Attachments Theory as It Affects Adolescents - Essay Example

In contrast, various nonresponsive or insensitive forms of care can undermine the infant's confidence or even lead to expectations for a rejection or inconsistent response. Separation distress results from the appraisal that a parent is inaccessible (Ainsworth et al., 1978). This perceived threat to a parent's accessibility activates the attachment system and motivates a child to re-establish contact. Emotional reactions accompanying the appraisal of threat include fear and anger. Fear activates the attachment system and signals the child's distress.

Anger results from frustrations that the child encounters in trying to regain access, and it mobilizes efforts to reestablish contact.AdolescentsThe adolescent, by contrast, may act out her conflict about separating through fights with her mother and open defiance. Her upheaval may be more visibly apparent in her relationship with her mother, more provocative and dramatic. Girls may direct their acting out toward their bodies and engage in behaviors that are outside of the domain of parental control.

They are at increased risk for eating disorders, reckless or promiscuous sexual activity, and self-cutting or other forms of mutilation. Adolescents may also use drugs and alcohol to rebel, explore, and escape painful feelings. Self-defeating or destructive behavior may provide an illusion of independence while also serving to defend against regressive longings. The thrill and power of reckless acting out can reduce their sense of vulnerability and distract them from feelings of loss associated with the transition from childhood dependence.

The attachment to a therapist can take pressure off the mother-daughter dyad, as some dependence needs are being met in a relationship outside the family. However, the stage is then set for the adolescent to recreate with the therapist elements of her struggle with her mother. Her dependence on the therapist can trigger resistance to treatment. Like the defiance at home, acting out within therapy may serve both to rebel against the therapeutic influence and pull for protective intervention (Cassidy et al., 2003).