Lecture 6 - Child Attachment PDF

Lecture 6 - Child Attachment Overview Bowlby Early studies demonstrating importance of connection What is attachment? The Strange Situation Attachment in preschool Internal working models Measuring child attachment Attachment based treatments Bowlby The effect of prolonged separations 1951 WHO repo...

Lecture 6 - Child Attachment Overview Bowlby Early studies demonstrating importance of connection What is attachment? The Strange Situation Attachment in preschool Internal working models Measuring child attachment Attachment based treatments Bowlby The effect of prolonged separations 1951 WHO report: Maternal Care and Mental Health: to grow up mentally healthy “the infant and young child should experience warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother” Mourning Maternal deprivation As late as the 1960s, parents were not allowed to visit their children in the hospital more than once a week, if at all. 3 phases of mourning Protest Despair Detachment Love Why do babies form relationships? “Cupboard love” “Breast love” The monkey will tell us Harry Harlow (1905-1981) Interested in love Beginning in 1958, tested the theory that food is the reason that relationships are formed Early Studies of Connection Love The monkey will tell us 2 mother surrogates Rhesus monkey Moved the bottle from one “mother” to the otehr Will the monkey spend more time with the bottle? What is Attachment? What is attachment theory? A theory of relationships Why relationships are necessary How relationships are formed, maintained and broken Defining attachment An infant’s enduring affective tie to a caregiver that develops over time Infants are born with a strong biological push to develop attachment to a small number of caregivers Function: survival/ protection What attachment is not Not a parents bond to the infant Imprinting (bonding), an instantaneous process Does not describe a parent “bonding” with an infant at birth Survival The function of Attachment Survival What does survival mean? Protection from predators Physical and emotional safety A system of Survival Heating and air conditioning units Thermometer: monitors temperature Set temperature to a comfort zone: 72º What happens if temperature drops below 72º? Heater turns on until temp returns to 72º What happens if temperature rises above 72º? Air conditioner turns on until temp returns to 72º To review, to keep temperature stable you need: A way to monitor temperature A setting for the right temperature Systems to bring the temperature back to the setting A system of survival needs the same components A way to monitor threats to safety a setting for safety Systems for making the situation safer The Attachment System Monitors threats to safety Using the five senses Has a safety setting Felt security Has safety systmes Attachment behaviours (crying, crawling, calling) 1. Monitor threat 2. Check safety setting 3. Use attachment behaviours 4. Repeat steps 3,4 as needed Types of threats External threats Dangerous situations Internal threats Illness, fatigue, hunger, cold Threats to proximity Separation Safety Settings Proximity to caregiver Being physically close enough Felt security (Sroufe, 1976) The emotional equivalent of being close enough Closeness vs Exploration Monitoring tells infant: When to get close (using attachment bx) When it’s okay to explore Q: Am I feeling secure, safe? A: No - get closer A: Yes - Explore How to get close and stay close Defining attachment bx Any behaviour that decreases proximity to caregiver Any behaviour that increases “felt security” Type of attachment bx Signalling (crying, smiling, babbling, calling) Approaching (following, holding, seeking) Get close to who? An attachment figure The person or persons an infant directs their attachment bx to usually the person who spends the most time, provides quality care, has an emotional investment to the child, and interacts with the child Primary attachment figures Mother, father Secondary attachment figures Relatives, caregivers Review Babies are biologically driven to form attachments Attachment is an enduring affective bond with a caregiver When faced with distress a child uses attachment to achieve security and safety Attachment is explains the dynamic of wanting to explore and wanting closeness Bowlby’s Hypotheses Caregiver responsiveness is related to individual differences in attachment security Individual differences in attachment security have consequences for later personality development and interpersonal relating Strange Situation Mary Ainsworth Home observations in Uganda then Baltimore Strange Situation: Series of episodes in which infant and parent are separated and reunited twice Three basic “organisations” of infant-mother attachment Related to mother’s caregiving behaviour Secure Infant Uses M as secure base for exploration Separation: signs of missing parent Reunion: actively greets/ approaches M or, if upset, signals for contact Soothed by contact and returns to exploring Mother Sensitive, accepting, emotionally and physically accessible, responsive, cooperative Warm & pleasant contact = secure base & safe haven Avoidant Infant Explores but little or no secure base bx Separation: little or no signs of missing parent Reunion: avoids