Development of Secure and Insecure Attachments in Children - Article Example

Infant Attachment Order No. 273601 No. of pages: 6 1st 6530 Introduction Physical and Mental health are indispensable factors to be considered for the overall proper functioning of all human beings. More so in children: – because healthy children turn out to be healthy and efficient adults. In lieu of this, establishing a safe and secure attachment between a child and its parents helps to safeguard or protect the child from the development of future psychopathology thereby creating an individual that would be physically and mentally strong in order to positively contribute to the well being of the society at large. Attachment is a reciprocal relationship between an infant and caregiver. Infants instinctively reach out to a caregiver for security and protection; caregivers instinctively protect and nurture infants. This mutual responsiveness is what creates the secure base for early development” (The Project, 2006). Inefficiency to tackle problems in its initial stages leads to society paying a high price for it. Collectively the cost is reflected in social disruption, poor educational attainment, physical and mental ill health, anti-social behaviour, and the financial cost related to each of these” (Vision, 2005). In 2004 the Department of Health placed greater emphasis on prevention of illness, The NSF for Mental Health (1999) recommended promotion of mental health and wellbeing NSF (2003) Development of secure and insecure attachments in children Attachment theory is a child - development theory that helps in the understanding of child-parent relationship from an early age. According to this theory relationship between children and their parents, lays the foundation for the child’s future relationship that can be either social or emotional. It also has a bearing on the way the child functions at school. The lasting emotional ties created between infants and their parents are called attachment. Children of abusive parents too, develop attachment towards their parents. Attachment usually grows through repeated interactions that take place in the first year of the life of an infant with their parents. An infant can develop multiple attachments with the father, mother or grandparents, but they have generally one parent who is their “primary attachment figure”. The two basic attachment patterns are –secure and insecure. Researchers have found that responsive and sensitive parenting, results in secure attachments where the child uses his or her parent as a source of comfort. Dependence on the parent leads to independence, which is the key principle of attachment theory. Parents of secure children are sensitive and responsive. The behavior of the parents towards their children is consistent and clear. The verbal interaction of parents with the child is warm, responsive and positive. They see their child as a unique person and all their actions are done keeping the child’s awareness and ability in mind. The children with secure attachment on the other hand display comfort while exploring in the presence of an attachment figure. The characteristics of children with secure attachment include their compliance to requests with minimal conflict. They seek help from the attachment figure whenever needed and also approach them when hurt. In linking attachment to stress coping abilities Bowlby (1978) proposed:  “In the fields of Etiology and psychopathology [attachment theory] can be used to frame specific hypotheses which relate different family experiences to different forms of psychiatric disorder and also, possibly, to the neuro-physiological changes that accompany them.” In his seminal work, Attachment, John Bowlby (1969) stated that the child’s "capacity to cope with stress" is closely connected with specific maternal behaviour patterns; in addition, the quality of the attachment outcomes has widespread ramifications that are "vital to the survival of the species." Bowlby’s initial speculation, that within the structure of the attachment relationship, is the maternal figure who influences the development of a child’s coping mechanism, which now finds support in a wide body of research that focuses on ‘maternal care and the development of stress responses’ (Francis & Meaney, 1999); the impact of maternal factors on the ontogeny of the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (Levine, 1994). Research clearly exhibits that “an individual’s response to stressful stimuli may be maladaptive producing physiological and behavioral responses that may have detrimental consequences, or may be adaptive, enabling the individual to better cope with stress. Events experienced early in life may be particularly important in shaping the individual’s pattern of responsiveness in later stages of life” (Kehoe et al, 1996, p. 1435). The inability of a child to use his or her parent as a secure base is the primary characteristic of an insecure attachment. These children are unable to use their parents for comfort. Insecure attachments are basically of three types- insecure-resistant attachment, insecure- avoidant attachment and disorganized/disoriented attachment. Insecure-resistant attachment is that pattern where the child is overly dependent on the attachment figure. The child faces difficulty with independent play and separation. On the other hand there are some children who are under-dependent on their parents. They barely notice the absence of their parents and appear to be disengaged from them. This type of behavior is called insecure- avoidant attachment. The behavior of these children is mistaken for independence but this is in fact detrimental to future development. In disorganized/disoriented attachment, the children are frightened in the presence of their parents and they are disorganized too in front of their parents. The behavior of parents whose children are insecurely attached is characterized by interference. They control the exploration attempts of the child and also ignore their cues and needs. The parents of such children are self-absorbed and give priority to their own needs rather then the needs of the child. Their behavior is sometimes hostile, frightening or threatening. Their expectations are developmentally inappropriate. They are also overly intimate in their behavior. On the other hand, the children showing insecure attachment show excessive dependence on the attachment figure. They are shy, unfriendly and withdrawn. There is a role reversal where the child is overly concerned about the parent. They seek friendships indiscriminately and their behavior is sometimes promiscuous and sexualized. Research shows that early attachment quality lays the foundation for future academic and social skills. A child with secure attachments is likely to grow into an independent and self-confident person. In school they are more curious, focused and motivated and have better problem solving skills. Adjustment problems and poor social skills are forecasted for children with insecure attachments. They tend to become impulsive and get distracted easily. They lack motivation in school and act disobediently. Early support helps the child to tread the right path and avoid a fate of failure. A secure environment can be created for a child, by giving it love and affection. Babies are “hard-wired” in the early months of infancy to experience joy with its caregiver. Paying close attention to the needs of a child is one way to create an environment of secure attachment. Sears (2007) defines the process of bonding as follows, “Bonding--the term for the close emotional tie that develops between parents and baby at birth--was the buzzword of the 1980s. A responsive parent does not necessarily harm and spoil the child. Researchers have found that responsive parents have children who when they grow up become more self-reliant and less demanding. If the mother of the child is imprisoned it is likely that the child will have an insecure relationship with the mother. Given a stable environment such a child can develop a secure relationship with the caregiver. . Security in the relationship with the caregiver however made it more likely for the children to view the incarceration of the mother with sadness rather than anger. In such cases early detection and interventions is a must. While most interventions are narrowly executed and focus on operational therapy involving social or toy play, teaching, or feeding interactions with the mother; yet everyday contexts of parent-child interaction, including the role of the parent, may differ immensely across cultures (McCollum & McBride, 1998). Thus, an important point to realize is that when interaction is situated in different contexts, or is viewed differently for some children, then its relationship to development undoubtedly differs as well (McCollum & McBride, 1998); the deployment of a standard intervention approach would not be proper and may even be counter-productive. Therefore the core of attachment theory is the coping mechanism and evolving child personality, "the dominant approach to understanding early socio-emotional and personality development during the past quarter-century of research" (Thompson, 2000, p.145). References Bowlby J. (1969).Attachment and loss. Vol. 1: Attachment. New York: Basic Books. Bowlby J. (1978).Attachment theory and its therapeutic implications. In: Feinstein SC Child Development, Vol. 76, Issue 3, Children of incarcerated mothers: Representations of attachment relationships in children of incarcerated mothers by Poehlmann J. (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Copyright 2005 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved. Francis DD, Meaney MJ. (1999).Maternal care and the development of stress responses. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 9:128-134. Kehoe P, Shoemaker WJ, Triano L, Hoffman J Arons C. (1996). Repeated isolation in the neonatal rat produces alterations in behaviour and ventral striatal dopamine release in the juvenile after amphetamine challenge. Behavioural Neuroscience. 110:1435-1444. Levine S. (1994).The ontogeny of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The influence of maternal factors. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 746:275-288. McCollum, J. A., & McBride, S. B. (1998). Ratings of parent-infant interaction: Raising questions of cultural validity. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. Sears William. (2007). Bonding with Your Newborn. Retrieved on February 3, 2007 from http://www.askdrsears.com/. The Project Report. (2006). "Sharing Attachment Practices Across Cultures: Learning from Immigrants and Refugees" is a national project funded by Health Canadas National Projects Fund. Thompson RA. (2000). The legacy of early attachments. Child Development. 71:145-152. Vision of a Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. (2005). Consultation Document November 05. http://www.childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/eca/Attachment/index.htm Building a Secure Attachment for Your Baby © Cooper, Hoffman, Marvin & Powell (2000) Read More