Attachment: Concepts and Measurement

Question 1

what is attachment theory?

Answer 1

the idea that early caregiver-child relationships have long-term consequences for development

Question 2

what research did bowlby conduct and when?

Answer 2

1947, retrospective research and found 61% of juvenile thieves suffered early prolonged maternal separation during childhood

Question 3

what did bowlby conclude after his research?

Answer 3

postulated that quality of parental care in early childhood was vital for mental health

Question 4

what were affectional bonds viewed as before the 1950s?

Answer 4

secondary, whereas bowlby challenged the view that these attachments were as important as primary drive reduction

Question 5

what is attachment?

Answer 5

strong affectional bond and disposition to seek proximity and contact with someone

Question 6

what are attachment behaviours?

Answer 6

any form of behaviour resulting in attaining or maintaining proximity to some other clearly identified individual

Question 7

difference between proximity seeking and proximity maintaining behaviours

Answer 7

seeking - crying, smiling, reaching
maintaining - following, clinging

Question 8

how did ainsworth and bell (1970) contribute to attachment theory?

Answer 8

theoretically:
- understanding individual differences in attachment styles

methodologically:
- using laboratory methods to study attachment behaviours in 12-20 month old infants

Question 9

bowlby (1969) formation of early attachments

Answer 9

1. phase I (before 3 months)
2. phase II (3-6 months)
3. phase III (9-24 months)
4. phase IV (30 months)

Question 10

phase I (before 3 months)

Answer 10

responds to others with limited discrimination

Question 11

phase II (3-6 months)

Answer 11

responds to one or more discriminated figure, begins ‘greeting’ on return and ‘crying’ on departure

Question 12

phase III (9-24 months)

Answer 12

proximity maintaining behaviours towards discriminated figure

Question 13

phase IV (30 months)

Answer 13

goal-corrected partnership and formulates internal working model

Question 14

schaefer and emerson (1960)

Answer 14

landmark longitudinal study which found indiscriminate use of proximity seeking behaviours before 30 weeks, after then they become specific to chosen caregivers

Question 15

fearon and roisman (2017) hypotheses derived from attachment theory

Answer 15

universality and normality

continuity

sensitivity

competence

Question 16

universality and normality hypothesis

Answer 16

all infants become securely attached to one or more caregivers

Question 17

continuity hypothesis

Answer 17

patterns of attachment are stable over the lifespan

Question 18

sensitivity hypothesis

Answer 18

early attachment security is dependent on caregiver responsiveness to child’s signals

Question 19

competence hypothesis

Answer 19

secure attachment leads to positive outcomes in a variety of domains

Question 20

what are the broad types of measure used to study attachment?

Answer 20

1. attachment behaviour
2. attachment representations

Question 21

attachment behaviour

Answer 21

assessment focused on children’s observable attachment behaviour

strange situation procedure (12-20m)
attachment q-sort (12m-6y)

Question 22

attachment representations

Answer 22

how we think about close relationships we have with others

child attachment interview (7y)
adult attachment interview (16y)

Question 23

SSP: what was created?

Answer 23

ainsworth and bell (1970) used a mildly stressful scenario to observe exploratory and attachment behaviours in 1-2y

Question 24

SSP: types of attachment

Answer 24

• secure
• avoidant
• resistant
• disorganised

Question 25

SSP: secure attachment

Answer 25

60% - may or may not cry upon separation - quick and positive reaction to reunion - contact with caregiver reduces distress

Question 26

SSP: avoidant attachment

Answer 26

15% - no distress when separated - does not approach caregiver at reunion - caregiver and stranger treated similarly

Question 27

SSP: resistant attachment

Answer 27

10% - marked distress when separated - resists contact at reunion - contact does not reduce distress

Question 28

SSP: disorganised attachment

Answer 28

15% - no consistent pattern - may react with disorientation or fear

Question 29

reliability and validity of SSP

Answer 29

- consistency across observers and time - low test-retest after 2 weeks, but strong after 12-18 months - moderate rank order stability - not very ecologically valid

Question 30

attachment q-sort (AQS)

Answer 30

waters (1980) developed a more ecological assessment by observing children in homes for 2 hours to compare against a prototype secure profile

Question 31

reliability and validity of AQS

Answer 31

- suited for 12-48 months - strong test-retest stability - lengthy, no distinction between insecurity, and lack of valid caregiver ratings

Question 32

adult attachment interview (AAI)

Answer 32

van ijzendoorn (1995) looked at recollections about early relationships to reveal representations, using standardised protocol of 15 questions

Question 33

what does AAI score?

