What Is John Bowlby's Theory 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)

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

In the part of the essay I will describe and evaluate Bowlbys theory of Attachment and the learning theory of Attachment. I will show strengths and weaknesses in both theories. I will use a collection of source literature to back up and correlate this information.

This foundation theory developed by John Bowlby, focuses on the form, quality, and strength of human attachments made in early life and their effect on development and pro-social behaviors (Tuner, 2011, p. 30). Bowlby’s attachment theory diverged from Freudian theory in many important ways, none more so than his emphasis on the importance of actual experience to human development. In Bowlby’s view, the quality of interactions between infant and caregiver(s), beginning at birth, motivated specifically by the child’s needs for safety and protection, are central to lifespan development (Turner, 2011, p. 31). Bowlby’s main interest was the formation, beginning in infancy, of the behaviors that collectively compose the attachment behavioral system.

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.

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

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

Life for insecure children could be more challenging and difficult to adjust. Although attachment is significant throughout a child life span, the special bond that develops between an infant and primary caregiver in the first year of life is usually seen as the template for future relationship experiences. Children who develop a secure attachment to a primary caregiver have a number of developmental advantages. Children build upon their experiences with their caregivers to develop a clear and organized strategy for ensuring that they can achieve such closeness. A number of important early developmental tasks involve the regulation of emotion; such as managing stress, controlling impulse and rage, coping (change)with shame and developing empathy.

Although secure attachment during infancy is the foundation for continued healthy positive development during the lifespan, it is important to understand that other factors can have a significant effect on development later in life (i.e. illness, loss, and trauma). However, research has shown the importance of consistent care giving that is responsive and nurturing and the caregivers’ ability to effectively accommodate more difficult temperament characteristics ,as well as other factors, influence the development of healthy attachment{{64 Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian 2003}}. Research has also shown that infancy and early childhood is the period of development where scaffolding begins and continues (Vygotsky, 1978; Zhao & Orey,1999).

This type of attachment is relatively uncommon, found in only 10% of children (Golde, 2014). High levels of distress upon separation often signify that the bond between an adult and infant is lacking in certain areas. The mother is seen by the social worker to be failing to respond to the toddler’s needs; resulting in the toddler becoming highly distressed. Through this view, it is evident that the social worker had good reason to question the toddler’s attachment with his mother. However, there are several other factors outside of the mother’s control that could be influencing the toddler’s development that needs to be considered.

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.

The child’s developing brain organises itself to provide the child with the best basis for life, a feeling of safety that will results in eagerness to learn, be strong and have self-awareness, trust, and understanding in the world around them. An insecure attachment is a bond where the caregiver fails to meet the child’s need for safety, understanding where it stop the child’s developing the brain from organizing itself in the best ways possible. This can have emotional, mental, and even physical needs which may results in learning difficulties and starting relationships in later

Research has shown that a positive child-parent relationship and early attachments are crucial to young children’s ability to learn and develop cognitive, emotional and social capacity. This same research also reveals that early intervention in the mother- child relationship may prevent the emergence of problematic behaviour later in life (Santelices et al., 2010; Cohen et al., 1999). This is further supported by the fact that bonds of attachment developed within the first three years of a child’s life may also persist as models throughout life (Main & Hesse, 1990).

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

When a child is securely attached, they show signs of courage to explore new experiences while their attached person is around, they go to their attached person when they are injured, they easily agree to what is asked of them, and they do not try to take control over their attached person (Appleyard and Berlin). A caregiver’s