Attachment Among Infants And How Their Stages Of Attachment With Their Caregivers

Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)

What is the definition of attachment? If you look it up in a dictionary it explains that it is ‘an emotional bond between an infant or toddler and primary caregiver, a strong bond being vital for the child’s normal behavioural and social development’. That strong bond between infant and caregiver is believed to happen between the ages of 6-8 months although Bowlby (1958) suggests that the infants are born into this world pre-programmed to form attachments, they have innate behaviours in the way of crying, smiling, crawling and cooing which will stimulate attention and comforting responses from the caregivers. These behaviours are called social releasers. Kagan et al (1978)

By definition, “attachment is the emotional bond between an infant and the primary caregiver (Romero; Perry).” During the first eight months of life, an infant will typically form an emotional attachment to a caregiver. The kind of attachment is based on the nurture and care the infant receives. The type of attachment between an infant and a caregiver can help determine the child’s personality and development (Romero).

Attachment is the bond that links humans to vital people in their lives. This bond begins to develop early on in life. According to Berk (2012), infants can become attached to regular people in their lives before the second half of their first year of life. These early attachments are normally to the primary caregivers of the infant.

An infant with a secure attachment style has a natural bond with their parent, where they are able to trust them, at the same time leaving their side to discover and explore their surroundings. In an insecure/resistant attachment the relationship the child has with their mother or caregiver is very clingy, thus making them very upset once the caregiver is away. When the mother or caregiver is back they are not easily comforted and resist their effort in comforting them. In an insecure/avoidant attachment the infant is, “indifferent and seems to avoid the mother, they are as easily comforted by a stranger, as by their parent” (Siegler 2011, p.429). Lastly, the disorganized/disoriented attachment is another insecure attachment style in which the infant has no way of coping with stress making their behavior confusing or contradictory. Through these brief descriptions of the attachment theory, many researchers have defined the turning point in which each attachment definition can have an influence on one’s self esteem, well-being and their marital relationship.

Attachment starts at the first ever relationship between the infant and caregiver. This relationship may be one of trust, love, security etc or the contrary, Inconsistent, uncertain, aggressive etc. This relationship will create an expectation if which all relationships will be like. Overtime an infant will develop a model about emotional relationships. This model will include concepts about relationships and expectations from others. Bowlby called this model the internal working model.

Attachment starts to develop since the women’s pregnancy, during this stage of human development the female starts to cultivate emotional attachment to the fetus. The method in which attachment is formed during gestation will eventually affect or enhance the child stance during pregnancy or even after birth. Attachment can be defined as the manner in which an infant creates an emotional connection between specific members. Attachment can be clearly detected, especially with the persons who are closer to the infant. In the article “Attachment Issues”, states the definition of attachment by theorist John Bowlby, and how attachment is constructed “Is not a one-time event, but a process that begins during birth and progress into the early

Attachment is the emotional bond that forms between an infant and its caregiver during the first year of the baby’s life. Especially with the infants parents. Attachment relationships are important functions throughout infancy and our entire life. (Ainsworth, 1978)

Traditional research on Attachment Theory focuses on the bonds created between infants and their caregivers within the first few years of life. When tested, these children typically display an “organized” pattern of behavior when seeking comfort and safety from their caregiver. Organized attachments are those that follow a specific pattern of behavior and are clearly defined as secure, insecure—avoidant, or insecure—ambivalent. However, there remains a percentage of children who fail to engage in predictable behavior when seeking comfort. Essentially, these children behave indiscriminately towards their caregivers and strangers. With no set boundaries by which they seek and receive comfort, their behavior is classified as “disorganized.” New research in this field of study shows the importance in distinguishing the differences between “organized” and “disorganized” types rather than only observing the traditional types of attachment. While examining this new perspective in attachment theory, we speculate whether a lack of goal oriented behavior to seek comfort and safety will in turn lead to an increased risk in psychopathology in early childhood and adolescence.

Human nature has evolved in ways that allow for people to develop deep connections with one another. These connections are always extremely vulnerable in the very early stages of our infancy. From the moment we are born, we innately seek to forge an attachment with our caregivers; mostly because without it, we would not survive. Evidently, we are biologically programmed to bond with our mothers (or closest caregivers), immediately after birth. More often than not, this is a reciprocal connection which establishes an enduring emotional relationship that inevitably shapes our growth and development. Our capacities to adapt to our environment are inextricably bound to the attachments we form with our closest caregivers.

As humans, building relationships between others is a form of connecting and communicating. It is a social situation that is experienced every day through the course of a lifetime. The initial relationship that is made is between the mother and the child. This bond that connects two people is known to be called attachment. The theory of attachment begins at birth, and from that, continuing on to other relationships in family, friends, and romance. Attachment is taught through social experiences, however the relationship with the mother and her temperament are the key factors in shaping the infants attachment type, which

The issue of attachment is one that influences an individual throughout their life, affecting many aspects of their development. It is first formed during infancy between the child and their primary care giver and is maintained over the course of their lifespan. The level of attachment that is formed during infancy creates a foundation for psychological development in the course of the individual’s life (Santrock, 2013). Attachment security can be an indication of the quality of an individual’s future relationships, as well as challenges that may arise from such interactions. The following will discuss the attachment theory, biological influences of attachment, factors that contribute to the type of attachment formed during infancy and early childhood, and its impact and complications throughout each stage of development from infancy through late adulthood.

Attachment refers to the specific, strong, long-term binds in human interpersonal relationship. When getting along with whom one form attachment with, one would feel secure and comforted. Though some said that the attachment was firstly formed in pregnancy, the main formation of attachment is mostly developed in infancy and early childhood (less than 5 years old). In the second half of the first year, infant would start to recognize and become attached to the familiar caregiver who always responds to their needs. When they feel insecure or alarmed, the attachment would be served as the behavioral stimulation which directs them to turn to the caregivers for protection and

The first years are an important stage in an child’s life. They are learning an abundance of information about themselves and the people and world around them. During this time when there is a great amount of development taking place, one of the major components is establishing some sort of attachment with their primary caregivers. There are two different perspectives on the attachment to consider. Those of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, who emphasized the importance of infants creating relationships to have a healthy up bringing for later adulthood.

Attachment is the emotional bond created by a child with their primary caregiver, which is normally the mother. An example of attachment would be if the mother left the baby, and the baby cries from her absence. The connection normally begins when the child is around six months of age. It’s key for infants to develop. Babies aren’t comfortable away from their mothers. It varies around the world, but it is still very important no matter where the infant is from. It is mainly studied. (Child & Adolescent Development)