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Attachment theory is a psychological theory about the evolved adaptive tendency to maintain proximity to an attachment figure. The origin of attachment theory can be traced to the publication of two 1958 papers, one being John Bowlby's "the Nature of the Child's Tie to his Mother", in which the precursory concepts of "attachment" were introduced, and Harry Harlow's "the Nature of Love", as based on the results of experiments which showed, approximately, that infant rhesus monkeys preferred emotional attachment over food.

Overview

Attachment is defined as an affectional tie that one person or animal forms between him/herself and another specific one — a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time. Attachment theory, from one perspective, has its origins in the observation of and experiments with young animals. In the 1950s, a famous series of experiments on infant monkeys by Harlow and Harlow demonstrated that attachment is not a simple reaction to internal drives such as hunger.

In these experiments, young monkeys were separated from their mother shortly after birth. They were offered two wire monkeys to serve as surrogate mothers. The first monkey had a body of wire mesh. The second monkey had a body of wire mesh covered in terry cloth and foam rubber. The wire mesh doll was secured with a bottle of milk, the softer doll had no sustenance. (In the control group, the soft doll provided milk as well). The young monkeys nursed at the wire monkey and then promptly sought contact with the cloth monkey. The experiment proved that what a baby ultimately seeks is a mother's warmth and the familiar feeling of being with the mother. The experiment also hushed psychoanalyst's claims that mother was based on sustenance alone, as the monkeys preferred a mother's proximity and comfort.

The young monkeys clung to the soft cloth doll and also explored more when in the presence of the soft cloth doll, and the doll seemed to provide them with a sense of security. However, the passive doll was not an adequate alternative for a real mother. Infant monkeys raised without contact with other monkeys showed abnormal behavior in social situations. They were either very fearful of other monkeys or responded with unprovoked aggression when they encountered other monkeys. They also showed abnormal sexual responses. Female monkeys who were raised in isolation often neglected or abused their infants. This abnormal behaviour is thought to demonstrate that the instruction, affection and imitation afforded in a bond with the mother is necessary for mental and social development. The effects of early exposure to the wire and cloth mothers could be seen roughly 2 years later, well into the adulthood. The experiment implied young babies without mothers or primary caregivers are likely to have compromised mental and social development.

Much of early attachment theory was written by John Bowlby, a clinician, and his works include Attachment, Separation and Loss, a trilogy, which brought together many disciplines such as ethology, psychology and psychoanalysis. Mary Ainsworth conducted research based on his theory and she devised the strange situation as the laboratory portion of a larger study that included extensive home visitations over the first year of the child's life. In the strange situation a mother (or other caregiver) and child are separated and reunited twice across eight episodes. 1) Ainsworth placed the mother and child in a room with toys to explore. 2) A stranger entered. 3) The mother left. 4) The stranger left. 5) The mother returned and comforted the child. 6) The mother left. 7) The stranger entered and attempted to comfort the child. 8) The mother returned and comforted the child. Infants were classified in one of three categories, based on their behavior on reunion with their mothers.

• Secure Attachment - If the child protested the mother's departure and quieted promptly on the mother's return, accepting comfort from her and returning to exploration, then the child's relationship to the mother would be classified as a secure attachment.

• Avoidant Attachment - If the child showed little to no signs of distress at the mother's departure, a willingness to explore the toys, and little to no visible response to the mother's return, then the child-mother relationship would be classified as avoidant.

• Ambivalent Attachment - If the child showed sadness on the mother's departure, ability to be picked up by the stranger and even 'warm' to the stranger, and on the mother's return, some ambivalence, signs of anger, reluctance to 'warm' to her and return to play, then this child would be classified as ambivalent.

A mother whose child is securely attached would respond appropriately, promptly and consistently to the emotional as well as the physical needs of the child. She would help her child to transition and regulate stress, and as a result, the child would use her as a secure base in the home environment.

A mother whose child has an avoidant attachment would show little response to the child when distressed. She would discourage her child from crying and encourage independence and exploration. The avoidantly attached child may have lower quality play than the securely attached child.

A mother whose child is ambivalently attached would be inconsistent with her child, at times be appropriate and at other times be neglectful to the child. The child raised in an ambivalent relationship becomes preoccupied with the mother's availability and cannot explore his environment freely or use his mother as a secure base. The ambivalently attached child is vulnerable to difficulty coping with life stresses and may display role reversal with the mother.

