John Bowlby's attachment theory: history, research, and clinical applications

¶ … Theory

The objective of this work is to review the history, ideology and practice application of 'Attachment Theory' and will do so through a review of the literature in this area of study.

Attachment theory was first conceived by Dr. John Bowlby born in 1907 and developed over time from the decade of the 1950s until the decade of the 1980s. (Tuovila, 2007; paraphrased) Many studies have focused on understanding attachment theory and the work of Tirjo Tuovila, a development psychologist in the work entitled: "What Are Fathers for? Attachment Theory and the Significance of Father" (2007) states that this is "one of the most extensively research psychological theories." (Tuovila, 2007; p.1) Attachment theory is "a theory about adapting to danger: How can children survive in traumatic and damaging circumstances, and what kind of models and structure of attachment do they develop, when their parents offer them mainly insecurity and frightening experiences."(Tuovila, 2007; p.1)

I. HISTORY of ATTACHMENT THEORY

Attachment theory historically focused on the attachment between a child and its mother however, findings in Tuovila's work states that the attachment relationship between the child and father is one of great importance as well as the attachment relationship between child and mother. The work of Jessica L. Borealli and Daryn H. David (2004) entitled: "Imagination, Cognition and Personality" published in the Baywood Scholarly and Scientific Content journal examines the theory and research and their links on the relationships of attachment theory as well as structural cognition which is inclusive of "schemas and internal working models; aspects of the client-therapist relationship; and psychotherapeutic intervention models arguing that attachment theory can be employed to more fully understand psychotherapeutic processes and change." (Borelli and David, 2004) Borelli and David state of attachment theory that it "offers a broad an far reaching view of human functioning and has the potential to change the ay clinicians think about and respond to their patients, and the potential to change the way clinicians think about and respond to their patients, and the way they understand the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship." (2007)

Fraley (2004) states that Bowlby drew upon the ethological theory and "postulated that these attachments behaviors, such as crying and searching, were adaptive responses to separation from a primary attachment figure." (Fraley, 2004) it was the theory of Bowlby that the human infant who is able to maintain."..proximity to an attachment figure would be more likely to survive to a reproductive age." The importance of the attachment behavior system lies in the provision this theory makes of the "conceptual linkage between ethological models of human development and modern theories on emotion, regulation and personality." (Fraley, 2004) Attachment theory states that when a child feels they are "loved, secure and confident, and behaviorally is likely to explore his of her environment, play with others and be sociable. If however, the child perceives the answer to this question to be 'no' the child experiences anxiety and behaviorally, is likely to exhibit attachment behaviors ranging from simple visual searching on the low extreme to active following and vocal signaling on the other." (Fraley, 2004) These behaviors are stated by Fraley to "continues until the child is able to reestablish a desirable level of physical or psychological proximity to the attachment figure, or until the child 'wears down' and experiences "despair and depression" (Fraley, 2004) according to Bowlby's attachment theory. The following figure illustrates Bowlby's conception of attachment theory.

Bowlby's Conception of Attachment Theory

Source: Fraley (2004)

It was acknowledged in the work of Bowlby that individual differences exist in the manner in which children "appraised the accessibility of the attachments figure and how they regulate their attachment behavior in response to a threat."(Fraley, 2004) Ainsworth systematically studied infant-parent separations and articulated these individual differences. A paradigm for laboratory study of the infant-parent attachment was developed by Ainsworth and students which was termed a "strange-situation" (Fraley, 2004) the work of Ainsworth is stated to have been important for three reasons:

1) Ainsworth made provision of one of the first "empirical demonstrations of how attachment behavior is patterned in both safe and frightening contexts;

2) Ainsworth provided the first empirical taxonomy of individual differences in infant attachment patterns; and as well established that three types of children exist which are those who:

a) are secure in their relationship with their parents;

b) children who are anxious resistant; and those who are anxious-avoidant; and 3) Ainsworth demonstrated that these individual differences were correlated with infant-parent interactions in the home during the first year of life. (Fraley, 2004)

III. PRACTICE APPLICATION of ATTACHMENT THEORY

The primary focus of Bowlby was on the parent-infant relationships the belief of Bowlby was that "attachment characterized human experience from 'the cradle to the grave.' (Fraley, 2004) Finally in the middle of the 1980s Bowlby's research was given serious consideration of the possibility "that attachment processes; may play out in adulthood." (Fraley, 2004) the work of Hazen and Shaver holds that attachment between infants and caregivers and adults who are romantic partners have similar features which they share which include those as follows:

Both feel safe the other is nearby and responsive;

