Infant Attachment

In this blog entry, we will discuss attachment between children and their caregivers. We will describe categories of attachment, factors that influence attachment, and suggest parenting methods to ensure secure attachment and to avoid insecure attachment.


What is attachment? Attachment is "a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity." (Bowlby, 1969) Attachment is reciprocal, enduring emotional tie between child and caregiver.

(modernmom.com)

Before we discuss categories of attachment we will give a brief review of the Strange Situation procedure that is used to measure quality of attachments. Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation consists of a series of eight episodes (Shaffer, 2009):

(blingcheese.com)

1. Experimenter introduces parent and baby to playroom and leaves
2. Parent sits while baby plays
3. Stranger enters, sits, and talks to parent
4. Parent leaves, stranger offers comfort if the baby is upset
5. Parent returns, greets baby, and offers comfort if baby is upset; stranger leaves
6. Parent leaves the room
7. Stranger enters and offers comfort
8. Parent returns, greets baby, offers comfort if necessary, and tries to interest baby in toy

The Strange Situation's purpose is to reveal how the infant is attached to his caregiver. There are four types of attachments that we will be discussing along with the patterns of care giving thought to influence each type:

• Secure attachment (60 – 65% of 1 yr. old American infants): an infant/caregiver bond in which the child welcomes contact with a close companion and uses this person as a secure base from which to explore the environment (infant often greets mother warmly when she returns, if the infant is highly stressed he will seek physical contact with her) 
• Achieved by sensitive, responsive caregivers from the very beginning. Parents responding promptly and appropriately. Insightful – they understand the causes of the child’s emotions and motives underlying his behaviors and abilities to respond.

• Resistant attachment (10% of 1 yr. old American infants): an insecure infant/caregiver bond characterized by strong separation protest and a tendency of the child to remain near but resist contact initiated by the caregiver, particularly after separation
• Present when babies are exposed to inconsistent parents: reacting enthusiastically or indifferently depending on their mood

• Avoidant attachment (20% of 1 yr. old American infants): an insecure infant/caregiver bond characterized by little separation protest and a tendency of the child to avoid or ignore the caregiver 
• Present when babies are exposed to:
• Impatient parents, unresponsive to baby's signals, express negative feelings, seem to derive little pleasure from close contact; usually comes from rigid, self-centered mothers who are likely to reject their babies.
•  Overzealous parents who chatter endlessly and provide high levels of stimulation even when the babies do not want it.

• Disorganized/disoriented attachment (5-15% of 1 yr. old American infants): an insecure infant/caregiver bond characterized by the infant’s dazed appearance on reunion or a tendency to first seek and then abruptly avoid the caregiver (combination of the resistant and avoidant – babies may cringe and look fearful, or may move closer but then move away as mother draws near)
• Present when babies were frightened by the caregiver’s actions, neglected, or physically abused. Depressed mothers, abusers of alcohol or drugs, mistreat or neglect babies.

Now we hope that parents have a good understanding about types of attachment. There are some methods that we will discuss now in terms of what parents need to avoid so as not to trigger insecure attachment. There are three types of insecure attachment that we discussed above: the resistant, avoidant, and disoriented or disorganized attachment.

• Resistant attachment - try to avoid inconsistent care giving which is characterized with enthusiastic or indifferent reactions depending on parents' mood. Infant tries to obtain emotional support and comfort (e.g., clinging, crying), then becomes angry or resentful when efforts often fail.
• Avoidant attachment - there are two patterns parents need to avoid:
• Pattern 1: Impatient and unresponsive, express negative feelings about their infant and derive little pleasure from close contact with infant
• Pattern 2: High levels of stimulation, even when babies do not want it because they would avoid or ignore 

• Disoriented/Disorganized attachment - this is a result of maternal depression, alcohol/drug abuse, or parents or infants who were physically abused or neglect. Parents that have problems with one of those should have seek help because they might be extremely insensitive caregivers who may frighten their children and handle infants too roughly. Infants will react fearfully, but they are still drawn to caregivers, which could be dangerous in some cases.

We don't want to neglect fathers as attachment objects. Fathers are "Forgotten contributors to child development." (Lamb, 1975). Fathers often assume the role of playmate in infants’ and toddlers’ lives, although they are (or can be) quite proficient in all aspects of care giving.
 

(sassyskids.com)

As infants become attached to their mothers, they develop secure attachment to their fathers during the second half of the first year (this depends on the time fathers spend with their child and the father's sensitivity). Sensitivity of paternal care giving promotes secure attachments, whereas insensitivity is likely to foster insecure father/infant attachments. Moreover, modern fathers now have an increased care giving role and can be seen as versatile companions - they can assume any/all functions normally served by other parent.

References:

Crosby, B. (2010, September 30). Lecture on Attachment presented in Psychology 414. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Hunt, Cathleen. (Spring 2009). Lecture on Attachment presented in Psychology 212. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Shaffer, D. R. (2009). Social and Personality Development (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Best regards,
ChildWorksGuru

Which Type of Parent Are You?

