IN7760 BALSession 2

Attachment Theory

Session aims

• To outline the key aspects of attachment theory

• To recognise the significance of attachment in children’s development

• To consider the implications for our role in supporting children

• To consider the implications for children’s learning

Not to be reproduced without permission

Attachment“Attachment is a bond which ties .. the mother and baby together. It emerges out of evolution. It developed in order to protect us from predators, it is central to our survival and what we are beginning to realise now is that it’s also central to our well-being.” (Svanberg, 2005)

•Introductory clip – Reactive Attachment Disorder -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHzed9qKz1E&feature=related

• “What is believed to be essential for mental health is that an infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother (or permananet mother-substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment” (Bowlby,1953)

• DVD – Attachment 1• CLIP – Bowlby – Father of Attachment Theory - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA

AmSqv2GV8&list=LPfJkOPDEGN44&index=5&feature=plcp

The context of attachment theory

• Historical context (post WWII - women wanted back in the home)

• Research context (‘looked after’ teenagers – deprived backgrounds and orphans)

• Maternal deprivation theory led to revised policies in care of children in homes and hospitals

• Implications for day care and role of the mother in developing the child

• Idea of ‘monotropism’ = mother as sole attachment figure

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

• Attachment is crucial for children’s psychological welfare

• Infant has built-in propensity to form strong emotional bonds

• Needs warm, intimate and continuous relationship with mother or substitute

• Believed attachment forms basis of personality development and socialisation (evolutionary/biological significance)

• Caregiver plays role in infant’s emotional regulation

• ‘Maternal deprivation theory’

                                 

    

                               

                                 

    

                               

                                     

                               

Emotional development and attachment

• What do you think these terms mean?

Process of attachment

• Development of the affective system = infant-caregiver regulation – contingent attunement

• Important for social relationships (temperament probably plays role)

• Attachment responses are social-learning processes• First signs of attachment to specific caregiver 6

months or so but process begins at birth• Still face experiment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btg9PiT0sZg

Process of attachment cont.• From birth-2 months = indiscriminating social

responsiveness but general preference for main caregiver; built-in responses (or signals) designed to draw caregiver near and keep her near (e.g. crying); some believe maternal bonding must occur (conflicting evidence for sensitive period)

• 2-7 months = discriminating social responsiveness – more directed social responses to caregiver and other familiar people (e.g. smiling); interactional patterns between child and caregiver for communication and development of relationship; child develops cognitive representation = working model of caregiver based on how reliable and trustworthy s/he is seen to be; caregiver also acts as social referencing person i.e. guidance on how to feel etc.

Process of attachment cont.• 8-24 months – focused attachment = strong

development of attachment bond; attachment related to emotional and cognitive development e.g. recognition of what is strange and familiar plus fear; separation protest, awareness of strangers; also related to physical development as child explores treating caregiver as secure base; development of self-regulation of feelings via mobility (ventures forth when feeling secure, retreats for comfort when feel threatened etc.)

“Children who were judged secure with mother in infancy are found to be more co-operative, more empathetic, more socially competent, more invested in learning and exploration, and more self-confident than children who were judged insecure with mother in infancy”(Association for Infant Mental Health 2003)

Revisions/Additions of Attachment Theory

• Can have attachment to more than one attachment figure including fathers

• Caregiver sensitivity is greatest predictorof secure attachments

• Emotional regulation• Mind-mindedness – caregiver/child synchronicity• Nature of attachment type predictor of emotional

responses e.g. secure child more likely to be expressive and mindful of others’ emotions; insecure child tends to be less emotionally astute or sensitive

• Nature of attachment has implications for later social behaviour

• Early insecure attachments may have links with later psychopathology

Revisions/Additions of Attachment Theory cont.

• Possible critical periods for mother/child interactions but can have secure relationships formed in later life plus interventions have led to more secure attachment i.e. severe deprivation can be ameliorated

• Lifespan dimension of attachment recognised• Influence of family systems acknowledged

(sibling order, gender) plus sibling attachment• Multiple attachments can occur (but multiple

caregivers can cause problems) – what is the difference?

• Cultural context affects attachment processes and social bonding depends on particular environment

Internal Working Model theory

• Nature of attachment is internalised via mental representations of close relationships, self-worth etc.