Further research by Dr. Mary Main and colleagues (University of California, Berkeley) have identified a small number of children who present stereotypes on the mother's return, such as freezing for several seconds or rocking. This appears to indicate the child's lack of coherent coping strategy, and the child would be classified as disorganized. Children who are classified as disorganized are also given a classification as secure, ambivalent or avoidant based on their overall reunion behavior.

Other recent research has followed children into the school environment, where securely attached children generally relate well to peers, avoidantly attached children tend to victimize peers and ambivalently attached children may be victimized by peers and be coy.

These early studies focused on attachment between children and caregivers. Attachment theory was later extended to adult romantic relationships by Cindy Hazen and Phillip Shaver.

Basic attachment theory

Attachment of children to Caregivers

Attachment theory has led to a new understanding of child development. Children develop different styles of attachment based on experiences and interactions with their primary caregivers. Four different attachment styles have been identified in children: secure, anxious-ambivalent, anxious-avoidant, and disorganized. Attachment Theory has become the dominant theory used today in the study of infant and toddler behavior and in the fields of infant mental health, treatment of children, and related fields. Many evidence-based treatment approaches are based on attachment theory (see section below). Mary Ainsworth was a leader in applying Bowlby's theory to research.

Attachment in adult romantic relationships

Hazan and Shaver extended attachment theory to adult romantic relationships in 1987. It was originally characterized by three dimensions: secure, anxious/ambivalent and avoidant. Later research showed that attachment is best thought of as two different dimensions: anxiety and avoidance. These dimensions are often drawn as an X and Y axis. In this model secure individuals are low in both anxiety and avoidance. Thus, attachment can also be broken down into four categories: secure, anxious-ambivalent (preoccupied), avoidant (dismissive), and fearful-avoidant. However, people's attachment varies continuously so most researchers do not currently think in terms of categories.

Attachment research into romantic relationships has led to a wide variety of findings. Mario Mikulincer has shown through a wide variety of studies that attachment influences how well people are able to cope with stress in their life. Nancy Collins and colleagues have shown that attachment influences many kinds of care-giving behavior. Jeff Simpson and Steve Rholes have conducted a number of studies showing that attachment influences how people parent their newborn children and how well they are able to cope with the stress of having a newborn child.

Attachment measures in children

Researchers have developed various ways of assessing attachment in children, including the Strange Situation Protocol developed by Mary Ainsworth and story-based approaches such as Attachment Story Completion Test. These methods allow children to be classified into four attachment styles: secure, anxious-ambivalent, anxious-avoidant, and disorganized. Attachment in adults is commonly measured using the Adult Attachment Interview and self-report questionnaires. Self-report questionnaires have identified two dimensions of attachment, one dealing with anxiety about the relationship, and the other dealing with avoidance in the relationship. These dimensions define four styles of adult attachment: secure, preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant.

Attachment measures in Adults

There is a wide variety of attachment measures used in adult attachment research. The most popular measure in the social psychological research is the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised scale. This scale treats attachment as two dimensions, anxiety and avoidance. The Adult Attachment interview is also commonly used to assess an individual's ability to discuss previous relationships with attachment figures. The interview consists of 36 questions, varying in detail from basic background information to instances of loss and trauma (if any). An independently trained coder determines the consistency of the individual's descriptions based on emotion regulation and content of information in the interview. Developmental psychologists use the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George,Kaplan, & Main)or the Adult Attachment Projective (AAP; George, West, & Pettem). The AAI is an interview about attachment experiences that gets recorded and analysed for attachment status. The AAP is a guided interview which uses vague drawings about which the individual can tell a story. The story responses are recorded and decoded for attachment status. Generally attachment style is used by social psychologists interested in romantic attachment, and attachment status by developmental psychologists interested in the individual's state of mind with respect to attachment. The latter is more stable, while the former fluctuates more.

Attachment measures

Researchers have developed various ways of assessing attachment in children, including the Strange Situation and story-based approaches such as Attachment Story Completion Test. These methods allow children to be classified into four attachment styles: secure, anxious-ambivalent, anxious-avoidant, and disorganized. Attachment in adults is commonly measured using the Adult Attachment Interview and self-report questionnaires. Self-report questionnaires have identified two dimensions of attachment, one dealing with anxiety about the relationship, and the other dealing with avoidance in the relationship. These dimensions define four styles of adult attachment: secure, preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant.

