Early attachment: A passing fancy or a long term affair?

AbstractFour contributions of attachment theory and research are discussed: 1) the construct of parent/child bonds as an enduring rather than short - term phenomenon; 2) a validated measure of that construct in infancy; 3) an organizational approach to behavioural observation; and, 4) new connections between researchers and clinicians. It is suggested that future research will focus on ontogenetic development and intergenerational transmission of attachment.The study of parent - child relationships has a long and venerable history. "Attachment" is the most recent and current label for the emotional bonds between children and parents, the most immediate predecessors being "dependency" and "object relations". Each represented a theoretical and empirical approach to the phenomenon which experienced a period of enthusiasm. Is "attachment" simply the latest buzzword for the same old thing? In this paper I review the contributions of attachment theory and research to our understanding of human behaviour and make some predictions about future contributions. Since the primary task is to evaluate the contributions of attachment theory and research, I will not document limitations or focus upon controversies in the field, and the reader is referred to existing sources for this perspective (e.g. Campos, Barrett, Lamb, Goldsmith and Stenberg, 1983; Kagan, 1982; Lamb, Thompson, Gardner, Charnov, and Estes, 1984). Attachment theory as articulated by Bowlby (1969) combined and integrated ideas from psychoanalysis and ethology. Bowlby argued that affectional ties between caregiver and offspring have a biological basis best understood in an evolutionary context. Since the survival of human young depends on adult caregiving, our evolutionary history has selected a genetic bias among infants to behave in ways that maintain and enhance proximity to the caregiver and elicit caregiver attention and investment. A complementary evolutionary history biases adults to behave reciprocally. Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the caregiver's initial role in reducing physiological arousal. Social learning theory emphasizes the caregiver as teacher. Attachment theory focusses on the parent's role as protector and provider of security. (All of these views acknowledge that parents play multiple roles: teacher, caregiver, playmate etc. They differ with respect to which role is considered most influential.) Furthermore, psychoanalytic and learning theory viewed the child as initially passive, Bowlby credited the infant with active participation. Prior theories viewed infants as dependent on caregivers and considered dependency a state to be outgrown, but an attachment is expected to endure. Thus, attachment is a quality of relationships that is a life - span construct. I believe this is a major shift in orientation attributable to attachment theory.Components of AttachmentThe concept of attachment includes social components (it is a property of social relationships), emotional components (each participant in the relationship feels emotional bonds with the other), cognitive components (each participant forms a cognitive scheme - a working model of the relationship and its participants), and behavioural components (participants engage in behaviours that reflect and maintain the relationship). The nature and interrelationships of these components changes with development, but the relationship endures.Over the first year, the infant's proximity - promoting behaviours (orienting to the caregiver, signals such as cries and vocalizations, and direct actions such as approaching and clinging) become organized into a goal - corrected system focussed on a specific caregiver, usually the mother. When the attachment system is in its goal state (i.e., there is adequate proximity and contact), attachment behaviours subside; when the goal state is threatened, attachment behaviours are activated. Furthermore, because the attachment system operates in the context of other related systems (e. …