Insecure attachment is “characterized by fear, anxiety, anger, or indifference.” (Berger 2014, pg.193). An infant becomes insecurely attached to his caregiver when the child has learned that there are no positive effects to emotional expressions. For example, when a caregiver allows the child to “cry it out” and is unresponsive to the child’s needs, the child will learn that his needs will not be fulfilled by others. This results in the child not being able to develop any emotional awareness and might feel emotionally detached from his caregiver. Insecure attachment affects a child’s brain development which in turn impacts interactions with others, resilience, confidence and the ability to explore their environments.
Further research revealed that more than half of the mothers with a child who fell into this category had suffered a trauma immediately before the birth of the child and had developed depression because of that trauma. 1.2 Attachment is the emotional bond between the parent and the child, it builds a child’s trust and self-esteem if they feel loved and wanted, that’s why it’s important to have a secure attachment with the child so that in the future they won’t have a negative impact on the child’s mental, physical, social, and emotional health. There are 2 type of attachment that is secure and insecure; the secure attachment ensure that the child will feel secure, gain confident, develop secure relationship and the child will also feel more safe to explore the world around them. The insecure attachment is when the child don’t get the right love they need and that makes them feel unsafe, struggling to manage their emotions and may have difficulty developing healthy
Hazan and Shaver’s Attachment theory. Attachment theory was extended to adult romantic relationships in the late 1980s by Hazan and Shaver. There are several attachment-based treatment approaches that can be used with adults (Stable, 2000). In addition, there is an approach to treating couples based on attachment theory (Johnson, 2002). Four styles of attachment have been identified in adults: secure, anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant and fearful-avoidant.
The attachment theory specifies that an infants and young child requires consistent relationships with people to thrive and develop. Attachment is described as a essential need with a biological basis where infants or young children need to maintain a sense of security with a specific person. Developing a secure attachment between the infant and their parents or guardian is an important part of early childhood development, due to the many things that can interfere with the development of a healthy attachment. Without a secure attachment, an infant may develop problems that can continue throughout their lives and affect the relationships with others. Approach behavior may be defined as locomotion in which a usual outcome of the distance between one person and one other specific person is observed to distinguish the distance between each individual and the attachment to one another.
Today, the terms secure, avoidant, resistant and disorganized/disoriented attachment are still used to define infant-caregiver relationships as well as adult romantic relationship styles and even the relationship between children and their kindergarten teacher” (http://childpsych.umwblogs.org). There are some critiques concerning attachment theory in general. Some feel that it isn’t necessarily true, that just because a child is in a certain environment, that they will behave how they are treated or taught. Some feel that this theory as too many limitations, and that because the behaviors are so limited in this theory, that it doesn’t account for exceptions to these types of children. But whether one agrees with the theory or not, there is still value to the concept that Mary Ainsworth
128). In family therapy practice, attachment theory provides clear explanations to the therapist, and provide understanding on behaviours that are otherwise confusing. If a child is seen as angry and demanding around parents, it can be seen as intentionally bad. However, from a different perspective, this could be seen as a type of insecure attachment. Giving the worker the opportunity to explore with the caregivers and the bond between them.
Cultural Differences in Child Attachment and The Universality of Attachment Theory Although attachment theory has been widely accepted, its universality is controversial. Some research support its validity across cultures, some do not. The main critique about the universality of attachment theory is that it is based especially on research that is conducted in Euro-Western populations. This causes suspicions about whether attachment theory is valid across diverse cultures. In this paper, I will present a literature review of four cross-cultural research to examine the universality of attachment theory.
The development and importance of attachment in early life Most people believe there is nothing more precious and fulfilling in life than having a family of their own. But what happens if the new parents are unable to form a healthy, loving attachment with their newborns? This essay will explore the development and importance of attachment, its theory, and the significance of a parent nurturing a loving attachment with their baby. Formation of attachment Although the British psychiatrist John Bowlby was not the first to study the psychological effects of having a kind and present caregiver in babies early developmental stages, he was revolutionary in his attachment theory (Goldberg, 2000). His theory is based on the innate relationship that customarily grows between a mother and her newborn.
Attachment styles affect everything from partner selection to the progress of intimate relationship, or even how the relationship ends. There is growing evidence that attachment styles are closely connected with stress in intimate relationships. Though individuals with a secure attachment style can deal with stressful life events properly, individuals with an anxious-ambivalent or an avoidant attachment style are more likely to be exposed to chronic or acute stress (Simpson & Rholes, 2012). Individuals with secure, avoidant, and anxious attachment styles have different perceptions and reactions when facing different stressors in their intimate relationships. According to the attachment diathesis-stress model Simpson et al.
Relationships whether romantic or friendship does not exist without attraction. To understand how attraction occur between people, Interpersonal Attraction and Attachment theory have been taken account in this essay which will help us to understand how it takes place between people and these theories will be explained, described, compared and contrasted using different literature review. Attachment theory is described as the bond that develops between the baby and its primary caregivers Bowlby (1950), where interaction patterns develop to meet the baby’s needs and for emotional development purposes. For the child’s development, primary and secondary attachment is essential. Primary attachment refers to a child’s lifelong emotional bond with