Lifespan and Individual Differences Developmental Psychology

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Developmental Psychology: Lifespan and Individual Differences

The levels of proximity, love, and care experienced during infancy years have been proposed to show positive behaviors such as high self-esteem in adulthood. The degree of attachment is strongly rooted in the source of security during the naïve years of a child's life, who shows several degrees of attachment corresponding to the level of attachment he gains from his caregivers. This paper aims to explore the association of early attachment problems affecting the variation of self-esteem in later life stages.

Research

According to attachment theory presented by John Bowlby, the differences in the mother's treatment of both the parents contribute to a detailed specification of how infants would exhibit their attachment patterns (Cassidy, Jones & Shaver, 2013). Also, if the caregivers show love and security, the infant is more likely to develop stronger emotional security, leading to his later life stages. Children show greater signs of positivity in their behavior and actions when they are close to their loved ones. They feel nurtured and secured in the presence of bonds that they find a source of encouragement, giving them opportunities for responsive interaction. The brain of an infant is not mature enough to understand the complexities of relations; hence, whatever is given to him in pure emotional form, he accepts it as a true depicter of relation whoever that is close to him as a caregiver. His brain processes the early experiences in the purest encounter and takes them as learning throughout his life. His early childhood experiences substantially affected him all his life, and he remembers and cherishes as treasured memories in later years. He feels loved and cared for whenever he is reminded of that time in adulthood, catering to an influence on his mental wellbeing.

Research has indicated three different types of attachments experienced by an infant: secure, anxious-resistant, and avoidant (Shevlin et al., 2014). When an infant experiences secure attachment, he feels comfortable seeing the care providers after going through a detachment from him for some time. When an infant is anxious-resistant, he shows resistance to going to him with convenience after a detachment period. Also, when an infant is avoidant, he avoids the caregiver at the reunion stage and is reluctant towards his proximity.

It is an inherited self-developed notion that a child would go to his mother to receive comfort. For example, if he gets hurt, he would go to his mother to find solace. The mother will give him love when he is hurt, probably a kiss, which creates a soothing effect and an unseen healing effect on the child. A "secure base script" between the child and the caregiver demonstrates that an attachment is created to seek security from one person from another (Cassidy, Jones & Shaver, 2013). It gives rise to the internal working model (IWM) that forms an intricate web of relations, associations, and attachments in the caregiving environment. The cognitive working of the infant's brain comprehends these IWMs to explain the child's attachment experiences.

For this reason, during the first, second, or third year of a child, the causal-temporal bonding unfolds the attachment-related events, providing the establishment of building blocks of IWMs. Such connection is not evident in insecure children that grow into insecure adults as a secure base script is missing. There is a gap in the complete story of their childhood that creates a vacant space that gradually leads to fear of social isolation and finding it hard to create social relations, hence, low self-esteem.

The above evidence shows that early life bonds provide a source of better growth and development of a child into adulthood. However, children living in foster care who have seen early life difficulties leading to early life stressors show major risks in emotional and behavioral institutions (Suzuki & Tomoda, 2015). Problems arising in their early days, such as child abuse or neglect, instill fear, even towards their close ones, which might have inflicted pain. This demonstrates serious psychiatric and physical health issues that mark their presence for the rest of their lives. The stronger the mark of these influences during childhood days, the greater the depressive symptoms in adulthood, which sometimes lead to more complex behavioral issues such as drug abuse or criminal involvement.

A plethora of research data supports the fact that insecure attachment is conducive to dysfunctional attitudes in children that show psychological distress in later stages of life in the form of long-developed low self-esteem. Depression takes the form of poor self-image, fear of being left alone, and finding it hard to make social relations or find social support (Lee & Hankin, 2009). In contrast, the attachment style of security is examined to be a mediator between the cognition style of the child and parenting. High levels of anxiety and psychological disturbance are sensed in children facing life troubles during their crucial early days that are considered major years of developmental learning, showing their signs in adulthood.

