Kangaroo Care offers a way for parents to have contact and interaction with their infant that is beneficial to mom, dad, and baby. It is encouraged for them to do skin to skin contact or Kangaroo Care as soon as the baby can tolerate it. This may aid in the infant survival and shorten the NICU stay. 2. Thesis: Research suggests that Kangaroo Care is beneficial for premature infants because it promotes bonding with parents and normalizes vital signs.
John Bowlby adopted the family systems approach theory in relation to his attachment theory. Bowlby’s theories focused more on attachment styles whereas Bowen’s theory was centered specifically on the family as an organization. Bowlby theorized that children have the most successful development within an extended family system. He also believed that the child’s interactions with their caregivers within the first few years of their lives shaped their views of themselves and interactions with others (Blewitt & Broderick, 2015, p. 117). Bowlby in particular believed that the family system was important for a child’s growth and development.
He thereby revolutionised our thinking about a child’s tie to the mother and its disruption through separation, deprivation, and bereavement. Mary Ainsworth’s innovative methodology not only made it possible to test some of Bowlby’s ideas empirically but also helped expand the theory itself and is responsible for some of the new directions it is now taking. Ainsworth contributed the concept of the attachment figure as a secure base from which an infant can explore the world. In addition, she formulated the concept of maternal sensitivity to infant signals and its role in the development of infant-mother attachment patterns. His theories on attachment and on maternal deprivation have been some of the most influential writings on the topic.
Psychologists have put forward different explanations of attachment, such as learning theory and Bowlby’s theory. Outline and evaluate one of more explanations. Bowlby’s Theory of attachment encompasses many different parts, such as Monotropy’s, sensitive periods and many other things. One of the things Bowlby suggested was that babies form a monotropy. This is where the baby for one special attachment to their main caregiver, which is generally (but not always) the mother.
Q: Outline and Evaluate Bowlby’s Theory. (12 Marks) Bowlby believed we are born with an innate tendency to form attachments. Bowlby believed that to help us attach we have inborn social releasers are our reactions. For example a baby might giggle to show happiness or cry to show sadness. The crying will act as an inborn social releaser as the mother will come to the aid of her child and try to comfort it always.
Our early attachment styles are established in childhood through the infant/caregiver relationship. In addition to this, Bowlby believed that attachment had an evolutionary component; it aids in survival. "The propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals [is] a basic component of human nature" (Bowlby, 1988, 3). Characteristics of Attachment Bowlby believed that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment: Proximity Maintenance - The desire to be near the people we are attached to. Safe Haven - Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat.
Bowlby was very much influenced by Lorenz’s (1935) study of imprinting which showed that attachment was innate and therefore has a survival value - during the evolution of humans it would have been the babies who stayed close to their mothers who would have survived to have children of their own. In turn, Bowlbys evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with their main caregiver – usually the mother – in order to survive, this is known as monotropy. According to this babies instinctively seek proximity to their mother figures; hence they display social releaser behaviours, e.g. crying when in contact with a stranger, in order to stimulate care from mother. Forming this attachment provides a safe base, giving babies the confidence to explore, therefore Bowlby suggested that this initial attachment relationship acts as a prototype for all future social relationships so disrupting it during the critical period (first 2 1/2 years) can have severe consequences on the childs development.
On the other hand, adults/ the care-givers of an infant too develop an attachment to them. Bowlby suggested that all human beings had some sort of innate programming which helped them form attachments – adults would have a drive for helping the infant to survive: caring, nurturing, feeding them etc. The bond/attachment between the care-giver and infant was considered to have a long-term benefit in addition to the short-term benefit of ensuring food and safety. In the long term, it could be fundamental importance for emotional relationships because it would provide a template for those relationships. However there is the concept of a ‘critical period' which is a feature of biological characteristics.
In addition he suggested the idea of monotropy, which is the suggestion that infants tend to direct attachment behaviours towards a single attachment figure, and that there is one special bond and this is typically between a mother and its child. The attachment being two ways is very important, and Bowlby believed that both parties should find satisfaction and enjoyment from the relationship. He suggested that babies are born programmed to behave in ways that will make attachments easier to form, for example they will display behaviour that encourages attention from adults, these include smiling and cooing etc. These are known as social releasers because the point of
Bowlby (1969) suggested that attachment behaviours are displayed because they ensure the survival of the infant. It is also instinctive of the parent to make this attachment. By making attachments infants are set-up for later life increasing their chance of reproduction, thus extending there genes. (Pound 2005). “Bolwby