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John Bowlby's Four Attachment Types

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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. Type 2; Avoidant attachment. Type 3; Resistant/Ambivalent/Anxious attachment. Type 4; Disorganized attachment. …show more content…

For example, a child dropped off at his or her daycare by primary care giver (PCG) in turn starts to cry. That caregiver quickly reassures the child he or she will return and hands over the child to another caregiver who engage the child in play.
Type #2 of the four different attachments is, avoidant attachment. Which on the other hand depict insecurity between child and their PCG’s. “Children whose primary caregivers are rejecting of their bid for reassurance tend to develop avoidant attachments.” These children yarn for attention from their PCG’s and is often given the cold shoulder. The child may lash out due to lack of emotion from their PCG’s. These children are emotionally affected and tend to develop avoidance from others subsequently from previous

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Secured attachment is extremely important in the developmental stages of an infant. Secure attachment is when an infant feels distressed when they are separated from their caregivers and feels happy when their caregiver returns. Research from this article suggests that, when an infant does not receive the comfort they need from their caregiver for secure attachments, it can have a negative impact on their behaviour later on in their childhood and throughout life. Infants who have secured attachments tend to develop stronger self-esteem as they grow older, they also tend to be more independent and successful in socialising. Those children are also less likely to experience less depression and anxiety.

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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

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Theories (Erikson & Attachment) According to Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, trust vs. mistrust, occurs in the first year of life. Erikson believed that the caregiver’s response to the infant’s cries help them develop a sense of trust, when the caregiver responds right away to the infant’s distress of crying or fussing (Mooney, 2000). Erikson believed that in the earliest years of life, mainly during infancy, patterns of trust or mistrust are formed that control, or at least influence, a person’s actions or interactions for the rest of life (Erikson, 1950). Bowlby hypothesized that children are born with a predisposition to be attached to caregivers and that children will organize their behavior and thinking in order to maintain those relationships (Bettmann, 2006).

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It is unknown, however, if this is only a protective factor if the secure attachment is with the primary caregiver or if it can be with an alternative caregiver as well. The study also did not clarify if the infants had secure attachments to more than one person or if it was only with one caregiver. This could be important if the insecure attachment is with the primary caregiver who they spend the most time

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A secure attachment is ideal for what mothers want to form with their infants. When an infant and mother are able to form a healthy bond it has been proven to have a secure attachment in their future adult relationships. Another one of Bowlby’s attachment style discussed in a journal (2013) described an anxious-avoidant child as an insecure, the child will ignore the care giver and will not explore much that is in their surroundings. This causes the infant to want the attention from the mother and not have the confindence in their relationship to reach out into exploring other relationship- this is what a child of divorce can feel from the drama of losing a caregiver (Kolette & Rebecca, 2013). The next attachment style is anxious-resistant; this attachment style causes the infant to want their mother or caregiver but they are upset and anger to that they left to the infant pulls away when trying to be soothed.

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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).

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This test observed patterns in the infants’ experiences of separation and reunion with their mother, and their reaction to a stranger, in order to evaluate the type of attachment relationship the infant shared with their mother (Ainsworth, 1978). Ainsworth found a significant consistency between the mothers’ interactive styles and the reactions of the infants. The results of this test led Ainsworth to classify the behaviours into three main categories. She identified the infants to have secure attachment, or one of two forms of insecure attachment, avoidant or ambivalent (Music,

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The babies were visited monthly and the carers were also observed and interviewed. A diary was also kept by the primary care giver (usually the mother) three measure were recorded. The first was stranger anxiety – the response to the arrival of a stranger, the second was separation anxiety – the distress levels when separated from the career and the degree of comfort upon their return and finally social referencing – the degree that the child looks at the carer to check how they should respond to something new (this is referred to as secure base). They discovered that a baby’s attachment follows in this sequence. • 0-6 weeks – Asocial –

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This attachment style is hard to change, but is not impossible. As determined before, parents are a child's primary attachment figure which helps children learn how to live and survive within the world. They will also use the skills that parents provide them with when they age and have children of their own (Mónaco, Schoeps, & Montoya-Castilla, 2019). When these adolescents are infants and have an increase in communication and trust, it indicates a secure attachment style. These parents use warmth and communication in creating this attachment style for their adolescents (Mónaco, Schoeps, & Montoya-Castilla, 2019).

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Attachment Theory states that a strong emotional and physical attachment to at least one primary caregiver is critical to personal development (Dun, Craig p.136). Having a strong attachment to the primary caregiver provides a sense of security and a solid foundation for the child. This theory is the stepping stone to Erick Erickson’s second stage of psychosocial development. During this phase, autonomy vs shame and doubt, a child will have the natural tendency to branch out from the primary caregiver. Children, if permitted to, will develop their own desires, abilities and self-esteem, ideas and thoughts through autonomy.

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In addition, some infants are classified as disorganized/disoriented with regard to attachment as they are not able to settle in to a single, organized attachment pattern when in distress. Instead, they become disoriented or resort to conflicting behavioral strategies. Attachments are not characteristic of either the caregivers or infants. It is the relationship bonds overtime between emotion and behaviors as infant and caregiver interact, particularly when infant needs for comfort are of concern. Sense of trust develops when a baby’s needs are responded to.

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A human baby is born with poorly developed sight and is unable to move. As a consequence to this he is vulnerable and is completely dependent on a carer for survival (Winston, 2003). To improve the chances of survival, the baby is born with pre-programmed and automatic behaviour which are prompted by environmental factors (Bergen, 2008). Bowlby theorised that when a young child feels distressed, frightened or confused, attachment behaviour is triggered and this serves to bring the child closer to their mother* who provides the desired comfort, care and protection (Bowlby,

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The experiment was done in a room with a one way glass to observe the infant. Different situations were given to the infant to determine the infant’s attachment style, the mother of the infant would leave the room and the infant would be left with the experimenter or the experimenter would leave the room and leave the mother and infant alone. How the infant reacts to the situation is used to determine the attachment style of the infant. Infants with secure attachment style would be distressed every time the mother would leave, the infant avoids the stranger when the mother leaves and when the mother returns the infant becomes happier. Infants with ambivalent attachment attachment style get distressed whenever the mother leaves, and avoids the stranger when left alone.

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Through factors such as cognitive development of the infant, attentive care and intimate interactions with a primary caregiver, the attachment relationship is created – shaping the infants- caregiver bond. By examining the interactions between an infant and their primary caregiver, we can identify secure, insecure and disorganized attachment (Ainsworth, 1978; Cassidy 1994); which can reveal a great deal about the relationship between the infant and attachment figure. Overall, the quality of attachment bonds formed in the early years can have long lasting effects on an infant’s emotional security and social competence; not only shaping their ability to form relationships, but laying the foundations for the social, emotional and mental development of the

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Introduction At the beginning of our lives we are born to create a relationship with our love ones, it depends on our parent to provide us with love and warmth to develop a positive bounding relationship. The purpose of the paper is to reflect which attachment style was utilized by my parents during my childhood and which type of attachment style I identify more during my adulthood. The four types of attachment styles that will be discussed are avoidant attachment, secure attachment, disorganized attachment, and ambivalent attachment. This reflection paper will help me as a social worker by applying my knowledge to identify the type of attachment each individual or family has and better understand how I can help them with their issues that

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