Argument

Many studies have explored the relationship between parenting styles and a child's behavior. Studies have indicated that there are four types of parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful parenting styles (Bi et al., 2018). Neglectful parenting style creates a child or adolescent conflict and friction, causing a hindrance to forming a close connection between both.

Ultimately, the child's progression towards adolescence and adulthood could be disturbed and disruptive. It could further lead to adopting destructive behaviors in the later stages as cohesion level is missing. Adolescents demand autonomy as they grow older and less of their parents' intrusion in their teenage years.

On the other hand, neglectful parents permit what adolescents want to do too easily, unveiling behavior that they do not care about. Adolescents feel denied the opportunity to be engaged with their parents in negotiations, discussions, and debates that define the legitimacy of parenting, leading to doubting parental authority and involvement, care, and support that they seek subtly.

The follow-on effects are low levels of warmth and less strictness, control and domination, and even low demands from parents and children. It could be inferred that environmental home values are instilled lesser into the children of neglectful parents as they do not display parental values such as care, respect, attention, and control over their children, causing a clash and low self-esteem in children (Queiroz et al., 2020).

Since early years and adolescence are progressive years of life when the child needs more attention, and certain parental behavior causes greater psychological influence or vulnerability, lingering onto adulthood, social realm lines are contradicted if that closeness is not given to them. Self-esteem could be taken as their response to the perception of emotions related to social relationships and their pertinent situations regarding involvement, participation, and general warmth from parents (Queiroz et al., 2020).

Suppose self-esteem is gauged on academic, emotional, social, family, and psychological measures. In that case, these factors show positive outcomes for adolescents who have more involved parents and who show greater warmth and lovingness. Best self-esteem outcomes based on these five factors were higher for indulgent parents than for neglectful ones (Queiroz et al., 2020).

The same stands true for children at an early age; if they face insecurity from neglectful parents, they would have no one to understand them or go to when they are in trouble as parents are their primary caregivers and chief close relations. The abilities of such children are limited to expressing themselves, submerging them silently into depression or anxiety, causing problems in forming stable relationships.

Such complications steer them to social isolation, fear of being alone, and low self-esteem. If the child experiences fearful, abusive, or frightening parental relations, the caregiver cannot give the infant the care and comfort that he was seeking or deserved. The unsuccessful and insecure attachment that he went through during his infancy directs such children to form other meanings of parenthood and different memories of attachment when they grow old. They have difficulty understanding those emotions as 'care,' 'comfort,' and 'warmth' or could not link them to parenthood. The intimacy equations become difficult as they progress towards adulthood, becoming more fearful and anxious.

Undoubtedly, the infant's brain is influenced by the childhood attachment experiences that offer a cognizance of his environment and instill certain values related to that attachment. It could be puzzling for him in particular ways and sometimes divulge him into self-destructive ways. Insecurity certainly is not conducive to the fulfillment he might seek in his early sensitive years, which leaves a mark on his personality forever.

The crucial factors that help fight such insecurities during adolescence are investigated: self-regulation skills, competent and caring parents, good psychological functioning, and having a positive image of self (AlShawi & Lafta, 2014). Family, especially primary caregivers (the parents), are considered the chief role players in giving the security that directly impacts self-esteem and saves the child from falling into a dark hole of disruptive behavior, depression, and self-distancing from people.

The introductory thoughts of uselessness, less pride in oneself, not feeling good at all, unsatisfied with oneself, worthlessness, not contended with own identity, and less respect for oneself is the introductory thoughts causing a massive difference in compatibility, suggesting low self-esteem in adulthood.

It is deduced that a dysfunctional environment of less care, support, and comfort evident in a disturbed household, such as in abusive environments, does not provide the security that a child demands. Similarly, the child's control over himself and regulation of positive thoughts in his mind would come from a secure foundation coming from his caring parents and loving household environment for his participation in future relationships. The bonding styles certainly define the consistency and endurance in behavior over time, becoming stronger till adulthood, conducive to upgraded self-esteem.