The Effects Of Secure And Insecure Attachments On Intellectual, Emotional And Social Child Developmental

This essay is looking at the similarities of two researchers into attachment. The aim is to present their work so as to compare and contrast the different approaches and techniques used by both Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth. Even though they both had their different techniques in carrying out their experiments, the conclusion of their findings was very similar and this essay will be showing these findings by contrast. Both psychologists wanted to find out the underlying mechanics of attachment of mothers and their young.

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).

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)

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation experiment involved a mother a child and a stranger. The experiment show that when the child was attached to the mother she was the only one who could comfort the child. The stranger could not comfort the child and when the child was left alone with out the mother the child would be upset. Ainsworth’s experiment showed that there are three types of attachment styles secure attachment, ambivalent attachment, and avoidant attachment. The child with secure attachment was very upset when the mother left and was not comforted by the stranger. Once the mother came back the child was okay and began to play again. Children with this type of attachment do this with their attachment figure because they know that the

Development is an essential and mandatory constituent of human life that operates on multiple levels. It is a precise process, and there are a number of factors that affect its effectiveness. In particular, the development of a child is determinant of the adolescent behaviors, uniqueness and intelligence. Therefore, a considerable degree of weight is placed on the components that lead to the maturity of the child. In the development of a child, one of the key principles is called attachment. Just as safe attachment between the caregiver and the child can result in successful physical, mental and social development, vulnerable attachment can yield damaging consequences for the child in these areas (DeMulder, Denham, Schmidt, & Mitchell, 2000). Reactive attachment disorder is a likely outcome of unsafe attachment that eventually restricts the child’s capacity to emotionally and socially connect with other individuals, while destroying the cognitive ability as well (Crosson-Tower, 2013). This paper presents a detailed discussion on the attachment disorder in children and its impact on child development.

Having a secure bond of attachment to another person is regarded as a foundation for successful social and emotional development. “It has been observed that children with secure attachments are more socially competent than those with insecure attachment” (Neaum. S. 2010). By the child having formed secured relationships it enables them to engage with the world with a sense of confidence and self-esteem. children who have secure attachments are also known to show more co-operative behaviour.

In 1979, developmental psychologist Mary Ainsworth conducted an experiment with infants to determine if they had insecure or secure attachment to their mothers. In what she called a “Strange Situation,” babies had to cope with their mothers leaving the room and being left alone with a stranger. The ones who cried at first, played with the stranger, and then were happy when the mother returned were deemed to have secure attachment. Those who could not cope with their mother’s departure or begrudgingly ignored their mother upon return, were considered to have insecure attachment (Ainsworth). Later on in life, these infants were studied again.

Mary Main was Ainssowrth student. She therefore introduced another fourth category of attachment styles with her attachment studies with adults. During her longitudinal research project alongside her colleague Goldwyn on middle class children’s attachment styles, they found that about 79% of the time attachment styles remained constant from 18 months to 6 years of age (in Brandell & Ringel, 2007,). However in their observations about 5%) that did not fit into Ainsworth’s classification of attachment styles, which they called ‘disorganized/disoriented attachment’ (Main & Solomon, 1986, 1990). These children were fearful and engaged in repetitive or aggressive behaviors. Their behaviors at reunion were unpredictable. They displayed

A mother and child’s bond is one of the most precious things ever, but have you ever wondered why? Most importantly, how does the attachment between a mother and child affect the development of the child? This paper will depict the main ideas of attachment as it is theorized by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth and it will further show how their theories relate to the theory of Erik Erikson. I will also share my personal experience of attachment and how I can use these theory aspects in my professional career.

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.

Secure attachment can support the child in developing and reaching their milestones in terms of their positive behaviour adjustment to adulthood, emotional, cognitive and biological development. (Granot and Mayseless, 2001).This can be difficult for mothers if there experiencing symptoms of PND which in turns leads to insecure attachments. Insecure attachment can lead to biochemical consequences in the developing brain and also social and emotional problems for the child (Levy and Orlans, 2014). Lack of love and security due to high level stress hormone can result in babies having impaired of body and brain (Van der Kolk, 2003). This highlights the importance role attachment plays in childhood development.

The attachment risk model is a single factor main effect model. The unit of analysis of the model is twofold. From the time of the child’s birth until two years of age, the unit of analysis is the mother and after two years, the child becomes the unit. The cause is seen as maternal sensitivity during the critical period. After the critical period, the cause becomes endogenous, or within the child’s foundation. The outcomes are first seen in the child’s behavior at time one. There are four behaviors that are observed: separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, exploration, and reunion behavior. These behaviors are measured by what Mary Ainsworth called the “Strange Situation,” which produces four different groups. Group A is the “avoidant and insecure” group. These children are unable to self soothe when their mother leaves, displaying strong separation anxiety. However, they avoid her when she returns. Group B children are “securely” attached. Group C children are “resistant” or “insecure and infirm.” They are unable to self soothe. Group D children are “dazed and disorganized,” displaying an inability to self soothe

Mary Ainsworth performed the Strange Situation Experiment which held different situations with children involving the parent, child and stranger (McLeod 2008). Based on how the child reacted with the stranger with the room when the mother was there, when the mother left, when the both the stranger and mother left and how the child reacted when they were reunited led to the classifications of attachment

Mary S. Ainsworth was fascinated in the association between infants and their mothers that she later coined the theory of infant-mother attachment. According to Ainsworth, there are three evident attachment patterns that will develop, secure, anxious and avoidant infants. Ainsworth felt it was substantially necessary for a child to transition out from a mother’s attachment and vulnerability to autonomy and independence as a factor in normal development in personality. One of the key points of Ainsworth security theory is that infants need to “develop a sense of direction and secure dependence on parents” before leaving the nest into a strange and unfamiliar situation (Bretherton, 1992). According to Ainsworth, “Familial security in the

Ainsworth & Bell (1970) explains the relationship between a mother and a child, in regards to attachment and exploration. The article discusses the child’s attachment behavior during separation and reunion of the mother. Ainsworth & Bell (1970) research exemplifies the idea of nurture being the primary reason for some characteristics of attachment to lead into adulthood. Ainsworth & Bell (1970) believe that attachment to the mother increases explanatory behavior and separation causes insecurities towards the mother. This theory, nonetheless, has several impediments. While attachment behavior to the mother is crucial for the relationship among the infant and the mother, this is not the only relationship that is established among infants. Relationships with close family members and fathers need to be considered. White middle class families were used during the experiment, while the middle class is known to have a healthier lifestyle then lowercase families. Ainsworth & Bell (l970) lack to show variation among infants that grew up in a bad environment that could potentially play a factor among infant and mother attachmment. Ainsworth & Bell (1970) research is in nurture during early child development context; however the environment and connections made with people throughout a child’s life also shape attachment characteristics among children.