Development Flashcards

Question

What did Schaffer and Emerson's (1964) study suggest attachment took place?

Answer 1

Found that attachment behaviours develop in stages loosely linked to age Most babies started to show separation anxiety at 6-8 months, indicating an attachment had been formed. Fear of strangers tended to follow a month. After the first attachment was formed, most babies went on to form multiple attachments with a variety of people.

Answer 2

Majority (65%) the first attachment figure with their mother, Fathers were the first attachment figure with only 3% of babies and just over a quarter of babies (27%) formed 'joint attachments' at the same time. They did not necessarily form attachments to the person who carried out most of the physical care, as in almost 40% the person who cared for the child was not the first attachment figure.

Answer 3

1. Used a variety of methods of data, including observation and interview which is very rich in detail. 2. Babies were observed by the researchers in their own homes, and mothers were asked to rate their babies' response to separation in a wide range of everyday situation so high ecological validity.

Answer 4

The findings reflect the child-rearing practices of the mid 1960's where most childcare was carried out by mothers who were less likely to work outside the home. Today, fathers may be far more likely to be first attachment figures given their greater role today in child-rearing.

Answer 5

1. Asocial stage (0-6 weeks) 2. Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks-6 months) 3. Specific attachments (7 months onwards) 4. Multiple attachments (10/11 months onwards)

Answer 6

Babies produce similar responses to objects and people and do not prefer specific people to others. They have a bias towards human-like stimuli and prefer to look at faces and eyes. They rapidly learn to discriminate familiar people from unfamiliar by their smell and voice.

Answer 7

Babies become more sociable. They can tell people apart and prefer to be in human company. They are relatively easily comforted by anyone and do not prefer specific individuals yet. They do not show fear of strangers.

Answer 8

Two changes take place around seven months. The baby beings to show separation anxiety, protesting when their primary attachment figure leaves them. They also show fear of strangers.

Answer 9

Multiple attachments follow soon after the first attachment is made. The baby shows attachment behaviours towards several different people such as siblings, grandparents and childminders.

Answer 10

Something which increases the likelihood that the behaviour before it will be repeated.

Answer 11

When a behaviour or response switches off something unpleasant. Taking a painkiller switches off the pain of a headache, so the behaviour- pill taking- is likely to be repeated

Answer 12

An aspect of the environment which produces an automatic, unlearned response.

Answer 13

An unlearned, reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Answer 14

Learning theory argues that attachments are based on the principles of operent and classical conditioning.

Answer 15

He placed hungry animals in cages and found that they would explore. Then they accidentally pressed a lever that supplied a pelet of good, it quickly learned to repeat the behaviour in order to gain the food reward.

Answer 16

That any behaviour that produces a reward (or positive reinforcement) such as food will be repeated. Behaviours that 'switch off' something unpleasant are also likely be be repeated )negative reinforcement.) Behaviours that lead to an unpleasant outcome (or punishment) are less likely to be repeated.

Answer 17

A baby will cry in response to feelings of discomfort (hungry or cold). This sound is uncomfortable to the caregiver who will attempt to console the child by feeding and cuddling them. These behavious are rewarding for the baby who is likely to stop crying, which acts as a negative reinforcement for the parent, so they are likely to repeat this action when the baby cries next time. At the crying produced positive reinforcement the baby is likely to repeat the crying behaviour.

Answer 18

Classical conditioning is based on learning through association; dogs salivate on hearing the bell etc.

Answer 19

Milk is an unconditioned stimulus, which provides an unconditioned response in the baby of pleasure. The baby associates the person who feeds them (the neutral stimulus) with the food and soon the person on their own comes to produce a learned or conditioned response of pleasure and relief.

Answer 20

1. Schaffer an Emerson's 1964 study showed that primary attachments are not necessarily formed to the person carrying out physical care 2. Primate studies have also shown that attachment appears to be based on the need for comfort more than feeding. 3. This explanation ignores considerably evidence pointing to the importance of evolutionary aspects of attachment that are considered by Bowlby's theory.

Answer 21

He studied 8 infant monkeys who were reared in isolation and deprived of their real mothers until the were 8 months old. In each cage, there were 2 'surrogate' mothers; one made of wire with a monkey like face with a feeding bottle supplying milk, and an identical mother with no mil covered with a soft towelling fabric. They checked to see if an attachment had been formed by putting a noisy mechanical toy in the cage to frighten the monkeys, and found that they used the soft mother as their base, returning to her for comfort when frightened.

Answer 22

The tendency of babies to form a primary attachment to one caregiver.

Answer 23

Hay and Vespo (1988)

Answer 24

That children (and indeed adults) learn many of their behaviours through observation and imitation of the behaviour of other people who act as role models Hay and Vespo (1988) argue that parents act as role models for their infants and teach them how to understand and carry out relationships by their own actions of looking after the child.

Answer 25

1. Role modelling: the parents show the child a range of affectionate behaviours such as holding and cuddling, which the child imitates 2. Direct instruction: The parents teach the child to reciprocate affection (e.g. give me a kiss goodbye) 3. Social facilitation: parents watch and help the child to carry out attachment behaviours

Answer 26

1. Takes into account the importance of parents as role models for their children. 2. Hay and Vespo do not deny the importance of innate influences to attachment but draw attention instead to the importance of social influences on the development of attachment behaviours

Answer 27

Hay and Vespo's theory does not explain why attachments are so emotionally intense for both people involved in them.

Answer 28

Rather than being a separate theory, the social learning explanation aims to develop the learning explanation to include an element of social learning in attachment.

