attachment
Attachment is one specific and circumscribed aspect of the
relationship between a child and caregiver that is involved with
making the child safe, secure and protected
Attachment is where the child uses the primary caregiver as a
secure base from which to explore and, when necessary, as a
haven of safety and a source of comfort
The purpose of attachement is not to play,feed,set limits or to
teach
Attachment differs from bond which depend on skin to skin
contact during an early critical period
‘bonding’ has not been shown to predict any •
aspect of child outcome, whereas attachment
is a powerful predictor of a child’s later social
and emotional outcome
There are four types of infant-parent •
attachment: three ‘organized’ types (secure,
avoidant and resistant) and one ‘disorganized’
type
The quality of attachment that an infant
develops with a specific caregiver is largely
determined by the caregiver’s response to the
infant when the infant’s attachment system is
‘activated’ (eg, when the infant’s feelings of
safety and security are threatened, such as
when he/she is ill, physically hurt or emotionally
upset; particularly, frightened
Beginning at approximately six months of age, •
infants come to anticipate specific caregivers’
responses to their distress and shape their
own behaviours accordingly (eg, developing
strategies for dealing with distress when in the
presence of that caregiver) based on daily
interactions with their specific caregivers
Secure attachment
Infants whose caregivers consistently respond to •
distress in sensitive or ‘loving’ ways, such as picking the
infant up promptly and reassuring the infant, feel
secure in their knowledge that they can freely express
negative emotion which will elicit comforting from the
caregiver . Their strategy for dealing with distress is
‘organized’ and ‘secure’. They seek proximity to and
maintain contact with the caregiver until they feel safe.
The strategy is said to be ‘organized’ because the child
‘knows’ exactly what to do with a sensitively
responsive caregiver, ie, approach the caregiver when
distressed
Insecure-Avoidant attachment
Infants whose caregivers consistently respond to •
distress in insensitive or ‘rejecting’ ways, such as
ignoring, ridiculing or becoming annoyed, develop a
strategy for dealing with distress that is also
‘organized’, in that they avoid their caregiver when
distressed and minimize displays of negative emotion
in the presence of the caregiver . The strategy is said to
be ‘organized’ because the child ‘knows’ exactly what
to do with a rejecting caregiver, ie, to avoid the
caregiver in times of need. This avoidant strategy is
also ‘insecure’ because it increases the risk for
developing adjustment problems
Insecure-resistant
Infants whose caregivers respond in inconsistent, unpredictable •
and/or ‘involving’ ways, such as expecting the infant to worry about
the caregiver’s own needs or by amplifying the infant’s distress and
being overwhelmed, also use an ‘organized’ strategy for dealing
with distress; they display extreme negative emotion to draw the
attention of their inconsistently responsive caregiver. The strategy is
said to be ‘organized’ because the child ‘knows’ exactly what to do
with an inconsistently responsive caregiver, ie, exaggerate displays
of distress and angry, resistant responses, ‘hoping’ that the marked
distress response cannot possibly be missed by the inconsistently
responsive caregiver. However, this resistant strategy is also
‘insecure’ because it is associated with an increase in the risk for
developing social and emotional maladjustment
Insecure-disorganized
children’s disorganized attachment includes children’s •
exposure to specific forms of distorted parenting and
unusual caregiver behaviours that are ‘atypical’ . Atypical
caregiver behaviours, also referred to as “frightening,
frightened, dissociated, sexualized or otherwise atypical” ,
are aberrant behaviours displayed by caregivers during
interactions with their children that are not limited to when
the child is distressed. There is evidence to suggest that
caregivers who display atypical behaviours often have a
history of unresolved mourning or unresolved emotional,
physical or sexual trauma, or are otherwise traumatized
(eg, post-traumatic stress disorder or the traumatized
victim of domestic violence)
Out come
that having a ‘loving’ primary caregiver and •
developing ‘organized and secure’ attachment
to a primary caregiver acts as a protective
factor against social and emotional
maladjustment for infants and children
disorganized attachment in infancy and early •
childhood is recognized as a powerful
predictor for serious psychopathology and
maladjustment in children
, a normally developing child will develop an •
attachment relationship with any caregiver
who provides regular physical and/or
emotional care, regardless of the quality of
that care. In fact, children develop attachment
relationships even with the most neglectful
and abusive caregiver
During the first six months of life, promptly picking up •
a baby who is crying is associated with four major
outcomes by the end of the first year of life. First, the
baby cries less. Second, the baby has learned to self-
soothe. Third, if the baby needs the caregiver to soothe
him/her, the baby will respond more promptly. And
finally, the caregiver who responded promptly and
warmly most of the time (not all the time; nobody can
respond ideally all of the time) to the baby’s cries, will
have created secure, organized attachment with all of
the associated benefits.
Strategy to deal with
Quality of caregiving distress Type of attachment
Sensitive Loving → Organized → Secure
Insensitive Rejecting → Organized → Insecure-avoidant
Insensitive Inconsistent → Organized → Insecure-resistant
Atypical Atypical → Disorganized → Insecure-disorganized
Strange Situation Procedure
Mother, baby, and experimenter: The mother, accompanied by an .1
observer, carried the baby into the room, and then the observer left. This
episode lasts less than one minute.
Mother and baby alone: The mother places the baby in a designated .2
area, then sits quietly, only interacting if the baby initiates. This episode
lasts for three minutes.
A stranger joins the mother and infant: A stranger enters the room, .3
sitting silently for a minute, then conversing with the mother for another
minute before gradually approaching the baby with a toy. After the third
minute, the mother discreetly exits the room.
Mother leaves baby and stranger alone: If the baby was contentedly .4
playing, the stranger didn’t intervene. If the baby was inactive, the stranger
attempted to engage him with the toys.If the baby was upset, the stranger
sought to distract or soothe him. If comfort couldn’t be provided, the
episode was cut short; otherwise, it continued for three minutes.
•
Mother returns, and the stranger leaves: The mother enters and momentarily pauses .1
at the doorway, allowing the baby to react to her presence spontaneously. The stranger
discreetly exited.The subsequent actions of the mother were not pre-determined, except for
instructions that once the baby resumed playing with toys, she would leave again, pausing
to say “bye-bye.” The duration of this episode wasn’t fixed.
Mother leaves; infant left completely alone: The baby was left by themself for three .2
minutes unless their distress level necessitated shortening this time frame.
Stranger returns: The stranger returned, acting as in the fourth episode for three .3
minutes unless the baby’s distress led to a premature ending. Ainsworth & Wittig had
originally designed a different approach for the seventh episode, which was tested on the
initial 14 participants (infants) but resembled the more straightforward method reported
here and used for the remaining participants.
Mother returns, and the stranger leaves: The mother comes back, the stranger exits, .4
and once the mother-child reunion is noted, the scenario is concluded.
•
