John Bowlby's Attachment Theory In Early Life

INTRO Attachment theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregivers , this theory provided that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social emotional development of an infant. This is a very crucial stage in occurs in the early infant years this factors relationships with the child and the primary child care giver. In this case the parents and the educator can share the primary role. John Bowlby began researching after he graduated, he believed the attached processed involved the cognitive emotional and social features of attachment. Stating four different style of attachment and how they can all have leading factors as well as long term affects.

Observation of both the parent and their child takes place and the behaviours then related to a type of attachment. Through “The Strange Situation Study” undertaken by Mary Ainsworth, (Bretherton, 1992), different types of attachment were discussed in terms of the related behaviour. One attachment type is the secure attachment style which supports children’s development as the caregiver positively interacts with the child and is in tuned with their needs. A child with secure attachment looks at the career for comfort as well as when they are sad, unsure or not well. The child becomes upset when the carer leaves and responds with happiness when the carer returns (Howe,

Another key feature of Attachment Theory are internal working models. These working models are created patterns of attachment, usually formed during childhood development, that affect relational attachments in adulthood. These models represent feelings about oneself and others, which contribute to their behavior in their relationships with others. A person’s internal models are usually subconscious, but can change with a cumulative experience, either positive or

Unit 1.4 promote children emotional well-being 1.1 John Bowlby attachment theorist was that he believed mental health and behavioural problems could be attributed to early childhood, babies get attach usually for who care for them and this crate a close bond and they need attachments in order to survive. Bowlby theory says that when children come into the world they set up to form attachments with others because this will help them to develop sure relationship. Bowlby looked at how babies become attached to their mother and what happens to them when they are separated or when they feel insecure and fear, the attachment behaviours are instinctive and will be activated by any circumstances that seem to threaten for the child. Bowlby also assumed

Attachment according to John Bowlby, “is defined as the formation of a psychological and emotional relationship between an infant and its primary caregiver . Its also a pattern of relational style that the child learns from the adults and caregivers whom play the largest role in the child’s life.” A caregiver is a person who gives help and protection to an individual. For example, mother to child or father and child. “That pattern is learned in early childhood and thought to repeat itself throughout and individual’s life, in both their social and romantic relationships.” Attachment could be broken down into four attachment types. Type 1; secure attachment.

Big Question: How does communication between caregiver and parent affect toddlers? In the Theories of Attachment book, it talked about the theorist of attachment and about the different attachment theories. One idea that is introduced in chapter one, is how an infant’s or toddler’s attachment to their caregiver or parent affects their adult behavior. This was John Bowlby’s theory. He used his own life experience to come up with this theory.

Gerhardt points out that a lot of childhood and adolescent behaviors – such as aggression, depression, hyperactivity and poor academic performance can be traced back to the family inputs received as a baby. Children’s future lives are largely shaped by their experiences in babyhood. According to the WHO, many challenges in the modern adult society, including mental health conditions, social competence and criminality, have their roots in early childhood and therefore, parents have to ensure that enough investment is made into the child’s formative years (Britto, Engle and Super, 81). This again points to the fact

Introduction Parents play an important role in guiding the development of their child in the early years, before the influence of teachers and peers comes into play (Diem-Wille, 2014). This influence that parents have on their children would naturally affect the child’s perception of gender roles and stereotypes. Following the approach of the Gender-Schema Theory, the child learns about gender in his or her society by observing behaviours of the people around him or her and then classifying the information as characteristic of different genders (Bem, 1983). The family environment and experience would therefore be central to helping the child construct schemas about gender roles since parents’ actions and attitudes are part of the information that the child receives from the environment that is integrated into the schema (McHale, Crouter, & Whiteman, 2003). Furthermore, it is possible that in mixed-gender families, the higher chances of comparisons between the two parents’ behaviours would reinforce specific ideas about gender roles than it would in families where parents are of the same gender (Endendijk et al., 2013).

The book that I decided to do my Book Analysis on was Growing Up with a Single Parent. The message behind the book is the relationship between family structure and a child’s expectations for success. In the book, the author explains why it is important that the costs of having and raising a child is constantly shifting from mothers to fathers and from the households with the parents to society ( schools, daycares, and etc), including assistance program that help families in lower income two parent households and single mothers must be developed. The main message the authors are exploring the linkage between childhood family structures and later success through moderate influences of parenting practices, socioeconomic differences, and community

(Bowlby, 1969). Attachment behavior in grownups towards the child includes reacting favorably, sympathetically and suitably to the child’s desires. Such behaviors are seen as worldwide across different cultures. Attachment theory explains how the parent-child relationship is formed and how it influences succeeding growth and development. John Bowlby has contributed a lot to the Attachment theory by his works and experiments.