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Attachment theory states that either secure or insecure bonds may form between infant and mother in the first several months of the infant’s life for the purposes of safety and security. The bond formed between infant and mother influences the quality of the relationships a child has throughout his or her life. One major reasoning of the attachment theory is that the parents are a sanctuary of safety throughout all of early childhood. Insecure attachments promote feelings of threat, rejection, and personal unworthiness. This can also be the explanation for the dream children stashing food away because of the possible threat that there,” will come a time when they will not be fed” (Smith 99).Unhealthy attachments not only lead to poor caregiver-child relationships, but can also cause a dysfunctional self-development, defective relationships, substance abuse problems, and educational difficulties.
Obviously, in this situation, I saw Carman portrayal of anger as a result of losing her children. However, it is normal to show anger regarding bereavement. On the other hand, regardless of Carman receives encouragement from the priest, which did not stop her from showing the feeling of bereavement. At this level, Carman has a need to seek for a counselor other than her priest. The reason for her to seek for a counselor is to help her meet with women that had gone through what she is experiencing now.
This essay will analyze main events in the life of Bowlby and will provide possible links between these and his attachment theory. This essay will study the key features of the attachment theory by relating it to infants in their development. I will reflect on how the attachment theory relates to my life by explaining how the secure attachment I have had to my primary caregivers have caused me to become a functioning member of society who can relate intimately to others. I will also reflect on how the attachment theory relates to my future vocation by explaining how the lack of an intimate attachment between a child and his primary caregivers have caused the child to become an avoidant member of society. Bowlby was born in 1907 in London and raised in an upper-middle-class family (Cherry, 2017).
Although we are studying theories, some of them appear to explain human behavior and personality with certain accuracy. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth theories of attachment can also explain what happens to people when attachment to their parents or caregivers is healthy or potential problems that could occur due to detachments. They suggest that individuals raised with secure attachments to their primary caregivers help them to feel secure; moreover, these children appear to be more socially skilled and less likely to experience major emotional disturbances. However, failure to form healthy attachments, especially mother-child, could serve as a descriptive mechanism for many negative psychological outcomes later in the life of an individual,
The attachment theory of John Bowlby has had an enduring impact on our understanding of child development. This study of Bowlby’s attachment theory allows us to understand more thoroughly how society and culture in constructing child rearing practices have a profound impact not only on the child but on the entire learning life of that individual. Attachment theory provides us with a lifelong learning project that brings together deep psychological patterns. Knowing that Bowlby does not do justice to the social and cultural factors that impact on development. At the core of a critical adult learning theory it is necessary to imagine how the cultures and societies, in which we live, interact with and influence the ways in which people relate
The term attachment is used widely when focusing on children’s early relationships. An attachment can be thought of as a unique emotional tie or bond between a child and another person which usually is an adult. Research shows that the quality of these bonds or attachments will shape a child’s ability to form other relationships later on in life. In the 1950’s a theorist John Bowlby identified that children and young people’s mental health and behaviour could be linked to separation from a child’s primary carer. He also identified that young children can show separation anxiety if their primary carer is not there for them.
Babies are born with an innate ability to learn and their brain to develop after birth. The neural pathways of a human’s brain are built based on their early experience in the world. A baby’s world is based on how they are treated by people in it therefore if the environment is scary then the baby will be reluctant to explore, as demonstrated n Bowlby’s and Ainsworth’s attachment theory. The brain and body become wired enough to understand what is safe and what should be feared. The birth to 3 years of a child’s life is a critical period for the brain during child development and any deprivation during this will result in persistent deficits in cognitive, emotional and even physical health.
With research, it has become apparent that there is a correspondence between mothers and children on the basis that attachment. Attachment depends on the reaction from mothers to her child’s emotional cues. (Feldman, 2012, Chapter
In 1969, John Bowlby made the connection that formed relationships and attachments to caregivers contributes to future development and growth. The attachment theory focuses on relationship association between caregivers and their children. Children who established a foundation with a caregiver despite their biological relation, gain much needed support. Establishing support, encourages a child’s development. The comfort of safety, allows children to feel secure in taking risks (Groman, 2012).
One of the main theories in Developmental psychology is the attachment theory that was devised by Bowlby (1969) and was added to in 1973, by Mary Ainsworth. The attachment theory surrounds the bond between a primary care giver and a baby. They believe that attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space. In 1930 Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in a children’s unit, where he treated many emotionally disturbed children, this lead him to consider the relationship between mother and child and the impact that could have on the child’s development. Bowlby believed that the attachment process was an all or nothing process and that you either were attached or were not attached.
Although I feel like families fit multiple theories at any given time, I agree most with the Family Systems Theory. This theory takes a look at the entire family and how it functions as a complete unit as opposed to the individuals. It takes a look at the interconnected relationships within the family unit and how they function together. This theory makes me think of an engine. When all parts of an engine are working properly the engine runs smoothly or purrs as a mechanic might say.
Research of over the course 30 years showed that infants are far more competent, social, and responsive and are able to make sense of their environment. Infants are no longer regarded as passive and do not only respond to stimuli (Fantz, 1963). The theory of attachment that was first proposed by John Bowlby (1970) described it as a ‘lasting psychological connectedness between human beings’. He notion that children as young as infant need to develop a secure attachment with their main caregiver. Bowlby’s attachment theories are both psychopathology and normal socio-emotional development.
Bowlby 's attachment theory had vast investigation done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the interactions between mother and child, specifically, the theme of an infant’s investigation of their surroundings and the separation from their mother. This essay will focus on Bowlby’s attachment theory and Mary Ainsworth’s experiments and findings, discussing their views on the development and importance of attachment in early life. John Bowlby’s primary interest was in the relationship between child and mother or primary caregiver. Bowlby suspected that the earliest relationships formed by children and their primary parent or care giver, have huge impacts on the child’s later life. From this, Bowlby developed the attachment theory.
Since the ‘50s, Bowlby worked alone and with distinguished colleagues such as psychoanalyst James Robertson, ethologist/zoologist Robert Hinde and psychologist Mary Ainsworth on several different studies. Bowlby suggested that due to the attachment between children and their carers, children suffer loss when they are separated. Bowlby’s study with the ethologist Robert Hinde, inspired the idea that certain attachment behaviours have evolved as a survival mechanism (Bergen, 2008). The core of the theory today is that the quality of close relationships affects personality, emotional and social development not only in childhood but throughout the life of the individual (Howe, 2001). This suggests that attachment theory is effectively a biological, psychological and social theory of human development.
Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional
