In this article, we will explore how early attachment affects later relationships in life. According to Ainsworth (1989), attachment is defined as a sustained emotional tie between a child and a primary caregiver (also known as the main attachment figure) whom the child uses as a safe base to explore their surroundings.
Attachment and later relationships – attachment theory
Attachment theory was developed as a result of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s collaboration (Ainsworth and Bowlby, 1991).
The core tenet of attachment theory is that the quality of a child’s connection to their primary caregiver has an impact on the child’s later relationships and social interactions.
The nature of a child's attachment bond with their primary caregiver, according to Bowlby (1973; 1980), determines the child's beliefs and expectations about themselves, the world and relationships with people which is also known as the internal working model.
The internal working model is a mental representational framework for comprehending the environment, oneself, and others.
Memories and expectations from a person's internal model direct their interactions with others, influencing and assisting in the evaluation of those interactions. According to Bowlby (1951), a child's ability to self-regulate develops during the early years, and the child's superego and ego are the major caregivers at this time. In the child's first human relationship, the formation of ego and superego is thus deemed critical.
Types of attachment
Ainsworth and Bell (1970) designed a strange situation test to assess the attachment types between a child and their primary caregiver. Secure and insecure attachment were discovered using this test in the Ganda research (1967) and the Baltimore Project (1969), with insecure attachments classified into three categories: insecure-avoidant, insecure-anxious/ambivalent, and disorganised attachment.
| Attachment Style | Description | More Information |
| Insecure avoidant attachment (Type A): | This attachment style is open to new experiences but not interested in being close to the caregiver. | They have little separation anxiety and stranger anxiety, and when reunited with their mother, they do not initiate eye contact. This connection style is seen in 21% of children. |
| Secure attachment (Type B): | This attachment style is open to new experiences but also prefers to be close to the caregiver. | They exhibit considerable separation anxiety as well as the apprehension of strangers. When they are reunited with their mother, they both make and require touch. This connection style is seen in 65% of children. |
| Insecure-ambivalent/anxious (resistant) attachment (Type C): | Children with this form of attachment classification would be distressed if their mothers left them, and were hostile to their mothers upon their return. | Equally, the mothers themselves were mostly ambivalent (they had mixed or contradictory behaviours, actions, and feelings) to their infants overall, which affected the relationship between the infant and the mother as a whole. |
The severity of the insecure attachment type varies based on the child's history of caregiving. Children who are insecure can be avoidant, ambivalent, or disorganised. Insecure avoidant children have had caregivers who have been dismissive of them, leading them to expect others to be dismissive of them in the future. As a result, they can be aggressive in their demeanour, causing their peers to socially exclude them (Sroufe, 2005; Sroufe et al., 1999; Ojanen & Perry, 2007).
Insecure-ambivalent/anxious children have had inconsistent caregiving, and as a result, they are more likely to engage in manipulative behaviour such as relativism. Children with insecure-disorganised attachment are more likely to withdraw or act aggressively in social situations because their caregivers are either neglectful, depressed or abusive.
Types of attachment diagram, Tyler Smith, StudySmarter Originals
Effect of attachment on later relationships
Attachment in childhood can have a profound effect on people’s expectations and attitudes towards social relationships in the future. Children who are securely bonded to their caregivers during their early childhood are more socially competent, according to studies.
The Minnesota study (2005), for example, tracked people from infancy to late adolescence and discovered a link between early attachment and later emotional/social conduct. Later in childhood, securely attached children were rated higher for social ability, were less lonely, and were more popular than insecurely attached children.
Children with a secure attachment type, according to Hartup et al. (1993), are more popular at nursery and participate in more social contact with other children. Insecurely attached children, on the other hand, are more reliant on instructors for social interaction and emotional support.
Parenting styles and attachment styles
According to research, there is intergenerational continuity between adult attachment types and their offspring, with children inheriting their parents' parenting methods. People's parenting styles are often based on their internal working models, hence attachment type is often passed down through generations. Because they lacked an internal working model, Harlow's monkeys (1958) demonstrated a relationship between poor attachment and later parenting issues.
Bailey (2007) research into early attachment and later relationships discovered that the majority of women had the same attachment type to their newborns as they had to their own moms.
Adulthood romantic relationships and attachment style
Adult relationship research has expanded to include intimate and passionate interactions (Weiss & Duncan, 1992). People are more likely to end up in a romantic relationship with a partner who confirms their beliefs about attachment relationships based on their early attachment experience with their caregivers.
Early attachment styles are likely to be reflected in adult relationships. This is because a person's formative experiences with their caregiver lead to the anticipation of similar experiences in later relationships.
The love quiz experiment by Hazan and Shaver (1987) exemplifies this. They carried out research to learn about participants' early attachment styles and attitudes toward romantic partnerships. They discovered that those who were securely attached as newborns tended to have long-term relationships; on the other hand, those who were insecurely attached as infants found adult relationships more challenging, were more likely to divorce and believed love was rare.
The study has been criticised for its issues with reductionism (reducing complex phenomena to their simplest form), as it suggests that early relationships and behaviours will dictate adult relationships.
The temperament hypothesis of attachment styles
Something to consider is the temperament hypothesis. This was proposed by Kagan (1982), and it suggests that infants have an innate personality type, which essentially means that they were born with a certain personality type. Some are born with friendly traits which aid the maternal bonding process.
However, some are born with the opposite traits, which harms or makes the bonding process more difficult. They may not seek comfort from their parents as much as other children. This impacts the relationship and how it develops, and babies and mothers will not be as securely attached to one another.
Attachment and Later Relationships - Key takeaways
- Attachment is defined as a sustained emotional tie between a child and a primary caregiver.
- The core tenet of attachment theory is that the quality of a child’s connection to their primary caregiver has an impact on the child’s later relationships and social interactions.
- Children who are securely bonded to their caregivers during their early childhood are more socially competent, according to studies.
- Insecure attachment is classified into three categories: insecure-avoidant, insecure-anxious/ambivalent, and disorganised attachment.
- Later relationships can be affected by insecure attachment.
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