This article will be exploring the meaning of attachment, attachment theory, types of attachment and how early childhood attachment relationship affects future relationships.

WHAT IS ATTACHMENT?
According to Ainsworth (1989), attachment is defined as a sustained emotional tie between a child and a primary care giver (also known as the main attachment figure) with whom the child uses as a safe base to explore his or her surroundings.

ATTACHMENT THEORY
Attachment theory was developed as a result of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s collaboration (Ainsworth and Bowlby, 1991). The core tenet of attachment theory is that the quality of a child’s connection to his or her primary caregiver has an impact on the child’s later relationships and social interactions. The nature of a child’s attachment bond with their primary care giver, according to Bowlby (1973, 1980), determines the child’s beliefs and expectations about themselves, the world and relationships with people which is also known as the internal working model). The internal working model is a mental representational framework for comprehending the environment, oneself, and others. Memories and expectations from a person’s internal model direct their interactions with others, influencing and assisting in the evaluation of those interactions. According to Bowlby (1951), a child’s ability to self-regulate develops during the early years, and the child’s super-ego and ego are the major caregivers at this time. In the child’s first human relationship, the formation of ego and super-ego is thus deemed critical.

TYPES OF ATTACHMENT
Ainsworth and Bell (1970) designed a strange situation test to assess the attachment types between a child and their primary caregiver. Secure and insecure attachment were discovered using this test in the Ganda research (1967) and the Baltimore Project (1969), with insecure attachment classified into three categories: insecure-avoidant, insecure-anxious/ambivalent, and disorganised attachment.
• INSECURE ATTACHMENT
Ainsworth identified the insecure-avoidant attachment pattern (also known as Type A) utilising the Strange Situation. This attachment style is open to new experiences but not interested in being close to the caregiver. They have little separation anxiety and stranger anxiety, and when reunited with their mother, they do not initiate eye contact. This connection style is seen in 21% of children.

• SECURE ATTACHMENT
Ainsworth identified the Secure Attachment (also known as Type B) attachment pattern utilising the Strange Situation. This attachment style is open to new experiences, but it also prefers to be close to the caregiver. They exhibit considerable separation anxiety as well as apprehension of strangers. When they are reunited with their mother, they both make and require touch. This connection style is seen in 65 percent of children. The severity of the insecure attachment type varies based on the child’s history of caregiving. Children who are insecure can be avoidant, indifferent, or disorganised. Insecure avoidant children have had caregivers who have been dismissive of them, leading them to expect others to be dismissive of them in the future. As a result, they can be aggressive in their demeanour, causing their peers to socially exclude them (Sroufe, 2005; Sroufe et al., 1999; Ojanen & Perry, 2007). Insecure-ambivalent/anxious children have had inconsistent caregiving, and as a result, they are more likely to engage in manipulative behaviour such as relativism. Children with insecure-disorganised attachment are more likely to withdraw or act aggressively in social situations because their caregivers are either neglectful, depressed or abusive.

Types of attachment

Secure Insecure

o Avoidance
o Anxious/Ambivalent
o Disorganised

EFFECT OF ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
• Friendship and Peer relationships

Children who are securely bonded to their caregivers during their early childhood are more socially competent, according to studies. This viewpoint is backed up by a lot of evidence. The Minnesota study (2005), for example, tracked people from infancy to late adolescence and discovered a link between early attachment and later emotional/social conduct. Later in childhood, securely attached children were rated higher for social ability, were less lonely, and were more popular than insecurely attached children. Children with a secure attachment type, according to Hartup et al. (1993), are more popular at nursery and participate in more social contacts with other children. Insecurely attached children, on the other hand, are more reliant on instructors for social interaction and emotional support.

• Parenting Styles
According to research, there is intergenerational continuity between adult attachment types and their offspring, with children inheriting their parents’ parenting methods. People’s parenting styles are often based on their internal working models, hence attachment type is often passed down through generations. Bailey (2007) discovered that the majority of women had the same attachment type to their newborns as they had to their own moms. Because they lacked an internal working model, Harlow’s monkeys demonstrated a relationship between poor attachment and later parenting issues.

• Adulthood Romantic relationships
Adult relationship research has expanded to include intimate and passionate interactions (Weiss & Duncan, 1992). People are more likely to end up in a romantic relationship with a partner who confirms their beliefs about attachment relationships based on their early attachment relationship experience with their caregivers, according to some research data. Early attachment styles are likely to be reflected in adult relationships. This is because a person’s formative experiences with their caregiver lead to the anticipation of similar experiences in later relationships. The love quiz experiment by Hazan and Shaver exemplifies this. They carried out research to learn about participants’ early attachment styles and attitudes toward romantic partnerships. They discovered that those who were securely attached as new-born tended to have long-term relationships; on the other hand, those who were insecurely attached as infants found adult relationships more challenging, were more likely to divorce, and believed love was rare.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Attachment is defined as a sustained emotional tie between a child and a primary care giver (also known as the main attachment figure) with whom the child uses as a safe base to explore his or her surroundings.
• Attachment theory was developed as a result of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s collaboration (Ainsworth and Bowlby, 1991).
• The core tenet of attachment theory is that the quality of a child’s connection to his or her primary caregiver has an impact on the child’s later relationships and social interactions.
• Ainsworth and Bell (1970) designed a strange situation test to assess the attachment types between a child and their primary caregiver. Secure and insecure attachment were discovered using this test in the Ganda research (1967) and the Baltimore Project (1969), with insecure attachment classified into three categories: insecure-avoidant, insecure-anxious/ambivalent, and disorganised attachment.
• While Insecure avoidant children have had caregivers who have been dismissive of them, Insecure-ambivalent/anxious children have had inconsistent caregiving, and insecure-disorganised attachment are more likely to withdraw or act aggressively in social situations because their caregivers are either neglectful, depressed or abusive.

FLASHCARDS
Q1 What is attachment?
A1 Attachment is defined as a sustained emotional tie between a child and a primary care giver (also known as the main attachment figure) with whom the child uses as a safe base to explore his or her surroundings.
Q2 What are the types of attachment?
A2 There are two main types of attachment which consists of secure and insecure attachment insecure attachment classified into three categories: insecure-avoidant, insecure anxious/ambivalent, and disorganised attachment.
Q3 Describe attachment theory
A3 Attachment theory was developed as a result of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s collaboration (Ainsworth and Bowlby, 1991). The core tenet of attachment theory is that the quality of a child’s connection to his or her primary caregiver has an impact on the child’s later relationships and social interactions.
A4 Does early childhood attachment affect later relationships? Explain
Studies have shown that early childhood experiences affect future relationships such as peer relationship, romantic relationships and even parenting Styles, as the nature of a child’s attachment bond with their primary care giver according to Bowlby (1973, 1980) determines the child’s beliefs and expectations about themselves, the world and relationships with people which is also known as the internal working model. Hence, a child who experienced a secure attachment with his or her primary caregiver is more likely to be socially competent, have better peer and romantic relationships and also have a positive parenting style compared to those who experienced insecure attachment.