Essay - Development IN THE Family Context PDF

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Essay focusing on development in the family context - analysis of various research studies...

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Babies are not born with the capacity to look after themselves, thus, parents and families play a vital role in helping the child’s development from birth onwards. The study of development and children’s early interactions has been extensively researched for many years and it is believed that through these early life interactions, children’s development is greatly impacted by family. A major factor contributing to a child’s development is their attachment to their caregiver. Attachment is defined as a ‘deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space’ (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969). Ainsworth developed a reputable method known as the Strange Situation (1978) to assess attachment security. Following this, she proposed there are three categories; secure, insecure-avoidant, and

Running head: DEVELOPMENT IN THE FAMILY CONTEXT - ATTACHMENT

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insecure resistant. The extent to which a caregiver is responsive to the child’s needs is predictive of the type of attachment the infant will hold. For example, a secure attachment indicates that the caregiver is responsive, in contrast, an insecure attachment indicates the caregiver fails to respond to the child’s needs. In line with this, Bowlby proposed the Internal Working Model (1969) which suggests that the relationship one has with their caregiver becomes a mental representation of how relationships should be, this, in essence, becomes a template for all future relationships. The internal working model also influences how one is as a parent to their child, as a result, attachment type remains the same through generations. Bailey et al (2007), assessed the quality of attachment between 99 mothers and their 12-month old children. In addition, the researchers also examined the relationship participants had with their mothers. The results showed that those who were seen to have poor attachments to their infants also reported poor attachments to their mother. This acts in support of Bowlby’s phenomena that early caregiving interactions have lasting effects. This has implications because if someone was to receive abuse and maltreatment as a child, such studies imply this will be a continuous cycle, which will mean more people experience the same pain. Perhaps the study fails to consider that although caregiving does have a significant influence on one’s life, there are other factors and influences that can alter the way one will act as a parent. Additionally, the study only focuses on the mother, it is possible that if the father holds a different attachment type then different results would be seen. Future research needs to incorporate both parent’s attachment security and assess the effects this has on the child. Furthermore, extensive research has been conducted to assess the impacts attachment has on other domains. For example, Booth (1994) examined 79 children’s social and emotional adjustment in relation to attachment security and parenting style at age 8. These children interacted with their mothers and unfamiliar children at age 4 and again at age 8. The

Running head: DEVELOPMENT IN THE FAMILY CONTEXT - ATTACHMENT

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researchers found that attachment security at age 4 was the strongest predictor of internalising problems and social engagement at 8 years old. Maternal parenting style was the best predictor of externalising problems in children. This study demonstrates the significance of the relationship shared between children and their caregivers as this impacts later life. However, an issue with such studies is that researchers are unable to control for confounding variables that may influence attachments over time, for example, changes in family dynamics which may lead to varying results. Furthermore, it is not to say that the attachment security one has will definitely influence their future and they will always show typical behaviours of this attachment type. For example, Belsky and Fearon (2002) conducted a longitudinal study to demonstrate that outcomes could be different for children who were insecurely attached. If a child with insecure attachment experiences subsequent sensitive care, more positive social, emotional, and even cognitive outcomes were found. These effects were larger than when securely attached children experienced subsequent insensitive care. This demonstrates that attachment types in childhood are not deterministic for future development. Stable family dynamics are important in a child’s developmental outcomes. Much research has focused on the effects divorce has on children. Amato and Keith (1991) published the first meta-analysis looking into the effects of divorce. Their results confirmed that children with divorced parents are negatively impacted through a variety of domains including academics, behaviour, peer relations and well-being. However, their research did conclude that the effects are moderate as opposed to strong. More recently, in line with this, Weaver (2015) assessed children from divorced families internal and external behavioural problems. According to children’s mothers, teachers, and observations from researchers, children from divorced families demonstrated more behavioural problems in comparison to those from intact families. A further result found that family income acted as a mediating factor between divorce and children’s behavioural issues; children from higher-income families (before the

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divorce) had fewer internalising issues in comparison to those from low-income families. This puts into question whether it is the actual separation and family instability that causes issues or the economic hardships that lead to behavioural problems. Furthermore, the literature focuses on the negative effects divorce holds on children, however, it is important to consider that children may also witness stressful situations of married parents, for example, abuse or constant arguing and the stress of this could also have damaging consequences for the child; in such cases would it not be beneficial for parents to divorce rather than children witness constant arguments? Future research should take a broader perspective and investigate whether any positive effects are seen as a result of divorce in such circumstances. Children’s development can be impacted by what is known as reactive attachment disorder (RAD). This is associated with insecure attachment and is characterised by ‘disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness in most contexts’ (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). This is seen in children before age 5 and consists of two types. Firstly, inhibited type, whereby children fail to respond appropriately to social interactions. Secondly, disinhibited type, whereby they are overly familiar with strangers. Both consist of an absence of focused attachment to a caregiver and this results from maltreatment and separation from a caregiver. According to Delaney (1998), these children show developmental issues and show behaviours such as violence, compulsive lying, aggression and a defective conscience (Delaney, as cited in Ranson and Urichuk, 2008). Furthermore, an important cross-sectional study proved that these individuals were more likely to experience mental health disorders in comparison to their secure counterparts (Mickelson et al., 1997 as cited in Ranson and Urichuk, 2008). If children develop such maladaptive behaviours and habits, it would be vital to develop interventions and therapies to help intervene with this, however, this is not the case and research is extremely limited and conducted many years ago. Furthermore, although studies were able to demonstrate such children are more likely to develop mental health

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problems, in today’s society it is fair to say this is not limited just to those who suffered RAD and mental health now affects a wide majority of the population. Studies suggest that children attach to their mothers and fathers differently, and such attachments have varying outcomes (Ranson and Urichuk, 2008). For example, a secure attachment to one’s father, but not mother, is associated with reduced levels of externalising problems alongside decreased anxiety, in addition to increased school adjustment. Contrary to this, secure attachment to a mother, but not father, has been associated with positive views of the self and reduced levels of antisocial behaviour. Although this research demonstrates how familial relations impact developmental outcomes, it fails to take a modern perspective into account. For example, in recent years there has been a rise in same-sex parenting couples. Such research may imply that children from these families may have negative developmental outcomes as they lack an attachment to either a father or mother. Further research should take direction into studying attachment outcomes of such families. To conclude, varying research has been conducted into how familial relationships impact developmental outcomes. Although such research has come to clear conclusions, new perspectives need to be taken to account for today’s society and benefit the people....