Attachment Styles and its Effect on the Development of a Maltreated Foster - Case Study Example

Running head: CHILDREN’S ATTACHMENT STYLES On the Attachment Styles and its Effect on the Development of a Maltreated Foster Child Compared to othergroups of children, foster children are the most vulnerable. The majority of foster children are removed from their homes due to neglect and abuse (physical, mental, sexual) from their parents or caregivers. When the causes of maltreatment are looked into, Belsky (1993) says in his article that there is “no shortage of causal agents” that is raised to give explanations on why such abuse and neglect happens to a child. With this type of experience, it is not hard to discern that foster children have at some level grown wavering attachments or if not, have distorted attachments with the immediate adults in their lives. It is also probable that these foster children will have some problems in attaching themselves to other people later on their lives since it is usual for foster children to have several or varying homes under institutional care. According to Van Wagner (n.d.), “attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure”. Attachment, which has branched out to many researches and studies have originated from John Bowlby’s theory of attachment. That is, it is in human’s nature to have the tendency to make strong emotional bonds and connections to particular individuals. Attachment styles that are attained in childhood can have a probable effect on how a child grows into adulthood. Through this theory, there is a better understanding of child development. Kassin (2004) defines styles of attachments as the secure and insecure attachment. These types of attachments were recognized after the “Strange Situation” test done on parents and their infants to test their reactions after a “separation and reunion” procedure. An infant with a secure attachment is secure when the parent is present. Although distressed by separation, there is no significant trouble when this happens. Upon reuniting with parents after separation, a securely attached child welcomes the parent positively. The insecure styles of attachment were further classified into ambivalent-insecure, avoidant- insecure and disorganized-insecure attachment. According to Van Wagner (n.d.), an infant with an ambivalent-insecure attachment is wary of strangers. Though distressed if separated from parent or caregiver, the infant seems to feel no relief in the parent’s return and may show hostility toward the parent. For the avoidant-insecure attached child, they tend to avoid parents. While they do not reject attention from parents, they also do not seek comfort from parents whenever scared or frightened. The avoidant-insecure attached child seems to have no preference between a stranger and the parent. On the other hand, the disorganized-insecure attached child seems to have a mixed reaction to their parents or caregiver that includes avoidance and resistance. Here, the child appears to show a hesitant or unsure behavior towards the parent or caregiver. After separation, the child probably might seek contact with the parent but will resist the comfort given by the parent. The child’s confusing behavior could be caused by a parent being both a fear and reassurance figure to a child. While children do develop styles of attachment at infancy, there are a great many possibilities in how he behaves at adulthood. Ainsworth (1989) stresses in her research that “one must be alert on the fact that key changes in the nature of attachment may be occasioned by hormonal, neurophysiological, and cognitive changes and not merely by socioemotional experience” Here, Ainsworth extended the attachment theory throughout the life cycle to consider the developmental changes in children’s attachment style towards parents or surrogate figures and other affectional bonds that he may develop towards others later in life. In another research by Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991), they proposed a new 4-group model of attachment styles at adulthood. Through the validation of their model, they were able to observe that there are “multiple pathways through which representations of attachment relations may perpetuate self-confirming social experiences. They also raised the challenge of for another research to explore how attachment styles are developed, maintained and changed through interaction with other people. Following is a discussion on the situation of a maltreated foster child and his style of attachment. From the attachment theory, a child’s style of attachment can have a probable effect on how he behaves as an adult. We also have to take note that many things can happen from his childhood to his adult years; this study on his situation will only be a discussion on the possible outcome of his attachment style using the attachment theory, the factors surrounding his present behavior and other researches. History and Present Situation of the Maltreated Foster Child Adam is a 3 year old boy mothered by Susan when she was just 18 years old. As a kid, Susan was also put under institutional care after being sexually abused. At 7 years old, her life as a foster child begun and as expected went through several foster homes. In time, Susan ran away from foster care at the age of 15. Adam was often neglected as an infant. Susan often goes out and sometimes does not go home for days. When she is out, she frequently leaves