Answer 29

An evolved mechanism that ensured the survival of the child.

Answer 30

The innate or instinctive nature of attachment. He argued that attachment behaviours in both babies and their caregivers have evolved through natural selection to ensure the baby survives to reach maturity and to reporduce.

Answer 31

An important concept in his theory was the idea of a single attachment to one person who is more important to the baby He did not deny that babies form various attachments, but he believed that one relationship is more important than the rest.

Answer 32

A template for future relationships including a model of how you and other people are likely to behave.

Answer 33

He argued that the first attachment between the baby and their caregiver provided the child with an internal working model for their future relationships. He argued that the internal working model begun in early childhood, influenced the child's later relationships through to adulthood. This is referred to as the continuity hypothesis. He also drew on Harlows' monkeys, and the importance of the moth figure for a 'safe base'.

Answer 34

He thought the process of attachment took place within a sensitive period, during the first 3 years of the child's lief. From his research with troubled adolescents he believed that the attachment between caregiver and child should not be disrupted or broken for any reason before the age of three or there would be serious consequences.

Answer 35

They used a 'Love quiz' in their local North American Paper, the Rocky Mountain News, which asked people to write into the paper reporting their experiences of two things: 1. which of three descriptions best applied to their feelings/experiences about romantic relationships 2. A simple adjective checklist which described their childhood relationship with their parents. They tested two separate groups of people, the first randomly selected from the responses to the paper advert, and the second 108 undergraduate students at their university.

Answer 36

They found there was a strong relationship between childhood attachment type and adulthood attachment type. 'secure' types expressed a believe in lasting love, were confident they were lovable, and found others trustworthy. 'Anxious avoidant' types were doubtful about the existence of love, whilst anxious ambivalent types fell in love easily and often but rarely found 'true love'. They felt insecure and experienced self doubt in love.

Answer 37

They asked 205 young adults to complete three measures to assess childhood and adult attachment types: 1. An adult attachment interview, which measured their feelings about current and previous adult relationships 2. A list of adjectives that described their childhood relationships with both parents. 3. A description of childhood events and incidents such as birthday parties or Christmas that illustrated their relationship with their parents.

Answer 38

They found a link between the types of childhood and adult relationships. Those who recalled positive and loving relationships with their mothers were more trusting and more likely to open up to their partners and seek comfort from therm. Those who had positive relationships with their fathers were more likely to rely on their patterns.

Answer 39

They carried out a longitudinal study on 44 children in Germany. Their attachment type as children was initially assessed between 12-18 months of age by seeing how they responded to separation and to strangers, and they were reassessed at the age of 16 ears using interviews focusing on their relationship with their parents. They also recorded the life events such as parental divorce or death that occured to the young people as they were growing up.

Answer 40

They found that childhood attachment type was not a good predictor of attachment in adolescence. More important was the impact of serious life events such as parental divorce.

Answer 41

They found that women who had had a range of difficult early experiences developed security if they had positive school experiences and strong adult relationships in later life.

Answer 42

Vertical relationships the child has with those who are older and more powerful; and horizontal relationships which are attachments to someone with a similar level of power, usually a sibling or peer. Relationships with siblings are very long lasting and often very important in our lives.

Answer 43

1. Mother and infant enter the room. Mother sits in one of the chair and reads a magazine. Child is placed on the floor and is free to explore the toys. 2. After about 3 minutes, a stranger enters, sits on the 2nd chair and talks briefly with the mother 3. The stranger approaches the infant and attempts to interact and play with them. 4. Mother leaves the room so the infant is alone with the stranger. The stranger comforts the baby if they are upset and offers to play with them. 5. After around 3 minutes mother returns and the stranger leaves. 6. 3 minutes later mother departs again leaving the baby alone in the room. 7. The stranger re-enters and offers to comfort and play with the baby 8. Mother returns and the stranger leaves.

Answer 44

This study looked at individual differences in attachment.

Answer 45

THe departure of the mother allowed her to assess separation anxiety, and the introduction of a stranger allowed her to measure stranger anxiety. She also examined the baby's behaviour towards the mother in a strange environment to assess whether or not the baby used her as a safe base to explore the room.

Answer 46

``` Secure infants ( Type B attachment) Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A) Insecure-ambivalent attachment (Type C) ```

Answer 47

These babies used their mother as a safe base and were happy to explore the room when she was present. They showed distress by crying when she left, and welcomed her back on her return, settling back down to play fairly question. They were wary of the stranger and treated them very differently to their mother. 70% of babies fell into this category.

Answer 48

These babies did not orient their behaviour towards their mother in the same way. They showed some distress at her departure but did not seek comfort from her when she returned. They also rejected the stranger's attempts to comfort them. The relationship style of these babies involved keeping a distance and avoiding closeness. 15% of babies fell into this category.

Answer 49

These babies were very upset at separation but were not easily comforted when the mother returned. They appeared to be angry and rejected her attempts to comfort them. These babies seemed to expect the relationship to be difficult and they alternated between seeking closeness and wanting distance. 15% of babies fell into this category.

Answer 50

very replicable so very reliable | Method may provide a valid measure of the child's response to separation

Answer 51

The sensitivity of the mother

Answer 52

That there was a strong relationship between the attachment types to both parents which supports the idea that attachments may relate to inbuilt temperaments.

Answer 53

Carried out a meta-analysis on the results of 32 separate studies carried out in 8 different countries using the strange situation. They found secure attachment was most common but the lowest proportion was found in China and the highest in Britain and Sweden. Avoidant attachments were more common in West Germany, and very rare in Israel and Japan. Ambivalent attachments were more common in Israel, China and Japan and rare in Scandinavian countries.

Answer 54

Those where person independence and achievement are valued. Such as North America and Getmany.

Answer 55

Those where there is a high degree of interdependence between people, such as Japan, China and Israel.

Answer 56

Protest Despair Detachment

Answer 57

Two twin boys born in 1960 in Czechoslovabia locked in an I heated cella until they were seven. They managed to recover despite this.

Answer 58

Two group of women; one in care the other matched for age and location. Care group more likely to have problems, but vast differences amongst the care group in relation to experiences in school and later good relationships.

Answer 59

Children who attended day care were able to get along with other children better, were more sociable, outgoing, and had better abilities to play with their peers.

Answer 60

Compared the progress of 150 children and found that those who attended nurseries has better social development than those looked after in family settings

Answer 61

Argued that children who attend full time day care take part in more cooperative play than those who only attend part time.

Answer 62

Found a negative correlation between the amount of time children spend in care and their amount of pro-social behavior.

Answer 63

Assessed standard of care. Longitudinal. Children spending long hours I'm daycare less socially competent, more days but shorter hours were more socially competent.

Answer 64

Day care led to advanced cognitive and language development but also higher level of problem behaviour.

Answer 65

More hours spent in daycare before the child was 4 and a half correlated with a range if negative social outcomes.

Answer 66

A low adult to high child ratio A small sized crowd A mixed age group Well trained staff and low staff turnovers

Answer 67

Some critics have argued that Ainsworth's research lacks validity because of the strange and unfamiliar nature of the playroom which was not the children's home. However, the situation itself is similar to many that children may experience such as being left with a baby sitter or at a playgroup, suggesting that the method may provide a valid measure of the child's response to separations.

Answer 68

An extremely useful tool, that gives a great deal of information in a relatively short space of time. It is very easy to replicate which has led to research carried out into variations of attachment across different cultures. Reliable as many studies have found similar results

Answer 69

It took place in an unfamiliar environment and the departure of the method in a strange place and the interaction with the strange are likely to be stressful, however both the mother and research were instructed to stop the experiment and respond to the baby if they felt they were becoming very distressed.

Answer 70

The sensitivity of the mother. .

Answer 71

She argued that mothers who were sensitive to their infants' needs, who read their moods and feelings correctly, were more likely to produce babies who were securely attached

Answer 72

Mothers who were less sensitive or responsive to their babes, who ignored them or who became impatient with them were said to be more likely to have insecurely attached infants. These babies would be likely to feel less safe and would be unsure if their needs would be met at any time.

Answer 73

They carried out a meta-analysis and analysed the results of 66 studies on over 4000 families and found a correlation of 0.24 between sensitivity and attachment. This means that there is a weak positive relationship between sensitivity and attachment- generally more sensitive caregivers have more strongly attached babies.

Answer 74

They argue that she places too much emphasis on the role of the mother and ignores the basic temperament of the infant.

Answer 75

The differences in babies that seem to be inbuilt and visible from birth.

Answer 76

Activity (how much time baby spends awake and alert), emotionality (how much they become upset or aroused by events) and sociability (how much the baby seeks human company)

Answer 77

They studied 138 American babies and found three basic temperament types. Just under a half fell into the category of easy babies- they ate and slept regularly and accepted new experiences easily. About one in ten were classed as 'slow-to-warm-up' babies. These did not actively reject new experiences but took a while to get used to them, whereas difficult babies (15%) ate and slept irregularly and actively rejected new experiences.

Answer 78

That the attachment type formed by a baby may reflect their own basic temperament rather than how sensitive the caregiver is. If this is true then the baby should show similar attachment to both parents.

Answer 79

He found that there was a strong relationship between the attachment types of a child to both parents, which supports he claim that attachments may well relate to inbuilt temperaments.

Answer 80

Easy babies may go on to be securely attached infants whereas slow-to-warn-up babies may go on to be avoidant. Difficult babies may turn into ambivalent toddlers.

Answer 81

The argued that individual differences in attachment types may relate to both the inborn temperament of the baby as well as to the sensitivity of the caregiver. They argue that babies with different temperaments present different types of challenges to their caregiver. An extremely reactive or difficult baby may need to be soothed, whereas a slow-to-warm up infant needs encouragement. This type of baby may go on to develop a secure attachment with a caregiver who is patient, encouraging and responsive. However, with an anxious caregiver, the attachment outcome may be very different.

Answer 82

Main and Solomon (1986)

Answer 83

Type D (disorganised attachment). The behaviour pattern of these babies did not fit any of the above categories but was inconsistent. For example, the baby responded in different ways in the repeated episodes.

Answer 84

Those where personal independence and achievement are valued. Examples of individualistic cultures are North America and Germany.

Answer 85

Those where there is a high degree of interdependence between people. Examples of collectivist cultures include Japan, China and Israel.

Answer 86

He studied child-rearing practices in Kibbutzim, communal farms in Israel. Here, babies are placed into communal childcare when they were around four days old and cared for by a nurse who is called a 'metapelet'. The physical aspects of childcare such as feeding and nappy changing are carried out by the nurse and the parents visit the baby to play and cuddle, typically spending about three hours a day with their child after work. When they are around four months old, babies move to another nursery for older children and continue to be reared as a group together cared for by a nurse.

Answer 87

The child is likely to have less adult attention than in a family setting and much more contact with peers of similar ages. Both of these may be important influences on their attachment to parents and their later relationships.

Answer 88

They carried out a meta-analysis in which they analysed the results of 32 separate studies carried out in eight different countries using Ainsworth's 'Strange situation' to look at differences in attachment types both between and within cultures. In total, over 2000 babies were studied.

Answer 89

Secure attachment (type B) were more common in all cultures surveyed. The lowest proportion of secure attachment (50%0 was found in China and the higher (around 3/4) was found in Great Britain and Sweden.

Answer 90

Type A (avoidant attachments) were more common in West Germany than in other Western countries. Avoidant attachments were very rare in Israel and Japan.

Answer 91

Type C (ambivalent attachments) were more common in Israel, China and Japan. Scandinavian countries such as Sweden had the lowest rate of ambivalent attachments.

Answer 92

3 studies in West Germany showed very different findings. In 2 Japanese studies, one had no Type A babies whereas the second had around 20. They noted overall that the intra-cultural (within cultures) were nearly one and a half times the cross-cultural variation.

Answer 93

It demonstrates the common-sense point that it is an over-simplification to assume that all children are brought up in exactly the same way in a particular country or culture.

Answer 94

- Large sample size, which is needed in order to generalise findings to the rest of the population. - As a meta-analysis there are no direct ethical issues associated with it as the data collection and analysis is secondary.

Answer 95

- 18 out of the 32 studies were carried out in the US reflecting the dominance of America in research in this area. - 27 of the studies were carried out in individualistic cultures, whilst only 5 were carried out in collectivist cultures, so it may not be representative. - Ainsworth's strange situation method for studying attachment was developed in America and may be most suited to studying attachment in this type of culture.

Answer 96

He argues that we can only make valid interpretations of the strange situation in cross-cultural studies if we understand the attitudes to child-rearing in that culture.

Answer 97

Babies are very rarely separated from their mother, which explains why Japanese babies tended to react most violently with tears when the mother left, leading them to be classified as ambivalent.

Answer 98

In Israel, they live in small groups and are rarely exposed to strangers, leading them to protest most violently when confronted with the stranger.

Answer 99

In West Germany independence is highly valued and encouraged, and therefore showed little distress at separation, leading them to be classified as avoidant.

Answer 100

He studied babies living in the kibbutz system in Israel. In an extensive review of the effects of communal rearing, Aveizer and colleagues argued that the collective sleeping arrangements shown in Kibbutzim, where babies and young children sleep together in large dormitories may not be idea for children overall and may be more likely to lead to insecure ambivalent attachment.

Answer 101

Many Kibbutzim are now changing this practice to make arrangements more family-like so children are cared for communally during the day but return to parents at night to sleep in the family house.

Answer 102

In places, such as Japan, where they rarely experience separation.

Answer 103

In Western European countries where independence is encouraged.

Answer 104

A longer-term effect of separation in which the child alternates between clinginess and detachment.

Answer 105

Once children have formed their first attachment at around eight-nine months.

Answer 106

Robertsons in their study of John, a 17 month old child who was placed in a residential nursery for nine days while his mother went into hospital to have a baby.

Answer 107

(PDD) Protest Despair Detachment

Answer 108

The child cries, screams and protests angrily when the parent leaves. They are likely to try and cling to the parent and may struggle to escape from others who pick them up.

Answer 109

After a while, the child's angry protest begins to subside and they appear calmer although still upset. The child is likely to refuse others' attempts to comfort them and they may appear to be withdrawn and uninterested in anything.

Answer 110

If the separation continues the child may begin to engage with other people again although they may be wary. They are likely to reject the caregiver when they return and show signs of anger.

Answer 111

Extreme clinginess Detachment: The child may appear to be detached from the caregiver and refuse to be cuddled or hugged. This behaviour may be designed to protect them from being hurt again if they are left. Many children alternate between detachment and clinginess. The child may be more demanding of their attachment figure.

Answer 112

The age of the child The type of attachment between child and caregiver The sex of the child Whom the child is left with and the quality of care they receive Experience of previous separation.

Answer 113

They studied the behaviour of 76 babies aged between three and 51 weeks of age who were admitted to a children's hospital. They found that children younger than seven months showed minimal upset, adjusted to hospital well and showed little clinging. After this age, the strength of the child's response increased up to about 12 months with the most severe reaction being shown between 12 and 18 months.

Answer 114

A securely attached child is more likely to cope better with short separations than a child with an insecure-ambivalent type. This may be because of their belief that the mother figure will return.

Answer 115

Boys seem to respond more strongly to separation than girls although there are wide difference within as well as between sexes.

Answer 116

As many children older than about ten months have multiple attachments, if the child is left with another attachment figure such as a grandparents, the effects may be minimal.

Answer 117

A child who is accustomed to brief separations such as being left at playgroup or with grandparents is likely to respond less strongly than the child who is very rarely separated from their attachment figure.

Answer 118

He suggests that the stages described by the PDD model are misleading. He argues that the child's initial response to separation is not a 'protest' but is an effort to cope with the feelings produced by separation.

Answer 119