Answer 33

reflection - sense-making of experiences coherence - evidence and consistency

Question 34

AAI: types of attachment

Answer 34

secure dismissing preoccupied unresolved

Question 35

AAI: secure attachment

Answer 35

- talks easily about relationships - coherent and consistent accounts - understands past difficulties

Question 36

AAI: dismissing attachment

Answer 36

- difficulty remembering experiences - describes parents positively but does not give evidence - dismisses importance of relationships

Question 37

AAI: preoccupied attachment

Answer 37

- excessive attention to caregiver memories; loses focus - confused, angry

Question 38

AAI: unresolved attachment

Answer 38

- experience of trauma - still focused on unresolved issues from past

Question 39

reliability and validity of AAI

Answer 39

strong test-retest 78% reliability within same category autobiographical memory, IQ, and social desirability not associated with attachment group

Question 40

CAI

Answer 40

goetz (2018) studied children's representations and perceptions of their attachment figures' availability, using verbal and non-verbal information to analyse their narratives

Question 41

reliability and validity of CAI

Answer 41

- high inter-rater reliability and test-retest between 3-12 months - validity as clinically referred children show higher levels of insecure attachment

Question 42

universality and normality within attachment styles

Answer 42

- all infants show attachment behaviours, and preferential bonds for caregivers - secure attachment is the norm as allows for exploration

Question 43

what is the emphasis in north america and europe?

Answer 43

- single maternal caregiver (monotropism) and independence of child studies are mainly confined to this region, despite being only 10% of child world population

Question 44

mesman (2016) universality does not preclude culture-specific patterns

Answer 44

- attachment styles vary between countries (indonesia 52% secure vs mexico 77%) - primary attachment figures differ in cultures with more caregivers - may experience different forms of attachment or exploration behaviour

Question 45

predictors of attachment security

Answer 45

- parental views of own childhood attachment experiences - mind-mindedness

Question 46

fearon (2010) meta-analysis on disorganised attachment

Answer 46

connections between disorganised attachment and higher externalising behaviours, but lower for girls than boys

Question 47

how did bowlby (1977) show causality and continuity?

Answer 47

strong causal relationships between individuals' experience with their parents and later capacity to make affectional bonds

Question 48

prototype account

Answer 48

early caregiving experiences give rise to attachment representations, which become persisting ‘working models’ to shape interpersonal relationships with others

Question 49

evidence of prototype account

Answer 49

- meta-analysis moderate evidence for stable classifications (opie, 2021) using different measures– secure 67%, avoidant 25%, resistant 28% - groh (2014) early attachments predict later attachment status (secure-secure 61%) but not universal for all (resistant-preoccupied 1.5%)

Question 50

revisionist account

Answer 50

early caregiving experiences give rise to attachment representations, but changes in caregiving experiences can lead to updated or revised representations

Question 51

booth-la force (2014) lawful discontinuity can be seen in changing attachment types:

Answer 51

secure → secure – stable positive environment insecure → insecure – stable negative environment (greater declines in parental sensitivity) insecure → secure – improving circumstances (higher parental sensitivity in childhood) secure → insecure – declining circumstances (higher levels of negative life events)

Question 52

what do practical challenges consider?

Answer 52

- longitudinal research is expensive and time-consuming - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence - need to explore attachment security concerning more than one caregiver - begin investigations during the first year of life before attachment relationships have formed - distinguish between concurrent and predictive relations