Healthy Attachment and Parent – Child Relationship (Dissertation Review Sample)

Literature review
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Healthy Attachment and Parent – Child Relationship
Literature Review
The literature analyzed in this research was obtained mainly from a broad search of PsychInfo, Medline, ethnological and sociological abstracts, women studies social work; and family’s studies abstracts for peer-reviewed works on parent-child relations; mother-child relations; cross-cultural, child-rearing studies of parenting; ethnic values and identity; attachment behavior; cultural diversity; and cultural characteristics. In carrying out this literature review on the child/infant-caregiver/parent relationship, called attachment - the author aims to explain how the notion is described, defined, practiced, and operationalized.
Additional interconnected queries, related to the project objectives that the author of this literature review asked, comprised: Does literature convey attachment relationship characteristics that best prepare an infancy to connect healthily to others, both in the family as well as outside the family? Are these features similar for all children and mothers irrespective of culture? What outcomes does different parenting and cultural practices have upon the relationship amid parent/caregiver and the child?
Review’s Limitations and Parameters
It is vital to take note of the following study limitations
1) Whereas the intention of this literature assessment review is to afford background evidence for the main study, its objectives and purpose are limited and different for analyzing and summarizing already published research. As is factual of any works review, this literature review can simply mirror what the works includes, and in contrast to the empirical study the author creates in the rest of the research, cannot create hypotheses. Nevertheless, wherever probable, the researcher has recognized what are critical gaps and biases in the current research.
2) The literature upon attachment plus cross-cultural practices linked to attachment is obtained mainly in the social science fields and medicine too. Obviously, much of the terminology and language analysis in the literature review about attachment are rather technical and often abstruse. Whenever it is deemed possible to do so without losing or changing the sense, technical language and concepts are explicated in simple English within this review. Nevertheless, the concepts and the language of a specific author may have connotations attributed to it, which one cannot explain correctly in different terms without altering the intended meaning.
A Synopsis of the Theory and Appliance of Attachment
The word attachment denotes different stuffs to different individuals such as love, commitment, warmth, loyalty, or even affection. Even within the scientific works there appears to be an overlay between attachment, affiliation, and bonding. In this review, the word "attachment" is used to refer precisely to the relation amid an infant (young child) and the young child's parent (mostly mother) or ideal caregiver.
John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist, founded the concept of attachment during the 1940's and is grounded in part upon his children observations in institutions. According to Bowlby, attachment is essential to an infant's character development as well as to the expansion of healthy habits of connecting with others. Bowlby’s concept borrows from cognitive psychology, ethology, theory of control systems, and theory of object relations. These multidisciplinary theories all underscore parent-infant relationship patterns, and qualitative aspects in these relations (1951).
Bowlby illustrated systems of infant behavior - the system of exploring wherein the infant discovers the world surrounding them. In the affiliate system, the infant learns to interact with others (1951). The wariness/fear system assists the infant to learn about threats and being safe. This is the attachment system, which assists the toddler to seek closeness to their figure of attachment and cultivate a feeling of security. Bowlby acknowledged this attachment system to be most significant of all the systems. In addition to the attachment systems explained above, there are depictions of attachment bonds, attachment behaviors, and attachment relationships (1973).
Attachment behaviors refer to the signals or actions of infants, for example, smiling, crying, and vocalizing that assist to bring the caregiver into closer proximity. The toddler/infant, in later phases, will tangibly approach their parent/caregiver, by walking and crawling towards them. Infants arrive well prepared to perform an active responsibility in cultivating and sustaining an attachment relation. Most infants are alert during birth, plus are soon capable of responding to human language as well as coordinate their movement with adults. A two day old baby, for instance, can differentiate between their mommy's face and odor, as well as the face and odor of other people (Van den Boom, 2013); (Sagi, 2009); (Vereijken, 2009). The surfacing research on caregiver-infant relationships underscores this functional participation from the infants’ part. The phrase attachment bond refers normally to the reserved intuitive, warm feelings sensed by the parent/ caregiver to the infant. The attachment relation is increasingly acknowledged as the child- caregiver/parent relationship domain (Schore, 2013); (Schore, 2012); (Steinhauer, (2009); (Rosenblum & Andrews, 2009).
