, our precious baby boy was born and we decided to name him Noah. Noah as a newborn was fussy and often wanted to be held. Breastfeeding time seemed to be the perfect soothing method. I enjoyed breastfeeding because it builds up his immune system. When Noah was 3 months old there was not much attachment present, however he would smile at familiar people and toys, and was able to laugh at surprising or funny things indicating that he was comfortable with new situations and was developing awareness of his surroundings. Later on Noah recognized me as his primary caregiver because I was the one always tending to his needs. When he was upset, anxious, or troubled he preferred me over anyone else. According to Bowlby’s theory of attachment “The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world”. The type of attachment that Noah had with me at the time was what Bowlby considered to be an emotional one. It was through an emotional bond that I made Noah feel protected when he was most vulnerable. As a result, Noah was more attached to me than he was to my husband. As time transcurred, he was able to bond to my husband by spending more quality time together.

According to Bowlby’s theory of attachment, bereavement of a loved one brings grief to family members and many families desire to give a decent send off to their loved ones (Gaines, 2016). Bowlby notes that due to the emotional attachment that people have with their loved ones, many families go an extra mile spend some substantial amounts of money on funerals as a sign of showing respect (Gaines, 2016). Funeral costs depend with whom the family is working with. If the family works with the funeral home for the planning of sendoff for their loved ones, the cost can be categorized into three namely: Basic services fee, cash advances and expenses for additional goods or services.

Attachment Theory The attachment between a child, a parent, and caregiver is very special. It is that emotional bond that is formed between two people. It affects them emotionally, physically, and mentally. Research shows that if a child has a stable relationship with the caregiver, that child will feel safer and won’t be tense when the parent leaves.

This theory explains that children have an attachment to the children’s main carer- we see this regularly at nursery and have to support

What makes us, us? We grew up being special kids, completing milestones or not, have great support systems or not. Does it take careful examination of the self to understand who we actually are or is it more simple? Personality development is extremely complex, but occurs simply in every day. It is through the life parables, birth place, and experiences that make us, us.

In relation to Freud and Erikson’s theory, Heenen-Wolff (2011) stated that attachment theories with their interest in terms of interpersonal interactions between mother and the child have influenced greatly in psychoanalysis. In the case study it that Shannon has had not had any contact with her mother since she was three years old and does not what kind of relationship she had with her mother however it does specify that services were concerned about neglect and there was evidence that Shannon was left unsupervised. From this information it relevant to consider the attachment theory and the effect of the lack of relationship Shannon has with her primary care giver when she was an infant. In relation to this Schore (2000) stated that at age three the final stage of the Bowlby’s attachment theory (1969) the child begins to demonstrate behaviours of attachment and begins to develop an internal working model, a cognitive framework that influences the child’s personality and future relationships/interactions with others. This is important to consider in relation to Shannon who was separated from her mother at three years old which could be a concern in terms of her attachment with others during and later in her

An attachment is a strong, intimate, emotional connection between people that persists over time and across certain circumstances. It does not have to be mutual. Attachment is characterized by specific behaviours in children, such as seeking proximity with the attachment figure when upset or threatened (Bowlby, 1969). John Bowlby was a psychoanalyst and he himself believed that mental health and behavioural problems could be attributed to early childhood. Bowlby was influenced by the work of Harry Harlow.

John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure,