Several Attachment Styles of Children - Essay Example

? Attachment Attachment Introduction During the period of 1970, Mary Ainsworth conducted a study on attachment style and regarded that study as strange situation study and through this study, she figured out several attachment styles that are formed between children and their caregivers. While conducting this study, infants aging between 12 to 18 months were used and their behavior was observed in seven episodes and each episode lasted for three minutes. In first episode the infant and the parent were left alone in a room, then a stranger was added to them, then the stranger was left alone with the child, then the parent was replaced with the stranger, then the child was left alone, in the sixth episode, the stranger returned to the room and then again the stranger was replaced by parent (Cowan, 2006, p.504). In this research Ainsworth observed and concluded her research on the basis of four behaviors including: anxiety from separation, the willingness of the child to explore the environment, anxiety caused due to contact of the child with the stranger and the child’s behavior when he was reunited with both the stranger and the parents. These behaviors were rates by the researcher on a scale of 1 to 7. Through this research, she concluded that there are three forms of attachments, which are experienced by infants. These include secure, insecure avoidant and Insecure Resistant Characteristics and Reasons Ainsworth figured out that most of the children were experiencing secure attachment style (Benson, 2009, p.30). Children who are experience this kind of attachment experience higher level of confidence that their loved one (mother) will assist him/her in meeting their needs. They see their loved one as a secure base and are ready to explore the environment more in their existence. They even want their loved one to be there when they experience stress situations. Children who are insecure avoidant in nature are not in a need of their loved one such as mother in order to conduct exploration of the environment, they are quite independent in nature, and they do not necessarily need the physical and emotional assistance of their caregivers. These children do not even try to locate their caregiver when the experience stressful situations and such children mostly have caregivers who do not cater to the needs of their child and are insensitive. This even shows that the caregivers of such children have escaped when the children needed them and have not even provided emotional assistance to their children. The third style of attachment that was figure out through Ainsworth’s research was insecure resistance. Children who have experienced such attachment style feel insecure in the presence of their caregiver. Such children do show that they are dependent on their caregivers but do not accept their caregiver when their caregiver tries to engage with them. Even though they may exhibit lack of attachment with the caregiver but are resistant towards exploring the environment in the absence of their caregiver. Even when these children experience stressful situations such as existence of a stranger, they become very hard to comfort and do not respond to comfort provided by their caregivers. Relationships as Adults Schneider asserts that all human beings are social animals and they are in a need to belong with others and create relationships with others in order to learn how to behave and to attain skills that are necessary for their social wellbeing (Newman, 20009, p.158). He further asserts that the form of relationship or attachment that an individual creates with his caregiver as an infant is the preview of the relationships that will be formed by that individual in later years. The attachment style that is experienced by an individual as a child impacts their relationships that they create as adults. For example: those individuals who experienced a secure attachment style with their caregivers during infant are expected to have a healthy relationship with others as they reach their adulthood as they may trust their intimate partners in a similar manner as they trusted their caregivers as a child. But as adults these children may need the existence of their caregivers while experiencing and exploring new relationships and they may even look up for emotional comfort from those with whom they are in a intimate relationship. Similarly, those children who experienced avoidant attachment style in their early years and did not trust their caregivers are possibly going to have trouble in creating long-term relationships in their adult ages and their relationships might end after a specific period. This is because misunderstandings may take place between them and their partners due to lack of trust. Human Development Ainsworth and Bowlby asserted that the way a parent and a child is attached to each other has a leading role to play in the development of an individual, especially in the area of creating relationships with friends, their own children and intimate partners (Sigelman, 2011, p.463). They even asserted that the relationship between the caregiver and the parent becomes the basis of an individual’s expectation regarding their relationships and this attachment even guides the way they process information that is social in nature and their behaviors while they are in any form of a relationship. For example, those individuals who have experienced secure attachment will create cognitive representations that clearly suggest that these individuals are more likeable and they can completely trust other individuals to be concerned and careful about them. On the other hand those who have experienced insecure attachment and have been neglect will face difficulties in trusting others to care for them and will try to take care of themselves and they will perceive that they are not much likeable. It is expected that due to their insecurities towards others, they will fail to develop relationships that are long term in nature and will avoid trying to become closely attached to another individual because he/she may lack trust. Conclusion Ainsworth and Bowlby state that an individual’s ability to be attached to another person is a portion of heritage, which is evolutionary in nature, and an individual learns regarding attachment due to both environmental and factors that are biological in nature. They even assert the kind of initial attachment that individuals gain as infants guide their future relationships. References Benson, J. B., & Haith, M. M. (2009). Social and emotional development in infancy and early childhood. Amsterdam: Academic. Cowan, L. (2006). Edges of experience: memory and emergence : proceedings of the 16th International Congress for Analytical Psychology. Einsiedeln [Switzerland: Daimon. Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2009). Development through life: a psychosocial approach (10e ed.). Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Sigelman, C. K., & Rider, E. A. (20112012). Life-span human development (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Read More