Essay On Attachment Theory Given By John Bowlby Free Essay Example

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Childhood Experiences

Attachment research is a field of developmental psychology that looks at how different prototypes of communication among guardians and their kids shape the development of the kid in different areas of life, such as socially, emotionally, and psychologically. Similarly, attachment behavior is characterized as a type of behavior that outcome in a person holding closeness to some other specific and preferred person. The objective of attachment behavior is to keep up an emotional bond, therefore if there is any circumstance which jeopardizes the bond some alternate action occurs to protect it, which turns out to be more serious as the danger of harm seems more intense.

Therefore, “attachment can be defined as an emotional bond in that there is a wish for proximity, distress upon inexplicable separation, pleasure or joy upon reunion and grief at loss”. Ainsworth and colleagues (1978) observed three attachment styles in infants after completing their studies. These styles are secure attachment, anxious ambivalent attachment, and avoidant attachment. Children categorized as having secure attachment clearly look for comfort from their mothers, soothed effortlessly, and after that resume different tasks, for instance, exploring the environment. Children categorized as having anxious-ambivalent attachment exhibit varied responses to their mothers for example approach-avoidance behavior, stay restless, and give up on normal activities. Children with avoidant relationship disregard or ignore their mothers, show signs of emotional disengagement, and withdrawal, engaged in distracted behaviors. Similarly, the fourth attachment style is referred as disorganized attachment observed by Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1989). The children in this classification display both avoidance and resistant, unable to maintain a consistent strategy, and exhibit repetitive behaviors.

Based on my early childhood experiences I developed secure attachment with my parents. I am an elder daughter of my parents so, they devoted all their time and emotions during my infancy. Similarly, I lived in a joint family system where I was closely attached to my aunt as well. According to research a child’s brain grows quickly during the first three years of life. Similarly, the social world of a child from birth to three years determines how the brain and the mind are formed and how well they work (Music, 2016). However, with the birth of my brothers my mother was unwell as she had postnatal depression. But, my secure attachment did not change because my aunt was also there to regulate my emotions because relatives other than parents can likewise fill in as attachment figures and every attachment is impacted by a system of immediate relationships.

Furthermore, genetic variables that shape the universal attachment framework, there are natural and social factors that shape the changeability in attachment frameworks. Parts of the early parent-child relationship, such as safety of attachment, have been appeared to anticipate an ability in shaping close companionships at ten years of age to such an extent that kids who had positive early associations with their parents will probably have a close companion at age ten.

I tended to show less anxiety and I was a happy child when first time I went to school due to my secure attachment with my parents. I was able to make friends as friends are believed to have a solid influence on adjustment during pre-adolescence. Maybe this is the result of kids' developing needs, during this period, for acceptance in their associate peer group.

Adolescence Experiences

In early adolescent years, friendship is believed to serve various roles, such as the arrangement of closeness, safety, and trust; instrumental guide; and standard learning. In this way, shaping and forming, subjectively strong friendships become of focal significance in late childhood and adolescence. Analysts have demonstrated that with age, kids turn out to be progressively dependent on friends for help. Since the arrangements offered by fellowship turn out to be progressively critical in late childhood and early adolescent time, it appears to be likely that the nature of friendship, must have some impact on kids’ psychosocial change. Similarly, Bowlby (1982) also proposed that attachment to social groups begins to create in adolescence, as young people move their concentration from caregivers to the more extensive social world.

However, my secure attachment with my peers changed due to a series of events occurred in my adolescent and university life. As I belong to a minority religious group in Pakistan, I was consistently informed that you should be cautious and mindful as anything can occur with us since individuals are not tolerant towards our religion. It was difficult for me to make relationships with my peers in adolescent years as people of my minority religious group are always the victim of discrimination and its horrifying consequences. I was always in fear that they would know my identity and reject me. When I was fourteen, few of my friends became aware of my religion that I belong to and as a result, they became very cold and rejecting towards myself. After this incident my secure attachment changed in to avoidant attachment for peers in university. Due to my initial secure attachment I seem to develop secure attachment again with my friends in university. After four years my friends left me due to the same reason. Since then I maintained avoidant behavior until my husband who has a secure attachment helped me to understand.