Both engage in close, intimate, bodily contact;

Both feel insecure when the other is accessible;

Both share discoveries with one another;

Both play with one another's facial features and exhibit a mutual fascination and preoccupation with one another; and Both engage in 'baby' talk. (Fraley, 2004)

Fraley states 'three implications of adult attachment theory: (1) if adult romantic relationships are attachment relationship, then we should observe the same kinds of individual differences in adult relationships that Ainsworth observed in infant-caregiver relationships; (2) if adult romantic relationships are attachment relationships, then the way adult relationships 'work' should be similar to the way infant-caregiver relationships work should be similar to the way infant-caregiver relationships work; (3) whether an adult is secure or insecure in his or her adult relationships may be a partial reflection of his or her attachments experiences in early childhood. (Fraley, 2004) Fraley states that the study in earlier examination of adult attachment "involved studying the association between individual differences in adult attachment and the way people think about their relationships and their memories for what their relationships with their parents are like." (Fraley, 2004) the work of Hazan and Sahver (1987) designed a questionnaire that while simple in nature is effective in measuring these individual differences." (Fraley, 2004) the individual differences which are termed 'attachment styles'; 'attachment patterns'; 'attachment orientations'; or 'differences in the organization of the attachments system'." (Fraley, 2004)the study conducted by Hazan and Shaver was of the nature that participants in the study were asked to read three paragraphs and indicate which paragraph provided the most accurate characteristics of how they 'think, feel, and behave' in relationships that are close in nature. The following three paragraphs were those utilized in the study of Hazan and Shaver (1987):

1) I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others; I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, others want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being;

2) I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don't worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me;

3) I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn't really love me or won't want to stay with me. I want to get very close to my partner, and this sometimes scares people away. (Fraley, 2004)

Fraley relates that it was found in the study of Hazan and Shaver "...based on this three-category measure...that the distribution of categories was similar to that observed in infancy. In other words, about 60% of adults classified themselves as secure; about 20% described themselves as avoidant; and about 20% described themselves as anxious-resistant." (2004) While measurement in this manner was "a useful way to study the association between attachment styles and relationship functioning, it didn't allow a full test of the hypothesis in the same kinds of individual differences observed in infants might be manifest among adults." (Fraley, 2004) Fraley states that the findings of Brennan "suggested that there are two fundamental dimensions with respect to adult attachment patterns" with the first "critical variable" being one labeled 'attachment-related anxiety." (Fraley, 2004) Individuals who score high on this specific variable have worries relating to whether their partner is "available, responsive, attentive, etc." (Fraley, 2004) Individuals scoring low on this variable are stated by Fraley to be "more secure in the perceived responsiveness of their partners." (2004) the third "critical variable is called attachment-related avoidance." (Fraley, 2004) Individuals who score high on this variable are independent and do not tend to depend on others or easily open themselves up to others. Individuals scoring on the low end of this dimension have less discomfort with intimacy and as well are "more secure depending upon and having others depend upon them." (Fraley, 2004) According to Brennan's research "a prototypical secure adult is low on both of these dimensions." (Fraley, 2004) Romantic relationships are held by Fraley and others to operate in a very similar manner to infant-parent relationships. Some of the parallels noted in the work of Fraley between "the way that infant-caregiver relationships and adult romantic relationships function include those as follows: (1) partner selection; (2) secure base and safe haven behavior; and (3) avoidant attachment and defense mechanisms. (Fraley, 2004)

SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

This work has examined attachment theory and as well has examined the three period of the development of the ideology of this theory. The work of Bowlby in 1953, which was a popular book and which was published in the last of the three periods during 1950 until the present states: "Mother love is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health." (as cited in Levine, 2002) the view of Levine in relation to attachment theory is that the "basic differentiating concepts of attachment research - secure vs. insecure attachment and sensitivity to infant signals - involve moral judgments, not medical ones, and are grounded in Anglo-American cultural ideology of the 20th century, not human biology." (2002) Levine believes that categorical mental health and pathological risk has been created by the Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment perspective of what constitutes "normal individual differences in behavior, and it perpetuates the blaming of mothers characteristic of mid-20th century pop psychology.' (2002) Levine states surprise that leaders in mental health have not attempted divestment of this ideology from their repertoire. Levine describes attachment theory as representative of an ideology "inherited from the intergenerational tensions of 50 years ago. " (2002) it is the opinion of Levine that until this professional has divested itself of this ideology that attachment research will "remain prescriptive rather than descriptive, retaining the flavor of an ideological movement to reform the care of children rather than seeking to deepen our understanding of their development." (Levine, 2002)