This first blog of Parenting 101 is about parenting types. We will go in-detail about the relationship between parenting styles and the effects these styles have on children.

(castlemaineindependent.org)

Why discuss parenting types? Sometimes parents, especially new parents who are having their first child, have no or little idea about the impact of parenting styles. Types of parenting influences the types of attachment the children will have to their parents and contributes to their development. Moreover, these types of parenting are used to capture normal variations in parents' attempts to control and socialize their children.

(bebemagico.com)

Diana Baumrind's Parenting Styles
During the early 1960s, psychologist Diana Baumrind conducted a study on more than 100 preschool-age children by using naturalistic observation, parental interviews and other research methods. According to Baumrind, the parenting styles are based on  responsiveness and demandingness (Shaffer,2009).

Responsiveness is described as the amount of warmth and affection parents display, while demandingness is based on how strict or structured a caregiver makes the environment. Based on those dimensions, Baumrind came up with three types of parenting styles defined in terms of their responsiveness and demandingness, with  the addition of another study by Maccoby and Martin that discovered the fourth type:

1. Authoritative: high in demandingness and responsiveness
2. Indulgent: low in demandingness, high in responsiveness
3. Authoritarian: high in demandingness, low in responsiveness
4. Indifferent: low in demandingness and responsiveness

Authoritative - The Democratic Parents
Baumrind suggests that these parents "monitor and impart clear standards for their children’s conduct. They are assertive, but not intrusive and restrictive. Their disciplinary methods are supportive, rather than punitive. They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible, and self-regulated as well as cooperative" (1991).

(fsc.yorku.ca)

An authoritative parent wants to raise a child who can be self-reliant and feel secure and comfortable with interpersonal relationships. Authoritative parents establish rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow. When the children fail to meet the expectations, this type of parent will be more likely to nurture and forgive. The parents are high in responsiveness and willing to explain and listen to questions. Authoritative parents enable interactions between themselves and their children.

Children qualities:

• Lively and happy
• Self-confident
• Able to regulate emotions
• Problem solvers
• High social skills

Indulgent/Permissive Parents - The "Friend"
According to Baumrind, permissive parents "are more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation" (1991).

(enoughisenoughau.blogspot.com)

The indulgent parent's perspective is that discipline is an infringement on the teen’s freedom; his high responsive is to be a resource to his child. Permissive parents have two different approaches: the passive - non directive approach and active - democratic approach.

The passive - non directive approach is where the parents are available to their children but they are not assertive. While the other approach, the active - democratic is when parents always checking on their kids to ensure that their needs are met.

Permissive parents rarely discipline their children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control. They have very few demands on their kids, but are high in responsiveness. When the kids actually cross the line, they are punished by love withdrawal. The parents will give a threat of or an actual temporary removal of warmth and support with a goal of changing unwanted behaviors.

Children qualities: "..children who rank low in happiness and self-regulation. These children are more likely to experience problems with authority and tend to perform poorly in school"

• Poor emotional regulation
• rebellious and defiant when desires are challenged
• Low persistence to challenging tasks
• Antisocial (whiny, demanding, narcissist)

Authoritarian Parents - The Drill Sergeant
According to Baumrind, authoritarian parents "are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation" (1991).

(sheknows.com)

Parent's perspective is to emphasize control because teen is not to be trusted and requires structure, order, and obedience on everything. These parents practice "Power Assertion"  - a demonstration by the parent to assert their dominance over the adolescent. And when their kids violate their rules, the parents may take the form of verbal, psychological, or physical abuse.

Authoritarian parents fail to explain the reasoning behind their rules; they simply state "Because I said so" when their children question them. These parents have high demand and have strict rules, but they are low in responsiveness.

Child qualities:  "...children who are obedient and proficient, but they rank lower in happiness, social competence and self-esteem"

• Anxious, withdrawn, and unhappy
• Poor reactions to frustration
• Not likely to engage in antisocial activities

Indifferent Parents - The Neglectful Parents
The indifferent parent tends to view the teen as a burden and hindrance to his own goals and needs. There are two subtypes of this type of parenting: Neglecting - passive form of indifference and Rejecting - neglecting: active form of indifference (actively push adolescent away).

Indifferent parents do fulfill the child's basic needs, but they are generally detached from their child's life. They have low demandingness and responsiveness; in general, they have little interaction and communication with their kids.

The children of indifferent parents don’t handle independence very well, similar to the indulgent style, but for different reasons. They tend to lack self-control, have low self-esteem and are less competent than their peers (due to the absence of guidance or a coping mechanism). They might develop behavioral and psychological dysfunction.

We hope that this helps parents better understand the appropriate ways to interact with their children.

References:

Crosby, B. (2010, September 30). Lecture on Attachment presented in Psychology 414. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Hunt, Cathleen. (Spring 2009). Lecture on Attachment presented in Psychology 212. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 

Shaffer, D. R. (2009). Social and Personality Development (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Best regards,
ChildWorksGuru