• ‘the mind’s almost exclusive function is to reduce threat and create safety’ (Hughes, 2006)

• = mental models that mediate, in part, the ability of an infant to use the caregiver as a buffer against the stresses of life, as well as the later development of important self-regulatory and social skills

• Bowlby - a child’s view of himself is influenced by how his mother sees him and that ‘whatever she fails to recognise in him he is likely to fail to recognise in himself’ (Bowlby, 1988).

Internal Working Model• Gerhardt describes the internal working model as

‘inscribed in the brain outside conscious awareness’ (Gerhardt, 2004)

• Bowlby said it is ‘built in the mind during childhood’ (Bowlby, 1988)

• A child that does not experience a sense of security from their caregiver is likely to have difficulty in forming relationships and in showing empathy as these are ‘capacities that are internalised through experiencing them first hand’ (Gerhardt, 2004)

• Gerhardt suggests that it is not possible for a child to be aware of their own feelings if someone hasn’t done it for them (Gerhardt, 2004)

Creating the IWM - Attunement• If a child is not able to rely on an adult to respond to their needs

in times of stress they are unable to learn how to soothe themselves, manage their emotions and engage in reciprocal relationships

• Dependence on others for protection provides the skills to help a child cope with frustrations, develop self-confidence and form the ability to relate to others - qualities necessary to promote positive engagement with learning (Geddes, 2006: p127).

• Through attunement with his caregiver ‘the infant learns that feelings can be recognised, given meaning by being understood and named’ (Geddes, 2006: p41)

• Attunement is beginning the ‘process of self-awareness and thus the capacity to empathise’ (Bomber, 2008)

Attachment schemas

• Developed primarily in the orbital medial pre-frontal cortex

• Secure attachments develop mental process enabling child to balance emotions, reduce fear, attune to others, have self-understanding and insight, empathy for others and well-developed moral reasoning

IWM and Behaviour

• By experiencing attunement a child

feels safe enough to explore and

understand their own feelings and,

in turn, begins to feel empathy for others• Making sense of our feelings helps us to build resilience and

self-esteem• IWM contains expectations and beliefs about self, self-worth,

emotional availability of others • Also contains behavioural strategies• Becomes self-fulfilling and self-confirming • Carried through to adulthood - intergenerational transmissio

n’- but open to modification

Attachment and the brain• “Integrative communIcation between

caregiver and child stimulates the activation and growth of integrative fibers in the brain. Integrative fibers in the brain are those that enable the coordination and balance of the nervous system at the heart of self-regulation. In other words, interpersonal integration cultivates neural integration” (Siegel, 2012)

• Can create ‘synaptic shadows’ = strategies of survival

Internal Working ModelMemories of day to day

interactions

Accumulating schemas

or event scripts

Guiding actions based uponprevious interactions

Expectations & affective

experience associated

with interactions

Safe Haven Secure Base

Relative dependency

Where are your safe havens? Independence

Where are the Secure Bases/Safe Havens?

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION - •Reflect on where and who are your secure bases in your life•Are your professional and personal secure bases the same?•Have they changed over your life time?

GROUP ACTIVITY -•In your group create a time line for a child in your work context•Discuss and mark on secure bases for a child - this includes people and places and systems•How and where are you involved?

Attachment Types• Most fit into 3 categories:

• A = insecure-avoidant;

• B = securely attached;

• C = insecure-resistant

• Further research found additional type

• D = insecure-disorganised (e.g. bizarre responses such as freezing, unusual expressions, apprehensive, confused)

CLIPS – Insecure attachments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDh1C-PubYQ

http://z.about.com/d/psychology/1/0/2/4/secure2.jpg

http://z.about.com/d/psychology/1/0/0/4/avoidant2.jpg

http://z.about.com/d/psychology/1/0/z/3/ambivalent2.jpg

Attachment Styles• Secure – I’m ok, you’re there for me• Avoidant – it’s not ok to be emotional• Ambivalent – I want comfort but it doesn’t help me• Disorganised – I’m frightened

(HANDOUT – Attachment types)• Patterns of attachment are essentially self-

protective strategies and develop dynamically - emphasizing the dynamic interaction of the maturation of the human with the environmental context across the life-span

• Diagnosis – Strange Situation• DVD – Attachment 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnFKaaOSPmk&feature=related

Factors that help determine nature of attachment

a)Caregiver’s responsiveness:

• Sensitivity to child’s needs and signals e.g. more responsive to signals

• Demonstrations of affection• ‘Interactional synchrony’ - caregivers’ actions

mesh with baby, turn-taking etc.• Synchrony associated with securely attached• Studies show life events can create change in

category e.g. loss of partner etc.

