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Secure Attachment Theory In Social Work

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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 …show more content…

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,

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Theories from Psychology social work draws on most ‘lecture explained that attachment Theory was developed by Bowlby as a framework for explaining the way humans interact with each other and the importance of relationships with a sense of ‘secure attachment’ particularly when the individual is exposed to stressful situations or where they feel threatened and seek a secure base. A very direct connection between attachment theory and Australia’s treatment of refugees comes in the treatment of

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The secure babies used their mothers as a base to explore and as a protective safe haven. They were upset when the caregivers left but when they returned, they brought safety to the baby. Babies who had an avoidant attachment, didn’t want their caregiver upon return to the room. The caregivers for these babies may have been unresponsive to their signals of distress. Some babies were also classified as having resistant attachments, and tried kicking or arching their backs when comforted by the caregiver.

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What is the attachment theory? , The attachment theory is a

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Cindy Hazan and Philip Shaver in 1980 were able to move the theory of attachment and children into developed theories of attachment on adulthood relationships. They found that even in cases of adults a strong attachment is still very important, Hazan and Shaver (1980) concluded that a balance intimacy with independence within a relationship is best, if the attachment was too strong both parties would be over dependent, and if the attachment was weak there would be a lack of intimacy with feeing of inadequacy (Hazan and Shaver, 1980). Many past findings have suggested that secure attachment is related to high levels of self-esteem; such is found evident in Wilkinson (2004) research about the role of parental and peer attachment in the psychological

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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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Attachment is very important in a child’s life, but if a child is not attached to anyone it can make their future very hard. “Abused and neglected children (in or out of foster care) are at great risk for not forming healthy attachments to anyone. Having at least 1 adult who is devoted to and loves a child unconditionally, who is prepared to accept and value that child for a long time, is key to helping a child overcome the stress and trauma of abuse and neglect,” Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care (2000). Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care. AAP News & Journals Gateway.

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By establishing a worker/client relationship, this will provide Laura with a secure base to operate from in the future. She will be able to confidently explore her historical, current, and future relationship with her mother knowing that she can receive comfort and reassurance from me, her social worker. Once she recognizes this secure base, I will assist her in discovering how she currently handles her relationship with her mother. During this relational discovery process with her mother, I will also allow her to explore her relationship with me, showing Laura how her previous ways of dealing with others could be positively changed through the change of her various internal behavioral models. Through this social worker and client relationship exploration, Laura will discover how her current perceptions of her mother are connected to expectations from their relationship when she was a child, providing her the opportunity to view the current relationship differently.

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The paper mainly focuses on the conceptual framework of Attachment theory as well as attachment style of a client with Self-esteem issues that helps in the case formulation and treatment plan in Cognitive Behavioural Theory (CBT). Attachment style can be explained as an emotional connection of one person with another. The aim of this research study is to evaluate an association between attachment theory and cognitive behavioural approaches, explicitly pointing out similarities as well as differences between both. For the research analysis, qualitative research methodology has been selected for which distinctive previous researches, books and journal article resources has been examined as the gathered evidences are based on attachment theory

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Without this attachment, children can often experience varying emotional, social, and behavioral effects. In contrast to children placed in institutional care, those who were formerly in foster care “had a higher percentage of secure attachment representations and a lower percentage of insecure representations” (Nowacki & Schoelmerich, 2010, p. 556). Another study had also found a correlation between the presence of social support mental health in youth who are aging out of foster care and who were victims of maltreatment. The youths who were perceived to have higher levels of social support showed fewer symptoms of depression (Salazar, Keller & Courtney, 2011). In addition, research has examined the adult outcomes of children in foster with at least one mentoring relationship.

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Attachment theory is often described as a psychosocial theory as it explores the human experience which is formed by the interaction between the psychology of the individual and the social environment (Howe,

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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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Adolescents who lack a secure attachment relationship with their caregivers are at a greater risk for dysregulation of affect when experiencing trauma and the developing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Insecurely attached children and adolescents do not seek comfort in their caregivers so when exposed to trauma, their coping abilities are significantly hindered. When not able to seek protection and comfort in their caregivers, insecurely attached youth are more likely to be overwhelmed by stress; coping alone with limited resources may cause hyperarousal or disassociation (Perry, 2001). Likewise, an adolescent with a secure attachment can act as a layer of defense against the potential adverse effects of trauma (Finkelhor & Browne, 1984). A secure attachment also provides a safe a nurturing environment that enables the adolescent to process the traumatic events and become more equipped to return to a sense of safety and wellbeing- at least the same level experiences prior to the traumatic experience.

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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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