Attachment theory in clinical practice

Attachment disorder

Attachment disorder refers to the failure to form normal attachments with caregivers during childhood. This can have adverse effects throughout the lifespan. Clinicians have identified several signs of attachment problems. Attachment problems can be resolved at older ages through appropriate therapeutic interventions. Reputable interventions include Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy.

Reactive attachment disorder

Reactive attachment disorder, sometimes called "RAD", is a psychiatric diagnosis (DSM-IV 313.89, ICD-10 F94.1/2). The essential feature of Reactive attachment disorder is markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness in most contexts that begins before age 5 years and is associated with gross pathological care.

Dyadic developmental psychotherapy

Dyadic developmental psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment approach for the treatment of attachment disorder and reactive attachment disorder. Children who have experienced pervasive and extensive trauma, neglect, loss, and/or other dysregulating experiences can benefit from this treatment. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is based on principles derived from attachment theory.

Theraplay

Theraplay is a play therapy which has the intention of helping parents and children build better attachment relationships through attachment-based play. It was developed in 1967 by the Psychological Services staff of a Head Start program in Chicago. Theraplay is based on model of healthy parent-infant attachment and interactions.

References

1. Ainsworth, Bell, & Stayton (1974) "Infant-mother attachment". In M.P.M. Richards (Ed.) Integratin of a child into a social world.. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
2. Harlow, H. F. & Harlow, M. K. (1969) "Effects of various mother-infant relationships on rhesus monkey behaviors". In B. M. Foss (Ed.) Determinants of infant behavior (Vol. 4). London: Methuen.
3. Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment , Vol. 1 of Attachment and loss. London: Hogarth Press. New York: Basic Books; Harmondsworth: Penguin (1971).
4. Bowlby, J. (1973) , Separation: Anxiety & Anger. Vol. 2 of Attachment and loss London: Hogarth Press; New York: Basic Books; Harmondsworth: Penguin (1975).
5. Bowlby, J. (1980) Loss: Sadness & Depression, in Vol. 3 of Attachment and loss, London: Hogarth Press. New York: Basic Books; Harmondsworth: Penguin (1981).
6. Bretherton, I. (1992). The Origins of Attachment Theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology, 28, 759-775.
7. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachmenpt rocess. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511-524.
8. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 270-280.
9. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1994). Attachment as an organizational framework for research on close relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 5, 1-22.
10. Becker-Weidman, A., & Shell, D. (2005) Creating Capacity for Attachment. Wood 'N' Barnes, Oklahoma City, OK.

See also

Further reading

• Becker-Weidman, A., & Shell, D., (Eds). (2005) Creating Capacity for Attachment. Wood N Barnes, Oklahoma City, OK. ISBN 1-885473-72-9
• Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P., (Eds). (1999) Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications. Guilford Press, NY.
• Greenberg, MT, Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, EM., (Eds) (1990) Attachment in the Preschool Years: Theory, Research and Intervention University of Chicago, Chicago.
• Greenspan, S. (1993) Infancy and Early Childhood. Madison, CT: International Universities Press. ISBN 0-8236-2633-4.
• Holmes, J. (1993) John Bowlby and Attachment Theory. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-07730-3.
• Holmes, J. (2001) The Search for the Secure Base: Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy. London: Brunner-Routledge. ISBN 1-58391-152-9.
• Karen R (1998) Becoming Attached: First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511501-5.
• Parkes, CM, Stevenson-Hinde, J., Marris, P., (Eds.) (1991) Attachment Across The Life Cycle Routledge. NY. ISBN 0-415-05651-9
• Siegler R., DeLoache, J. & Eisenberg, N. (2003) How Children develop. New York: Worth. ISBN 1-57259-249-4.
• Sturt, SM (Ed) (2006). New Developments in Child Abuse Research Nove, NY. ISBN 1-59454-980-X
• Attachment & Human Development. This is a professional peer-reviewed journal.
• Infant Mental Health. This is a professional peer-reviewed journal.

External links

• AICAN - Australian Intercountry Adoption Network
• Information on effective treatment for attachment disorders and training for professionals. Information on Dyadic Devvelopmental Psychotherapy
• Parenting: Attachment, Bonding and Reactive Attachment Disorder
• Relationship Advice: How Understanding Adult Attachment Can Help
• Attachment Questionnaire
• Attachment Diagnostics (German)
• Details of authors, publications, measures and books on attachment psychology

• Psychoanalysis
• Psychological theories
• Love
• Interpersonal relationships
• Human development