Factors that help determine nature of attachment cont.

b) Baby’s temperament:• Conflicting results from research but does seem

temperament affects interactions and responses in the dyad

• ‘Goodness-of-fit’ between child’s temperament and social/physical environment

• Same type of caregiving received differently and vice-versa etc.

c) Cultural and environmental contexts:• No attachment relationship exists in isolation,

cultural and environmental variants etc.

Caregiver sensitivity

• Children of ‘overstimulating’ caregivers (e.g. physical abuse) tend to develop insecure-avoidant pattern of attachment

• Children of ’understimulating’ caregivers (e.g. withdrawal/neglect) tend to develop insecure-resistant pattern of attachment

• Maltreated children tend to develop insecure-disorganised pattern of attachment (often at risk of developing anti-social behaviour)

ACTIVITY

Attachment, caregiver sensitivity and temperament

Read and discuss the case study research

Adult Attachment Interview• Way of ‘measuring’ internal working model or

state of mind regarding attachment• Descriptions of recollections of childhood

attachment-related experiences leads to classification of mothers into

• i) Dismissive (little recall and assign little significance to experiences)

• ii) Preoccupied/enmeshed (emotional recall with some continued dependency on parents)

• iii) Unresolved (may display characteristics of all three but unresolved attachment-related trauma evident in some form)

• iv) Autonomous (good recall with balanced perspective even if negative)

Impact on future relationships• Some success in correlating attachment types

with adult versions • e.g. secure become autonomous, avoidant

become dismissive, resistant become enmeshed etc.

• Also adult attachment types with offspring attachment types

• e.g. autonomous adults have secure infants, unresolved adults have disorganized infants etc.

• But potential to reverse situation via ‘reflective self-function’

• i.e. changing internal working model• DVD Attachment 3

Impact on cognitive competence

• Securely attached infants likely to be:better problem-solversmore curiousincreased quality and duration of playcognitive competence at 4 can be judged

by responsiveness of mother at 3 months

Impact on social competence

• Securely attached infants more likely to be:cooperativeself-regulative less likely to develop emotional and behavioural

problemsmore socially empatheticmore self-aware (i.e. self-knowledge) less biased in interpreting behaviour of others

Impact on Learning Behaviour

• Learning is an emotional experience• To be able to engage in learning a

pupil needs to be able to take risks

to learn new things and face new

challenges• A good learner needs to be able to

manage frustration and anxiety, have good self-esteem, be willing to

take risks and be able to ask for help when needed • ‘As confidence in the secure base becomes an internalised process,

then exploration and experience in the wider world is possible’ (Geddes, 2006)

• Having a secure base provides the reassurance to enable a pupil with attachment difficulties to explore their environment and gives them the confidence and resilience to engage in learning

Why attachment matters – foundations of learning

• Roots of attachment related to primary caregiver but full expression of attachment potential requires social and emotional interactions with others

• Practitioners provide different and complementing social and emotional opportunities that help child's attachment capabilities mature

• Research shows positive associations found between quality of practitioner-child relationships and achievement

• Also, high quality practitioner-child relationships buffered children from the negative effects of insecure or other maternal attachment on achievement

• Secure attachment relationships correlate strongly with higher academic attainment, better self-regulation and social competence

• Priority of attachment system over exploratory system – feeling safe and secure is more important than playing/learning

• In order to be capable of forming wide array of healthy relationships throughout life, a young child's attachment capacities must mature

The triangle of learning (Geddes, 2006)

Securely attached child

Pupil

TaskTeacher

The triangle of learning (Geddes, 2006)

Insecure-avoidant attached child

Pupil

TaskTeacher

The triangle of learning(Geddes, 2006)