Literally the lack of something. Emotional privation is the lack of attachment or love in a child who has been unable to form an attachment. Physical privation refers to the lack of basic physical needs such as food or shelter.

Answer 120

International conflict or civil war when many thousands of children may lose their parents and spend time in institutional care, or from circumstances in which children experience neglect because their caregiver is unable to care for them.

Answer 121

Case studies exist of children who have been brought up in extreme circumstances such as total isolation where they have been unable to form an attachment Studies of children who have been raised in institutions and late adopted.

Answer 122

He reported the case study of twin boys who were born in 1960 in Czechoslovakia and brought up in care after the death of their mother. At the age of 18 months they returned to live with their father and stepmother and suffered serious privation until the age of seven when they were discovered and taken into care. They were locked in an unheated cellar away from human company, starved and beaten.

Answer 123

When they were discovered, they had no speech, were terrified of people and had serious health problems from early malnutrition.They attended a school for children with learning difficulties for intensive rehabilitation and were fostered than adopted by two sisters who provided a secure and permanent home for them. In this environment they developed average intelligence and formed strong emotional bonds with their new family.

Answer 124

They were found to have attained average intelligence and to have developed into happy and sociable boys who were attending a mainstream school.

Answer 125

The study began in 1969. He reported that the early damage had been totally repaired and there were no signs of psychological problems.

Answer 126

Two sisters who have suffered extreme social and emotional privation in early childhood. Their mother had severe learning difficulties and may have also had a mental illness. The children were kept in a small room, and tied to the bed with dog leads to keep the flat clean and prevent them from falling off the balcony. When they became too noisy they were covered with a blanket. They were found by social services when they were aged 3.5 (Louise) and 2.5 (Mary) and put into a children's hospital.

Answer 127

Mary and Louise showed little evidence of play and no real speech. Following speech therapy, Louise developed normal language and began to attend a primary school at 5 years. However, Mary did not develop the language skills and was moved to a unit for autistic children aged 7.5. A brother found with them was raised in a different family, and remained autistic and had severe learning difficulties.

Answer 128

The case of Genie. She was found at age 13, after being strapped to a child potty chair in diapers, and refused contact with anyone. Chances are she was also beaten if she tried to vocalize. When found she had little to no vocabulary, was not toilet trained, salivated constantly, and could not stand erect. She had a strange 'bunny walk' also. She did not progress like normal children, but managed to learn sign language but little else.

Answer 129

- Children are often seriously affected and may be unable to give their fully informed consent - Foster parents or carers may feel pressure from researchers to allow continued study of the children - The ongoing follow-up of children is seen as intrusive - Some who have taken part in case studies have later suggested that the experience has been actively damaging to them, making them feel they are simply 'objects' of psychological interest.

Answer 130

- It is difficult to assess the effects of each experience on their overall development as they have also often suffered physical maltreatment of abuse as well as privation - They are retrospective so it is difficult to establish with accuracy what happened in the early life of the children so it is therefore difficult to draw conclusions.

Answer 131

- Their early childhoods were well documented, so there was no need to attempt to piece together the past - The children had all received a good standard of physical care and the only form of privation they had suffered was emotional privation.

Answer 132

They carried out a natural experiment, which examined the long-term effects of emotional privation on 65 children brought up in a children's home until they were around four years old. When the children were around four years old, 25 were returned or 'restored' to their biological parents, 33 were adopted and 7 continued in care, being fostered for some periods of time and returning to the children's home at others.

Answer 133

Staff were discouraged from forming relationships with the children to prevent them becoming upset if they left their jobs. By the time children were 2, they had on average 24 difference carers and by the age of 4, they had around 50. The children were provided with good physical care and intellectual stimulation and showed no cognitive deficits.

Answer 134

They showed a range of unusual attachment behaviors; they showed no fear of strangers but would run to any adult who entered the room and demand their attention in an indiscriminate manner. They could cry when the adult left, despite the fact they had no attachment with them. These behaviours are common of children raised in institutions and are part of a behaviour pattern known as 'disinhibited attachment'

Answer 135

They visited the children with their families when the children were eight, and at 16 the children took part in interviews with a key adult (mother, father or careworker) present. Tizard and Hodges also asked for permission to contact the teenagers' schools and, if this was given, teachers and same-sex peers completed an assessment via a questionnaire to assess their attachment behaviour.

Answer 136

They found that 20/21 of the adoptees and 6/13 of the restored children formed close attachment to their parents by the age of 8. At 16, more adoptees than restored children were closer to their parents. The restored group had worse relationships with their siblings than the adoptees. All three groups had difficulties with peer relationships and were less likely to belong to a crowd. They were rated by teachers as more likely to seek attention from adults, and members of the restored group were more argumentative.

Answer 137

Those who were adopted seemed to develop good family relationships (this may have to do with the considerable effort made by adoptive families to form strong attachments with their children). The restored group however continued to experience some problems and difficulties in their family relationships, notably with siblings. Both groups showed similar difficulties in relationships with peers. They continued to seem oriented to please adults but less able to form relationships with those outside the family.

Answer 138

It used a range of research methods to collect information on the children's relationships including in-depth interviews, questionnaires to teachers and self-report measures.

Answer 139

- It was a longitudinal study so there is a difficulty with participant attrition- meaning that at each stage of the research participants drop out. In this study, originally 65 children were in the sample but only 51 were studies at age 8. Those who continue to participate may not be a representative group. - Nature experiment, so the independent variable was already in place. It is possible that there may have been differences within the two groups and perhaps the adopted group were more socially skilled, making them easier to place in adoptive families.

Answer 140

- Family relationships is an extremely sensitive area so it was important that researchers ensured that families and children were placed under no pressure to continue to participate and for the researchers to respond in a sensitive and non-judgemental way during the follow-up interviews.

Answer 141

It refers to the behaviour patterns of children who have been raised in institutions such as orphanages or children's homes. In institutions children may have relationships with a variety of staff. However, they may not have a one-to-one attachment in the same way as a child raised in a family.

Answer 142

A behaviour pattern shown by some children who have been raised in institutions. Key features include attention-seeking behaviour towards all adults, even strangers, a lack of fear of strangers, making inappropriate physical contact with adults and lack of checking back to the parent in stressful situations.

Answer 143

They are carrying out an ongoing longitudinal study, comparing Romanian orphans who were adopted by Uk families, with UK-born adoptees who were placed with families before they were six months of age. The Romanian adoptees entered the orphanage as small babies between 1-2 weeks old. Conditions in the institutions were very poor. 58 babies were adopted before they were 6 months old, 59 were adopted between 6-24 months of age. 48 babies were classed as late placed adoptees (between 2-4 years of age)

Answer 144

Over half of them showed evidence of severe malnourishment. They were in the bottom third of the population for weight and head size.

Answer 145

They found evidence of disinhibited attachment which they defined as a 'pervasive pattern of attention seeking behaviours with a relative lack of selectivity in social relationships." Disinhibited behaviour was most common in the late adopted (6-24 months) Romanian group with 26.1% showing 'marked' disinhibited attachment behaviours. In UK adoptees only 3.9% showed marked disinhibition, and early adopted children showed 8.9% marked disinhibition. This suggests that disinhibited attachments are more likely in children who have experienced longer periods in institutions.

Answer 146

Disinhbited bahaviour pattern had persisted in many adoptees. Of the 83 Romanian children showing mild or marked disinhibited attachment at age six, 45 (54%) showed this five years later. It indicates a drop in the number of children showing this behaviour pattern at age 11, but it is still well over half. Moreover, many children showing disinhibited attachments were receiving help from either special education and/or mental health services.

Answer 147

- The study uses a range of measurements to assess the children's behaviour including semi-structured interviews and observation to see if the child makes inappropriate physical contact. This makes the research rich and detailed.

Answer 148

- Participant attrition is an issue in this longitudinal research study - Rutter et al acknowledge that it has been difficult to obtain information about the quality of care in many of the institutions in Romania making it difficult to assess the extent of privation in the early environments of the children in the study.

Answer 149

Researchers need to be sensitive to the needs of both the children and their adoptive families in research of this nature. The extent of participant attrition shows that some families may wish to remove themselves from further study and to bring up their children outside the glare of research. Freedom to withdraw from a research study is an important ethical principle.

Answer 150

These children were adopted aged 3 years 3 months and 4 years 5 months after having spent their first years in an extremely deprived orphanage. Chisholm first interviewed the parents when the children had been in the adoptive home for 8 months and 11 months respectively, and followed them up again 3 years later. As well as an interview with parents, the children have also been observed in a separation and reunion scenario similar to AInsworth' strange situation. Chisholm has found that the children have adopted quite different attachment patters with their adoptive family implying that there are likely to be individual differences in children's responses to early privation experiences.

Answer 151

- The quality of care at the institution - The age of the child when removed from privation or instituionalisation - The quality of care after privation/institutionalisation - The follow-on experiences in later life.

Answer 152

They carried out two studies on babies in a Greek orphanage to see if instituionally raised children could develop attachments in the normal way.

Answer 153

7-9 months is the important age at which attachments are formed. Each child had been given a member of staff to care specifically for them and had formed an attachment with their carer. Dontas visited them after two weeks in their adoptive home. They found that the babies adjusted well and by the end of the second week had started to form attachments to their new carers.

Answer 154

At the institution Dontas observed 16 babies aged between 5-12 months playing with familiar and unfamiliar peers of a similar age. As in the first study, each of the babies had been able to form an attachment with a carer at the children's home. Their play behaviour showed none of the apparent effects of institutionalisation such as indiscriminate attention seeking that had previously been noted in Tizard and Hodge's study.

Answer 155

This research shows how important it is for children in institutions to be able to develop attachments to staff at the normal age of between seven and nine months.

Answer 156

Children removed from privation when still young, such as the Romanian orphans adopted under six months, tend to make better developmental progress both cognitively and emotionally than those who have experienced privation for longer. Age is particularly important in relation to language development. Whilst children show good language catch-up before puberty, they are much less likely to develop language skills after 11 or 12 years of age (Genie)

Answer 157

Children are likely to do best when they are placed in a loving and supportive environment. They need the opportunity to form a one-to-one attachment with an adult who gives them sufficient attention as shown in research by Koluchova (1972 and 1991). Tizard and Hodges study found that the adopted children were more strongly attached to their new parents than the restored group. This may be due to the quality of care provided by the adoptive parents.

Answer 158

They compared two groups of women in their twenties. Half had been brought up in care and spent several years of their childhood in children's homes. The were compared with a group matched for age that came from the same area but had not spend time in care.

Answer 159

The care group were more likely to have relationship breakdowns, criminal records and more difficulties with parenting their children. However, there were dramatic differences between women who had been brought up in care. Those who had positive experiences at school and later good relationships or marriages fared much better. Quinton and Rutter argued that positive experiences in early adulthood led to different developmental pathways for the two groups of women.

Answer 160

There is evidence to suggest that adult experiences and relationships can go some way towards repairing early adverse circumstances such as Quinton and Rutter (1984/1988) study. They showed that it is not just the early experiences that influence later development. When they are followed by good experiences in later life, the early effects can be overcome.

Answer 161

Refers to care for children under school age, where they are returned to their parents. Generally at a nursery or by a childminder.

Answer 162

1. Nursery based care 2. Family based care: Registered childminders, Nanny/au pair, informal arrangements including childcare by relatives or neighbours.

Answer 163

