Stroufe (1983) found that securely attached infants tend to become popular and confident social leaders. This research shows that the types of attachment identified in the ‘Strange Situation’ have validity. The procedure was also repeated at a later date, producing similar results, so the method also has reliability. However, the ‘Strange Situation’ has been critised for many reasons such as; relationships rather than attachment may be what is being investigated, the ethics of the experiment are questionable as they induced anxiety in the caregivers and infants. Psychoanalyst John Bowlby is a pioneer into child psychology who closely followed the work of Freud.
Attachment Theory and Child Abuse Alan Challoner MA (Phil) MChS Abstract Child abuse is seen to follow a general pattern and it is the intrusion of fear into what might otherwise be good enough care-giving that is necessary for the development of a disorganised or disoriented attachment. Research has shown that in the case of the rejected infant only one signal is required to throw the child into conflict. Withdrawal tendencies occur as a result of main carer’s threat. This paper seeks to find some reasons for the perpetuation of abuse through the generations, and draws attention to the potential remedies. ______________ In recent years research has shown that the revealed characteristics of abusing parents and abused children
Separation anxiety 3.Reunion behaviour 4.Stranger Anxiety. One of the biggest weaknesses of Ainsworth’s experiment was that it may not just measure the attachment types of the infant but more so the quality of the relationship between the infant and caregiver. Second of all an experiment by Main and Weston found that infants behave differently depending on the parent that they are with. Therefore this could mean that SS doesn’t actually fully measure what it is meant to which automatically decreases the validity of the strange situation as a measurement of attachment type. On the other hand some may argue that the only relationship that is of relevance is your primary caregiver, which is the
If secured the child will receive ample attention and have basic needs met. However, if unsecured may result in an impaired social and emotional development (Peterson, 2004). In attempts to distinguish between the associated attachment behaviours observed in infant-caregiver interaction, Mary Ainsworth patented the strange situation test; subsequent findings resulted in three categories of infant attachment style; A: insecure avoidant, B: secure and C: insecure resistant (Ainsworth, et al. 1978). This model was later applied to adult romantic relationships and adapted to form theories of adult
People with antisocial disorder will act instead of feel; they find it difficult to talk about their personal emotional experiences. The feelings of helpless and a scared victim during childhood stage makes them want to scare and victimize others when they grow up (Hansel & Damour, 2008). Furthermore, the psychodynamic aspect also delves into analyzing early childhood attachments of individuals with antisocial personality disorder. Gabbard (2000) stated that “normal parent-child attachment paves the way for the internalization of a morally guiding superego and the ability to empathize with others. People with antisocial personality disorder show abnormal superego functioning and a lack of empathic ability to imagine how others feel, presumably due to disrupted parent-child relationships” (Hansel & Damour, 2008, p.
Bowlby argued that the attachment behaviours in both caregivers and babies evolved ensuring the survival of the baby until maturity and reproduce. Babies produce instincts like crying and smiling which encourages the caregiver to look after it. Parents especial mothers as per to Bowlby have instincts to protect their baby from harm and nurture them ensuring their survival until maturity. Those babies and mother who don’t possess these behaviours have been less successful. A second most important concept in Bowlby’s theory was the idea of monotrophy a single attachment to one person who is most important to the baby.
Anxious attachment is experienced when we have inconsistent caregivers or parents. Our early caregiver experiences affect our view of our social world. We may wonder if people are trust worthy, can we count on them for protection and support. You make ask yourself if you are a loveable person if you are
If a child, like in the case of Jordan, (K101, DVD, Unit 5, video 5.1) is removed from this attachment figure at a young age, it can have a big effect on their development (K101, Unit 5, p31); this is because children use their attachment figure to learn about their selves, relationships and also as a secure base for exploring to develop physical and social interaction skills. (Bretherton, 1992 quoted in K101, unit 5, pp28-29) An example of how a child service user can be affected by not
TMA03 ‘Sensitive parenting is the most important factor in a child’s psychological development.’ Discuss. In order to explore the influence of sensitive parenting on a child’s psychological development, it is first necessary to define what researchers mean by the term ‘sensitive parenting.’ Oates et al defined sensitive parenting as “nurturant, attentive, non-restrictive parental care” (Oates et al, OU, 2005 pg 30). Winnicott (1964) stated that sensitivity refers to the ability to understand that the best approach is not to try to ‘alleviate all distress, discomfort and frustration at the earliest possible opportunity,’ (as cited in Oates et al., 2005, p. 25) but to allow and be aware of the infants needs to develop, through supported waiting and reinforcement, the tolerance and confidence that forms part of a healthy attachment and results in normal behaviour. This balance could be found in what he termed the ‘good enough’ mother, in which the focus is on the right amount of delay in response to a infants needs, which can only be achieved via sensitivity and understanding of an infant’s needs. Another key figure in the field of child development, Mary Ainsworth, (1969) proposed a series of sensitivity scales that pointed to the quality of the care being provided as being the key factor, and broke the term sensitivity down further.
Sensitive parenting is the most important factor in a child’s psychological development – discuss This essay will explore the concept of sensitive parenting and will look at how the dynamic interactions between parent and child inform Attachment Theory a model which measures child development. This model, pioneered by Bowlby is posited within the principles of a psychoanalytic and biological perspective (Bee, H.L., 2000). Child attachment can be classified into two main types, secure and insecure, by using a standard laboratory assessment known as the “Strange Situation” developed by Ainsworth, insecure attachment was divided further into sub groups, ambivalent and avoidant (Ding, S. & Littleton, K. 2005). Whilst discussing attachment theory which utilises the concept of an internal working model other approaches in terms of understanding how parenting affects child development will be explored. Theoretical positions such as social learning theory which lies heavily on behaviourist principles will be looked at, parenting styles where patterns of parenting will be discussed and inter-generational transmission which serves to perpetuate society’s inequalities and disadvantages with negative connotations for a child’s psychological development (Ding, S. & Littleton, K. 2005).