Insecure-ambivalent attached child

Pupil

TaskTeacher

The triangle of learning(Geddes, 2006)

Disorganised attached child

Pupil

TaskTeacher

Children with unmet attachment needs• It is estimated that at least one third of children have an insecure attachment with at least one

caregiver (Bergin and Bergin, 2009)

• Around 20% of people experience a potentially traumatic event in any given year (Joseph, 2011)

• It is estimated that as many as 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD have attachment issues  (Clarke et al, 2002, Moss and St-Laurent, 2001)

• One Scottish study found 98% of children have experienced one or more trauma event – for one in four this trauma can result in behavioural and/or emotional disturbance (Clackmannanshire survey)

What this means:• Mirror systems employed to defend vs cooperate• Attachment schemas are used as battle plans vs ways of connecting• Regulatory systems become biased/primed towards arousal and fear vs relaxed

(dysregulation)• Reward systems seek alternatives (e.g. drugs) vs contact with loved ones (Conzolino, 2006)

Attachment and resilience

• ‘Self-esteem is not just thinking well of oneself in the abstract; it is a capacity to respond to life’s challenges’ (Gerhardt, 2004)

• Children with attachment difficulties ‘have such low self-esteem that they do not value themselves or anyone else’ (Dann, 2011)

• Therefore children with attachment disorders are less resilient (although may be able to ‘function’ and exhibit ‘false independence’)

Resilient children:

• Believe they are lovable and good • Have experiences of competence and mastery

in their lives • Believe they can change, ameliorate, or at the

very least cope with, the difficulties in their lives • Can realistically appraise their capacities and

skills • Have at least some strategies and skills for

dealing with problems in their lives • Are optimistic about their future

ACTIVITY

• In what ways does your setting/work context already accommodate children’s unmet attachment needs?

• What challenges exist in meeting unmet attachment needs?

References• Ainsworth,M.S.(1979) ‘Infant-mother attachment’ American Psychologist , 34, 932-7• Balbernie, R (2001) ‘Circuits and circumstances: the neurobiological consequences of early

relationship experiences and how they shape later behaviour’, Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 27.3, 237-255

• Bowlby,J. (1988) A Secure Base: parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books

• Dann, R (2011) ‘Look out! ‘Looked after’! Look here! Supporting ‘looked after’ and adopted children in the primary classroom.’ Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education 39:5 ,455-465

• Geddes, H (2006) ‘Attachment in the Classroom – the links between children’s early experience, emotional well-being and performance in school. London: Worth Publishing

• Gerhardt,S.(2004) Why Love Matters; how affection shapes a baby’s brain. London: Routledge• Grotberg (1995) The International Resilience Project, Civitan International Research Center, UAB -

http://resilnet.uiuc.edu/library/grotb97a.html• Hughes, D (2004) ‘An attachment-based treatment of maltreated children and young people’.

Attachment & Human Development 6.3, 263-278• Oates,J., Lewis,C. and Lamb,M.E. (2005) ‘Parenting and attachment’ in Ding,S. and Littleton,K. (eds)

Children’s Personal and Social Development. Oxford: Blackwell• Piaget,J. (1955) The Child’s Construction of Reality. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul • Schore,A. (2003) Affect Dysregulation and Disorders of the Self. New York: Norton• Teicher,M.H. (2002) Scars that won’t heal: the neurobiology of child abuse. Scientific American,

March 54-61.• Wang et al (1998) Building educational resilience, Fastback,  430. Phi Delta Kappa Educational

Foundation, Bloomington• Werner et al (2000), Protective Factors and Individual Resilience, Cambridge University Press,

Cambridge

ReferencesBOOKS•Bomber, L. (2007) Inside I’m Hurting; Practical Strategies for Supporting Children with Attachment Difficulties in Schools. London: Worth.

•Bomber, L (2011) What about me? Inclusive strategies to support pupils with attachment difficulties make it through the school day. London: Worth.

•Bowlby, J. (1988) A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. London: Routledge.

•Cozolino, L. (2006) The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment And the Developing Social Brain. London: Norton & Co.

•Conzolino, L. (2013) The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing attachment and learning in the classroom. London: Norton & Co.

•Ellis, S. and Tod, J. (2009) Behaviour for Learning: Proactive approaches to behaviour management. Abingdon: Routledge.