Sense of self

Bowlby suggested that the nature of childhood relationships with parental figures results in inner representations or working models of oneself as well as other people that give the model to later social relations. Due to my secure attachment in early childhood I developed sense of self and others as positive. In my childhood as I lived in joint family system and I got love from everyone that’s why during my childhood I saw myself as a loveable and worthy child. I saw others as responsive and interested in me, and world as relatively a safe place to live. However, sense of self can change due to new experiences, the working models formed early in life are assumed to remain influential throughout life, although they tend to be adjusted in response to new experiences. Similarly, due to my religious experiences with my peers my secure attachment converted into dismissive attachment as I developed sense of self as positive and others as negative. I saw myself as loveable and worthy but others as rejecting and the world as unsafe place to live. I maintained this sense of self for peers up until I got married. My attachment style changed into secure as my husband has a secure attachment style. In the same way, becoming involved in a stable, satisfying relationship may lead to change for those whose model of self and others have led to uncertainty. Now I have sense of self and others as positive and world is relatively a safe space to live. As it is stated that secure individuals have internalized sense of self-worth and comfort with intimacy and autonomy in close relationships.

Development of interpersonal style:

Although there were some negative experiences in my adolescent but, I have managed to maintain a secure attachment with my parents, husband, and friends. Due to my secure attachment style I have formed close friendships in my college and I can sustain these friendships in larger peer groups. I can maintain healthy boundaries and can ask for help and appreciate the time someone has given me. I can show empathy and can be a secure base for my parents, siblings, husband, and friends. Similarly, during anxiety-provoking situation I use my partner as a secure base for comfort and reassurance. As secure individuals are likely to appraise social interactions as good opportunities for closeness, mutual enjoyment, and personal growth; enter interactions with optimism, enthusiasm, and joy; emphasize the positive, appetitive aspects of social relations; and behave in ways that promote productive interdependence. Similarly, I can flexibly move along the closeness–distance dimension of the circumplex without being afraid of losing autonomy. As a secure individual, I generally view others as “well intentioned and kind-hearted” and perceive myself as capable of handling life’s problems effectively. Moreover, the constructive approach to emotion regulation help me to communicate openly but not threateningly during conflict and can change into harmony. Finally, I discover it moderately simple to get close to other people and I am open to relying upon them. I don't frequently stress over being surrendered or about somebody getting excessively near me. Despite of this, there are some modifications in behaviors and coping styles due to cultural differences and religious practices as usually in collectivistic cultures people tend to esteem a humbler behavioral style alongside social agreement and respect to parents, so these people are urged to limit personal desires except if it is considering a legitimate concern for the community.

Overall psychological health

Secure attachment and more stable and satisfying intimate relationships have important implications for individual adjustment and well-being but, insecure attachment has a causal role in the development of psychological disturbance. Due to religious discrimination in my adolescent years I tended to develop anxiety problems during my college and university life because the denial of religious freedoms and religious persecution can contribute to poor mental health outcomes. However, due to my current secure attachment style I seemed to develop high self-esteem and I have managed to respond more constructively to stressful situations of various kinds. Correspondingly, due to high quality of attachment with peers, parents and partner I can regulate my emotions effectively which leads to lower levels of anxiety, anger, depression, resentment, and guilt. However, research demonstrates a positive relationship among attachment and measures of social and emotional adjustment, but no reliable association with measures of academic adjustment.

Finally, my attachment style plays a role in maintaining behaviors concerned with maintaining physical health such as diet, exercise, and strategies for coping with stress, preventing disease such as check-ups, and sunscreen and managing disease. In conclusion I can say that John Bowlby is considered the father of attachment theory and attachment theory has greatly influenced psychology and counseling in different ways. This theory can help us to understand behaviors and their causes deeply. A secure attachment can have significant implications for the long term personality development and psychological functioning of the individual. The influence of ongoing events on attachment security supports the prediction that culture, religion, peers and community groups have a broad and persistent influences on attachment however, even If a person has different attachment styles at different stages of life, there is still a possibility of forming secure attachment at later stages of life.