parent, focuses on toys If picked up, leans away Mother Least sensitive, more rejecting, more ignoring, more controlling Unpleasant or infrequent physical contact = no safe haven Ambivalent/ Anxious Infant Fails to explore; visibly distressed Separation; distressed Reunion: alternates wanting contact with angry rejection Fails to find comfort in mother mother Generally accepting BUT less sensitive, inconsistently available & responsive, more interfering, less cooperative = no secure base Cross-cultural Studies Ainsworth (1967) in Uganda Translation and validation of measures Adjust to whether caregiver stresses offspring independence or dependence Ecological Findings Secure attachment is most likely When the following are present: Parent is sociable, affectionate, agreeable Infant is perceived as having a positive temperament Low marital conflict, good social supports, high work satisfaction Absence of risk factors (e.g. low income, maternal depression, single parent, parenting stress, etc) Attachment in Preschool Secure histories in Preschool More independent Confident Persistent in solving problems, able to tolerate frustration More likely to be described by teachers as “ empathic” More friends, cooperative More positive self-image Avoidant History in preschool More dependent on teachers Lack confidence Lower persistence in solving problems, less able to tolerate frustration More anxious about new problems More likely to be bullies More likely to be described by teachers as “mean” Less friends More likely to show anger and aggression Anxious History in Preschool More dependent on teachers Lack confidence Lower persistence in solving problems, less able to tolerate frustration More anxious about new problems More likely to be victims Less friends More likely to show anger and aggression Internal Working Models What Attachment Patterns tell us Remember that the quality of care shapes how children understand themselves and others “Pictures” or Internal Working Models Thus, each pattern suggests a different set of pictures Secure Self I’m confident Im worthy Others Are there when I need them Are comforting and soothing Strong emotions are: Manageable Avoidant Self I should act independent even when I’m uncertain Others I can’t rely on others for comfort Strong emotions: Don’t get me what I need, so I should hide them Anxious Self Im not confident, can’t do things on my own Others Are inconsistent in their care Strong emotions Are too hard to manage on my own Fearful/ Disorganised Attachment Not organised by a clear style Associated with prior trauma and prior attachment trauma Associated with chaotic style of “come here, now go away” Also displays signs of dissociation, inappropriate use of humour, parental caregiving and inappropriate affect Can be resolved when trauma is resolved - likely to see more consistent attachment patterns or security Usually signs arise during attachment triggers Attachment and Emotion Regulation Attachment helps a child form a sense of self Sense of responsiveness of parent is internalised Eventually children as they age can explore the environment with the memory of the parent rather than proximity Internalise this internal working model of their parent One’s internal working model contributes to emotional regulation and one’s “psychic organisation” Organisation of one’s aspects of one’s sense of self Child Attachment Interview Interview similar to the Adult Attachment iNterview Requires for children to provide narratives about previous interactions with attachment figures Videos of children telling narratives are rated behaviourally and for content Extensive interview and requires extensive training and a clinical background Formation of a narrative of attachment interactions is key Memories can be organised into narratives at age 10 Resolved and unresolved interactions are detected Is there still preoccupation with an event or emotion or distancing Relationship episodes are scored using the following criteria: Emotional openess Balance of positive/ negative references to attachment figures Use of examples Preoccupied anger anxious Depressive ruminators preoccupation Idealisation of attachment figures Dismissal of Attachment Resolution of conflicts Disorganisation/ atypical Overall coherence Reflectedness Behavioural Analysis Marked behavioural change Inappropriate giggling, dissociation and caregiving interviewer are signs of disorganised/ fearful attachment Marked anxiety Eye contact Tone of voice Discrepancy between behaviour and content of narrative Ability to maintain engagement Attachment interview Scoring Assign a primary and secondary classification Based upon the objective scores on the scale of the measure Attachment based treatments Adults Therapist becomes a secure base and you work out attachment conflicts in the session exposure Goal is to move the patient towards security bu working through ambivalent narratives and developing selective capacities Balance between emotional and cognitive styles May need trauma treatment Children Involve parents Family therapy to work on parents moving towards security and acting as a secure base Worm on reflective capacity of parents Discuss in session how reflection breaks down when attachment insecurity becomes present #PS406