Development of Attachment

Development of Attachment

1. Stages of development of attachment

   • Stage 1: Asocial Attachment
     • Birth - 2 months
     • Similar response to all objects (animate or inanimate)
     • Towards the end of this stage, the child shows preference for being with people
     • Time reciprocity & time synchrony help to establish the child's relationships with others
   • Stage 2: Indiscriminate Attachment
     • 2-7 months
     • Child shows a marked preference for people rather than inanimate objects
     • Recognise & prefer familiar adults
     • Accept comfort from any adult
     • Do not show stranger or separation anxiety
   • Stage 3: Specific Attachment
     • From around 7 months
     • Start to show stranger anxiety & distress when separated from primary attachment figure
   • Stage 4: Multiple attachments
     • About a month after having formed a specific attachment
     • Displays attachment behaviour towards other people with whom they are familiar (secondary attachments)

2. Schaffer & Emerson

   • Longitudinal study on 60 Glasgow infants (5-23 weeks old)
   • Infants from working-class homes at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of their life
   • Studied in their own homes and a regular pattern was identified in the development of attachment
   • Babies visited for approximately one year & interactions with carers were observed
   • Carers interviewed & asked to keep a diary of the infants response to separation in seven situations
     • Left alone in a room
     • Left with other people
     • Left in their pram outside the house
     • Left in their pram outside the shops
     • Left in their cot at night
     • Put down after being held by an adult
     • Passed by while sitting in their cot or chair
   • Carried out direct observations of infants reaction when they approached (stranger anxiety)
   • Conclusion
     • Mother was the main attachment figure for 65% of the children at 18 months old
     • Only 3% infants developed primary attachment to father
     • By 18 months, 31% had formed multiple attachments
     • Results indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to babies signals
       • Sensitive responsiveness
     • Most important fact is not who feeds or changes the child but who plays and communicates with them