Major Attachment Theory Components
The vital elements within attachment concept include the following: attachment is pervasive to all human beings. Attachment is not culture or race-specific. Attachment is biological and instinctive. Attachment is a 'comprehension', and one cannot learn via teaching or reasoning. Attachment is, thus, intuitive in which many attachments transpire. Attachments are classified and usually the mother-baby attachment is the primary attachment; and is, therefore, hierarchical. Moreover, attachment is more about close (mostly affectionate) relationships, and its influence lasts from birth to grave; therefore, it is lasting and enduring (Pechous, 2012); (Rosenblatt, 2012); (Seideman, et al., 2009); (Sharma & LeVine, 2013).
The basic principle of attachment concept is that the mutual relationship amid the infant/ child and the parent/caregivers has a natal basis. The core role of this attachment relation is to raise the infant’s survival chances, through helping the toddler to seek closeness to somebody who will nurture for her or him. The attachment relation also considers the emotional facets of mother-infant relationships. Bowlby contended that the institution of infant’s "felt security" and infant/child’s development of "internal working models" is vital, and that unwelcome parting from the attachment-figure causes emotional distress. Current thoughts of the attachment system agree that the baby may develop discriminating attachments to several persons. Nevertheless, a hierarchical facet among the relations is respected (Torres-Matrullo, 2013); Tronick et al., 2009); (Troy & Sroufe, 2009); (Thompson, 2012).
It is correspondingly acknowledged that behaviors of attachment will be displayed with regard to the extent to which the system of attachment is activated. Therefore, the literature proposes, security of attachment in an infant-mother relationship is linked to her availability and proper receptiveness to the child. Once created, the safety of the caregiver/mother relationship is extremely stable throughout time. Furthermore, the research proposes that attachment security foresees other facets of an infant's development, for example, problem solving or social competence (Suomi, 2010); (Symanski, 2011); (Suess, Grossman, & Sroufe, 2012); (Phillips & Lobar, 2010); (Melhuish, 2012).
Forms of Attachment Behaviors and Styles
Mary Ainsworth's works are influential in comprehending the presently accepted characteristic patterns of diverse attachment relations. Her usage of the alleged "strange situation" trials allowed the organization of noticeable attachment patterns (Ainsworth et al., 1969; Ainsworth et al., 1971). Ainsworth examined the young toddlers’ behavior of ages 12 -20 months via the usage of "strange situation" experimentations. This organized observation procedure centers upon the balance, which the toddler attains between exploratory and attachment behavior when reasonable stress is presented. Three attachment classifications were defined by Ainsworth: 1) Secure Attachment, 2) Insecure Attachment-Avoidant, as well as, 3) Insecure Attachment-Ambivalent (Ainsworth, 1964).
The secure infants were those who utilized their caregivers/mothers as a safe base to explore. Upon reuniting with their caregiver/mother, they responded to parents with smiles, optimistic vocalizations and gestures. They sought solace from their mother/caregiver when they were split; nonetheless, were easy to comfort and soothe upon their return, and could reintroduce their exploratory interest once consoled. According to Ainsworth (1967) and Ainsworth & Wittig (1969), secure toddlers were discovered to be involved in more satisfying relations with their care providers.
The insecure toddlers (often defined as anxious) displayed two dissimilar patterns of reaction termed ambivalent and avoidant. The pattern of avoidant was branded by a little exhibition of secure behavior. The toddlers displayed minimal uneasiness upon being split-up from their care providers. Upon reuniting with their caregiver/mother, they distanced themselves from the caregiver and presented more fascination with the toys than the caregiver. The pattern of ambivalent was observed in infants who were either passive or fretful. They responded in an upset manner to parting from their caregiver, but ...