Secure Attachment Theory In Social Work

Social workers must be familiar with attachment theory for several reasons. One example is how a person has developed attachment will greatly influence how they connect with and maintain relationships in their lives. Moreover, having a firm grasp of attachment theory provides a social worker with a starting point to assess their client and subsequently determine an appropriate course of action to help a client obtain healthier and fulfilling relationships. For social workers to identify the attachment styles of an individual they must be familiar with the patterns of attachment and the characteristics of each. The most common and desirable forms of the attachment patterns is secure attachment. Research suggests that children who demonstrate secure attachment styles go on to have more positive social interactions which lead to learning how to trust others and increases self-esteem (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013). Additionally, it is important for social workers to know the what contributes to children obtaining secure attachment. Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2013) highlight that caregivers which spend significant time with their child, react to their child’s needs, the caregiver has a deep commitment to the child and are emotionally responsive, and a caregiver is present over a long period. Providing training for caregivers to learn how

In the U.S., we ideally want a mixture of autonomy and independence which is the characteristics displayed by children who are securely attached. Conversely, other cultures put different emphasis on different qualities. For example, German parents prefer their children are more independent which is closer to an avoidant attachment style. On the other hand, the collectivist Japanese culture encourages their infants to be more dependent on the mothers which result in children displaying anxious-resistant attachment styles (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman,