HEALTHY ATTACHMENT AND PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

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Healthy Attachment and Parent-Child Relationship

Attachment behaviour begins at infancy and most reliable from a single caregiver. The importance of a caregiver is to offer emotional and social support to the infant. The relationships of children with caregivers determine the development process. Ainsworth & Bowlby (1965) are the co-founders of studies dealing with attachment behaviours. The studies began after World War II when many children and people were left homeless. The studies reveal that children are sensitive to caregivers showing affection and in close contact for more than six months. Infants develop the learning process and advances in development from the familiar individuals. Caregivers offer patterns of attachments that lead to the development of emotions, expectations, and relationships (Kerns et al. 2000). Attachment behaviors may results to anxiety the moment an infant losses contact with the familiar caregiver. The patterns of behavior change resulting in adaptive response, and in the prevailing relationship. The behavioral changes results are essential in development, and survival mechanism of the child.

Secure attachment is essential for infants towards development to adulthood. Children are sensitive to rejection; caregivers have the role of offering comprehensive attachment that is attractive and emotional to the children. Social development starts from positive attachment behaviour. Studies on attachment behaviour give a preview on attachment therapies and formation of policies in regard to child support. Attachment behaviour indicates the existence of bond that lead relationship. Infant attachment requires consistency in order to increase social interactions. Social interaction shows element of exploratory behaviour through the quality of social activities. Biological mother is an essential figure towards consistency in attachment behaviour and the social interaction activities. Parents of a child play a role in giving attachment figures to the child and advancement towards social interaction. The attachment behaviour on exploration gives set-goals that require achievement as the child develops. Development of child leads in the creation of natural curiosity leading in a desire to learn (Kerns et al. 2000).

Exploratory behaviour is essential in the child’s development since it triggers emotions of curiosity. Curiosity allows the child learn new developments that are essential in the child’s personal and social adjustment. Exploratory behaviour develops from infancy that involves differentiation between boys and girls to adulthood that triggers innovation. Activities present in child development and attachment arouses curiosity that describes the personality of the individual. Environmental conditions have a role in producing exploratory behaviours. Physical signs that indicate exploration are kinds of new situations, change of face muscles, and frequency of questions asked by a child. Reflex and random behavioural movements are examples of exploratory behaviour common in the infancy stage. Psychological equipment gives rise to random behaviour movements and gives rise to unorganized responses. Reflex actions in infancy are exploratory behaviours that are either introspective or extroceptive. Physiological conditions resulting to exploratory behaviours are emotional reactions and attachment (Mahler, 2000).

Cultural differences results to differences in attachment forms. The methods of studying the differences in the attachment are reliable and valid. The tests methods are secure and are babies cannot avoid them. Reunion behaviours emerge from studies in separation anxiety and stranger anxiety. Children seem to overreact in strange situations hence their normal behaviour. Separation anxiety involves observing the child’s reaction after biological mother leaves. Reunion behaviour involves observing the child’s reaction after return biological mother. Secure attachment results to responding timely to the child’s need and recording of child’s signals. Studies on reunion behaviour involve observing reactions on secure attachment, Insecure Resistant and insecure avoidant. The child runs and enthusiastically greats the biological mother in secure attachment. The child is happy to see the mother back but resists close contact in insecure resistant. The child does no concentrate on the presence of the mother after her return in the insecure avoidant (Kerns et al. 2000).

The infant may get attached to toys more than the caregivers. In such situations, the child develops low cognitive experiences and socialization skills. Advancement in technology allows some children to use humanized toys in their daily play. The interaction of children with toys reduces the caregiver involvement in teaching the child good morals and behaviours in the society. The absence of parent and human nature denies the child exploration, attachment and reunion behaviours. The child lacks the affection nature of human being and results to advancement in elements of discriminatory traits. Many toys in children results also to increase in discriminatory traits through discriminating some toys and increasing preference to the new toys. It is difficult to train the child on good societal morals at adulthood. The caregiver of the child has the role of scheduling time for toys and also for human interaction (Cyr, et al. 2010).

Study on children reveals signs like placing hands at the back and shaking of shoulders as unclear impressions. The similar signs reveal tension and stress on the children. The major cause of tension in children could be denial of mutual acceptance and separation incidences. Some children cry while others control the cry result to unhappiness. The mixed signs in children results to stereotypic characteristics and misleading conclusions. The caregiver has difficulties in identifying the true character and the needs of the child. Scholars have difficulty in conducting studies on disorganized attachment due to varying signs and behavioural changes in the child (Cyr, et al. 2010). Children should not receive treatment in a disapproving manner since it breeds hatred. Disorganized attachment may decrease due to improvement in the child’s changes.

The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is procedural training that helps the adults in avoiding dangerous intimacy and relation with children. The adult gains skills on identifying and preventing dangerous intimate relationship. The theories on AAI get basis from Ainsworth studies hence becoming an extension of the study on disorganized attachment. The intention of conduction AAI studies is seeking self-protection through identification of infant attachment patterns. True cognition on AAI studies get reserved and socially inhibited. In some situation, the infant need compulsively compliant. The Adult Attachment Interview related childhood experiences with parenting features. The disorganized attachment involves insecure-avoidance on the caregiver. The AAI system is continuous and allows study on state of mind on the caregiver in terms of attachment. The participants in Adult Attachment Interview get relations of psychometric properties to assist in interpretation of observable signs (Van Ijzendoorn, Schuengel & Beckerman’s–Kranenburg, 1999).

The first category of cognitive organization detected by use of AAI is coherence of transcript. The caregiver has a steady flow of ideas regarding attachment. The caregiver reflects on each action, speaks slowly and is at ease with the attachment type. The second category involves dismissing adult attachment. The scoring of AAI detects the behaviour of the caregiver and relates to historical experiences. Dismissing adult attachment is highest upon identification of discrepancies between the caregiver behaviour and past experiences. The third association involves preoccupied adult attachment. Some infant attachment involves anger towards caregiver. Changes in speech, presence of run-on sentences and grammatical errors result in the high score on preoccupied attachment. Anger expression attachment results to disorganized attachment between caregiver and infant. At infancy, disorganized behaviour suggests parental temporary collapse on behavioural strategy (Van Ijzendoorn, Schuengel & Bakermans–Kranenburg, 1999).

Reference:

Ainsworth, M., & Bowlby, J. (1965). Child Care And Growth Of Love. London: Penguin Books.

Cyr, C., Euser, E. M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2010).

Attachment Security And Disorganization In Maltreating And High-Risk Families: A Series Of Meta-Analyses. Development and Psychopathology, 22(01), 87-108.

Mahler, M. S. (2000). The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant: Symbiosis And

Individuation. New York: Basic Books.

Van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Schuengel, C., & Bakermans–Kranenburg, M. J. (1999). Disorganized

Attachment in Early Childhood: Meta-Analysis of Precursors, Concomitants, and Sequelae. Development and Psychopathology, 11(02), 225-250.

Kerns, K. A., Tomich, P. L., Aspelmeier, J. E., & Contreras, J. M. (2000). Attachment-Based

Assessments of Parent–Child Relationships in Middle Childhood. Developmental Psychology, 36(5), 614.