Parents are currently entitled to free nursery places for all children ages three years and above. Nurseries are staffed by trained workers and may be attached to a primary school and often benefit from use of school facilities. Nurseries are inspected by Ofsted and are required to plan their activities.

Answer 164

Here, the child receives care in the childminder's house rather than at their own home. The childminder often has young children of their own so that child is likely to have others to play with. Childminders need to be registered and are inspected by Ofsted.

Answer 165

This type of childcare involves an employee who looks after the child in the child's own home. The child is likely to be with their siblings rather than with children from other families.

Answer 166

This is often unpaid and has received little systematic research.

Answer 167

1. Children are likely to receive the most attention in family based care settings and the least attention at nursery school 2. Nursery settings will have a greater number of other children to play with than family based care

Answer 168

He carried out a variety of studies in Sweden which found found potentially good effects. They found that children who attended day care were able to get along with other children better, were more sociable and outgoing and had better abilities to play with their peers than children who did not attend day care.

Answer 169

They compared the progress of 150 children who had experienced different kinds of day care and found that children who attended nurseries had better social development than those who were looked after in family setting.

Answer 170

They found that children who spend more time in day care played more pro-socially with other children, implying that more time in day care produces helpful and cooperative toddlers.

Answer 171

They have argued that those children who attend full-time day care take part in more cooperative play than those who only attend part-time.

Answer 172

They found a negative correlation between the amount of time children spend in care and their amount of pro-social behaviour. Children who spent more time in day care were less cooperative and helpful in their relationships with other children.

Answer 173

They suggested that most of these studies have examined the quantity of care (how many hours the child attends) but have not considered the quality of care that children receive which may be an important factor. Additionally, Campbell point out that many of the studies into the effects are retrospective so rely on memory and recall of day care experiences.

Answer 174

A study that follows the same group across a long period of time, returning to study them at regular intervals.

Answer 175

They studied a group of children from Gothenburg in Sweden who all attended childcare continuously between the ages of 18 months and 3.5 years of age. Of these, nine attended family based day care and 30 attended nursery with a further nine switching from family based to nursery based care during the study. They were compared with a group of children whose parents had applied for day care places but did not obtain them due to competition.

Answer 176

At the age of around 18 months, before the children started day care they were observed in their homes playing with familiar peers. The researcher assessed the standard of care the children were receiving at home using Caldwell's HOME inventory, a method of measuring the quality of a child's environment. After they had started day care they were visited in the day care setting and observed playing with other children for 30 minutes This gave the researchers a baseline condition at 18 months to see how socially skilled the children were before care started. These two assessments of the child were repeated at age 2.5 years and 3.5 years.

Answer 177

At age 6.5 the social competence of the children was assessed by asking the care provider to describe the child's social skills. At 8.5 class teachers were asked to give their perceptions of the child's social behaviour.

Answer 178

At 15, each of the participants were visited at home where they completed two self-report measurements of social development, the friendship quality questionnaire (FQQ) and a social style questionnaire (SsQ), which included a range of questions such as "How good are you at going to places where there are unfamiliar people?" and "How good are you at listening while others let off steam about problems?"

Answer 179

Children who spent long days in day care (.eg. 8 am-6pm) under the age of 3.5 were found to be less socially competent. Those who attended more days per week but had shorter days were more socially competent. Those children who attended high quality care before 3.5 developed better social abilities. They also found that social competence was relatively stable between 3.5 and 15 years of age.

Answer 180

Small children who experience long days in day care may become tired and frustrated at having to share adult attention for such a long time, leading to more negative interactions with other children. In contrast, those who attend more days but have shorter sessions gain more social benefit. The study implies that children's social skills have largely developed by around 3.5 and they remain relatively constant across childhood. Also suggests that good quality childcare for children at least up to the age of 3.5 years is important in the development of socially skilled children.

Answer 181

Prospective studies involve following participants over a period of time from the start of the study.

Answer 182

- It took a prospective approach, following the children from around the age of 18 months through to adolescence. This follow-up is much longer than many studies and allows us to see if day care has long-term effects. - All of the children who took part were assessed before they started day care providing a clear baseline of their social skills - Used a range of measurements to assess each child's social competence including reports from teachers and play workers and self-reports from adolescents. Using date from a range of different people including teachers and adolescents themselves provides a rich and detailed picture of the child's social abilities.

Answer 183

The research study considered day care in Sweden, which is very well funded. It may be difficult to apply these findings to day care in other countries where nurseries are less well funded.

Answer 184

An experiment that takes place in a field setting but the independent variable is already set, i.e. is not controlled by the investigator.

Answer 185

He pointed to possible negative effects from a longitudinal study in the US, which has followed more than 1000 children from birth. He suggests that children who have experienced day care tend to show advanced cognitive and language development but may also show higher levels of problem behaviours including aggression towards peers. They may also be less obedient to authority figures such as adults as they grow older.

Answer 186

They argued that the more hours spent in day care before the child was 4.5 correlated with a range of negative social outcomes, including more behaviour problems at school, lower social skills and greater amounts of conflict with teachers.

Answer 187

That teachers rated children who had been to full-time day care as more aggressive and assertive with their peers.

Answer 188

They argued that this is simply a sign that young children learn to look after themselves and think for themselves at an earlier age when they attend day care.

Answer 189

They may interpret this positively as a result from the need for the child who attends day care to develop greater independence at an earlier age. This can show itself in both positive and negative ways. On the one hand, Children are more confident in dealing with social situations with peers but on the other hand this may lead them to be more challenging of adults.