•Geddes, H. (2006) Attachment in the Classroom. The links between children’s early emotional well-being and performance in school. London: Worth.

•Gerhardt, S. (2004) Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby's Brain. Hove: Brunner-Routledge.

•Golding, K. Fain, J. Frost, A. & Templeton, S. (2013) Observing Children with Attachment Difficulties in Preschool Settings. London: Jessica Kingsley.

•Gottman, J. with DeClaire, J. (1997) Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart of Parenting. New York: Simon and Schuster.

•Joseph, S. (2011) What Doesn't Kill Us: The New Psychology of Posttraumatic Growth. London: Basic Books.

•Porges, S. (2011) The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication and self-regulation. New York: Norton.

•Rose, J. and Rogers, S. (2012) The Role of the Adult in Early Years Settings. Milton Keynes: OPUP.

•Riley, P. (2010) Attachment Theory and Teacher Student relationships. London: Routledge

•Siegel, D. (2012) The Developing Mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. New York: Guildford Press.

•Sunderland, M. (2008) What Every Parent Needs to Know. London: Dorling Kindersley.

ReferencesJOURNAL ARTICLES/PAPERS/CHAPTERSBergin, C. and Bergin, D. (2009) Attachment in the Classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 141-170.

Blakemore, S.J. & Frith, U. (2005) The learning brain: lessons for education: a precis. Developmental Science 8.6, 459–465.

Clarke, L., Ungerer, J., Chahoud, K., Johnson, S., and Stiefel, I. (2002). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is associated with attachment insecurity. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 7.2, 1359-1045.

Denham, S.A. (2006) Social-emotional competence as suport for school readiness: What is it and how do we assess it? Early Education and Development, 59, 73-100.

Gottman, J.M., Katz,L.F. and Hooven,C. (1996) ‘Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy and the Emotional Life of Families: Theoretical Models and Preliminary Data’, Journal of Family Psychology, 10.1, 243-268.

Havighurst, S. et al (2010) Tuning into kids: Improving emotion socialisation practices in parents of pre-school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51: 12, 1342-1350.

Immordino-Yang, M.H. & Damasio, A. (2007), We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1.1, 3-10.

Moss, E., & St-Laurent, D. (2001) Attachment at school age and academic performance. Developmental Psychology, 37.6, 863-874.

Nagel, M. (2009) Mind the Mind: Understanding the links between stree, emotional well-being and learning in educational context. International Journal of Learning, 16.2, 33-42.

Oates,J., Lewis,C. and Lamb,M.E. (2005) Parenting and attachment in Ding,S. and Littleton,K. (eds) Children’s Personal and Social Development. Oxford: Blackwell.

O’Connor, E. and McCartney, K. (2007) Examining Teacher-Child Relationships and Achievement as Part of an Ecological Model of Development. American Education Research Journal, 44.2, 340-36.

Olson, C.O. and Wyett, J.L. (2000) Teachers need affective competencies. Education, 120.4, 741-762.

O’Neill, L., Guenette, F. and Kitchenham, A. (2010) ‘Am I safe here and do you like me?’ Understanding complex trauma and attachment disruption in the classroom. British Journal of Special Education, 37.4, 190-197.

Rose, J., Gilbert, L. & Smith, H. (2012) ‘Affective teaching and the affective dimensions of learning’ in Ward, S. (ed) A Student’s Guide to Education Studies. London: Routledge.

Shaughnessy, J. (2012) The challenge for English schools in responding to current debates on behaviour and violence, Pastoral Care in Education: An International Journal of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, 30.2, 87-97.

Shonkoff, J. (2010) Building a new biodevelopmental framework to guide the future of Early Childhood Policy, Child Development, 81.1, 357-367.

Whitebread and Bingham (2012) School Readiness: a critical review of perspectives and evidence. Occasional Paper 2,TACTYC.

Weare, K. & Gray, G. (2003) What works in developing children’s emotional and social competence and wellbeing? Nottingham: DfES.

Wilson, K, Havighurst, S. and Harley, A. (2012) Tuning into Kids: An effectivenss trial of a parening program targeting emotional socialization of pre-schoolers. Journal of Family Psychology, 26.1, 56-65.