Adam in the care of neighbors and friends without leaving needed formulas and nappies. If Susan is with Adam, she just leaves Adam in his bed and uncared for. Talking and playing with Adam hardly ever happened. I one occasion when Susan left Adam for 5 days, concerned neighbors got in touch with the Department of Child Safety to report Adam’s condition. At that time, Adam was 6 months old and it was arranged that he would undergo institutional care for 3 months while Susan received assistance from the Department of Child Safety to improve her parenting skills. After the 3 month period, Adam was back again in his Susan’s care. Susan and Adam were regularly visited by representatives for the 18 months that followed. The representatives had a notion that Adam was still being neglected. They nevertheless had no sufficient evidence to support their notion. When Susan began living with her partner John, domestic violence was ensued on her. Adam was also injured in the process. The police discovered this when they were called on their home to answer a domestic violence report. Adam suffered bruises and a broken arm when John was throwing Susan across the room and Susan was holding Adam. After the police’s findings, Adam was removed from Susan’s care and he was arranged a temporary foster home that took care of him for 3 months. At the present, Adam is currently in a new foster home that caters to two other young children. He sees his mother occasionally. Present caregivers were able to observe some of Adam’s behaviors towards her mother. Due to neglect in his earlier years, Adam seems to be delayed in his development in his gross and fine motor skills. Adam has also difficulties in communicating since he is unable to speak clearly. Because of this, he easily gets irritated when people are unable to understand him. In addition, Adam was observed to be aggressive towards children smaller than him. He can also be frequently caught after bed time trying to get food from the refrigerator and cupboards. Assessment on Adam From the previous observations of Adam’s caregivers, it can be surmised that Adam has developed the disorganized-insecure attachment style. This can be accounted in his reaction towards his mother and his current caregiver in times of separation and reunion. He seems to enjoy the company of his mother but feels no distress when it is time to part. Also, his indifference towards parting with his current caregiver supplements this observation. Not only that, the fact that he sneaks out during bed time to get food is also a perplexing behavior since children at foster homes are well taken care of in terms of food. His negative behavior towards smaller children and when he is not understood also support the observation that he has developed the said attachment style. The infant’s first year is very crucial in developing an attachment style. In Isabella, Belsky and Von Eye’s (1989) study, the interaction between infants below 1 year old and their mothers were examined. They observed that the babies developed an attachment style in relation to how their mothers treated them in their first year. We may recall that Adam was often neglected, never talked to and played with as an infant. To add up, Adam experienced physical abuse under Susan’s care. His mother’s inconsistency is probably the reason why he behaves with a disturbed-insecure attachment style. Kassin(2004) implies that foster children who could not form attachments is probable to experience difficulty in adjusting to marriage and maintaining relationships because emotional and physical intimacy tends to be complicated for them. As an abused child he may also grow into a person who will find it hard to control his impulses. Sonkin (2005) also says in his article that although there are affecting factors that could change “the attachment status of a child through time, there is a strong continuity between infant attachment patterns, child and adolescent patterns and adult attachment patterns” This implies that Adam’s style of attachment has a great probability of continuing on to adulthood With all these observations, it is still important to keep in mind that there are a lot of possibilities for Adam’s future because many things can happen between his childhood to his adulthood that could manipulate or change his attachment behaviors Reference Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44(4), 709-716. Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2), 226-244. Belsky, J. (1993). Etiology of child maltreatment: A developmental-ecological analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114(3), 413-434. Isabella, R. A., Belsky, J., & von Eye, A. (1989). Origins of infant-mother attachment: An examination of interactional synchrony during the infant’s first year. Developmental Psychology, 25(1), 12-21. Kassin, S. (2004). Psychology (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.) Kochanska, G., Aksan, N., & Carlson, J. J. (2005). Temperament, relationships and young children’s receptive cooperation with their parents. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 648-660. Sonkin, D.J. Ph. D. (2005). Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy. Retrieved September 17, 2008 from http://www.daniel-sonkin.com/attachment_psychotherapy.htm. Van Wagner, K. John Bowlby – Attachment Theory. About Psychology. Retrieved September 16, 2006 from http://psychology.about.com/od/loveandattraction/ss/attachmentstyle.htm. Read More