Answer 190

They carried out a study using a representative sample of 3431 two to three year olds living in Canada comparing home-reared with day care children. Maternal questionnaires were used to ask about the child's level of aggression, for example "How often does your child kick, bite, or hurt another child? (never, sometimes, often) and "How does your child reach when accidentally hurt by another child?" They also took into account the role of family background by considering the occupational background of parents, mother's education, the number of siblings and family functioning.

Answer 191

The findings showed that aggression was significantly higher in home-reared than in day care children. Once again, this implies that quality of care may be most important in determining the effects on the child.

Answer 192

They compared three groups of children in London who started day care before they were 9 months old. The study was unusual in its inclusion of informal day care arrangements. The three different day care settings were care by relatives, care by childminder and a private nursery. These care settings varied in the ratio of adults to children and in contact with other children. The adult-child ratio was highest when relatives cared for the child and lowest in the nursery setting where several children were cared for by each adult. In contrast, contact with other children was highest at nursery and lowest in relative care. They assessed the children at 18 months and 3 years for their language skill sand their ability to cooperate and share with other children.

Answer 193

At 18 months, babies who had been cared for by relatives showed the highest levels of language skills and language was least developed in those children attending nursery. At three years, the nursery children were still slightly less advanced than the relative care group in language but they showed higher levels of pro-social behaviours such as sharing, cooperation and the ability to empathize with other children. Therefore, there may be different potential gains for children in each setting.

Answer 194

- The variety of day care setting - The time spent in day care - Day care settings vary in quality - Individual differences - Families who use nursery based care may differ from those who use relatives for childcare

Answer 195

Day care arrangements vary and include family and nursery based care. These arrangements differ in terms of adult-child ratios and the number of other children present. Both of these can influence the child's experience of day care.

Answer 196

Children start day care at different ages and the time they spend each week varies depending on the working pattern of their parents. It does not make sense to compare a child who starts day care at six months when maternity leave ends with one who starts at age three as we are not comparing like with like. The time spent in day care can also be complicated by the length of time for which the child attends, shown by Campbell et al's study.

Answer 197

As Campbell et al's study has shown quality is very important to the overall experience of the child.

Answer 198

Children have different temperaments and different attachment styles, meaning that some get more out of day care than others.

Answer 199

They compared the attitudes and choices of 255 women to work and childcare. Those who return to work after maternity leave tend to have higher status jobs and to believe strongly in the importance of maternal employment. Those who use family based care (i.e. relatives) tend to have stronger identities as mothers.

Answer 200

A government policy that ensured that all four year olds would be eligible for free nursery places, which could be taken at state or private nurseries.

Answer 201

The National Childcare Strategy which stated that free state nursery places were to be made available for all three to four year olds and provided guidelines for nurseries on what they should 'teach' The strategy also introduced support and training for childminders.

Answer 202

Finally, Sure Start programmes were set up to support families with children aged lower than three years old in economically deprived areas.

Answer 203

- The child needs to have a secure attachment with an adult - The child can have multiple attachments with a range of different adults - The child needs to be able to use the attachment figure as a safe base to explore their environment and to seek security. They should be able to rely on their attachment figure in times of stress or when they are frightened.

Answer 204

Steele (2001) and Watamura et al (2006)

Answer 205

They found that young children in the strange situation have increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) up to half an hour after their parent returns from a brief separation.

Answer 206

They compared the levels of cortisol in the same group of babies and toddlers on different days of the week as they attended nursery or stayed at home. They found that cortisol levels increased gradually from morning to afternoon when the babies were in the day care setting but not when they were at home. These increases were greatest for children aged 24-36 months and worse for toddlers who were shy or fearful.

Answer 207

In order to reduce stress and to make day care a positive experience for babies and toddlers, many nurseries have adopted a key worker approach.

Answer 208

A key worker is a named person who acts as the significant adult for each child during their time at nursery. This adult is there to see to the needs of the child and for them to use as their attachment figure in times of stress, notably the beginning of the day when the parent drops off the child, and at collection time when children may be anxious about their parent's return. The key worker's job is to be emotionally available to the child and to provide warmth and security to help them to settle into the nursery day.

Answer 209

- A low adult to high child ratio to ensure each child can receive plenty of adult attention and stimulation. The recommended ratio varies depending on the age of the child. - A small sized group: small sized groups are easier for young children to deal with as there were fewer strangers - A mixed age group of children combining older and younger children - Well trained staff and a low staff turnover: this allows children to get to know staff and prevents feelings of insecurity when adults leave. This can be achieved by ensuring staff are trained and well paid.

Answer 210

They note that social development is improved when children are placed in mixed age groups. This is likely to be because this gives young toddlers the opportunity to observe their older peers' interactions and to copy their social behaviours.

Answer 211

Structural characteristics refer to how day care is organised, which is set out in government policies.

Answer 212

Refers to the emotional enviroment provided in day care.

Answer 213

- Secure attachments | - A structured (rather than regimented) day.

Answer 214

Good quality day care provides children with a stable attachment figure, a person with whom they can feel safe and secure in times of stress. The worker should be responsive and warm to the child. A good way to achieve this is in the form of a key worker system. Day care settings that have high staff turnover will be unsettling for the child.

Answer 215

Good quality day care should involve a structure to the day's activities with free time to play, some group time and some structured activities such as drawing. Routines help the child to feel that their environment is predictable and this is an important part of feeling safe.