Attachment Theories and Their Applications in the Practice of Social Service - Article Example

Attachment Theories and their Applications in the Practice of Social Service "My advice to mothers is not to miss an opportunity to show affection to their babies…" (Mary Ainsworth cited in Maurer, 1998 p. 1) Introduction Changes in the life-styles of people may be considered as one of the important causes of stress and stress-related problems in the twenty-first century. Significantly, there has also been a rise in incidences of substance-abuse, molestations, divorce and single parents, necessitating the existence of a supportive system, knowledgeable and well-equipped in the concepts and practices social work, so as to reach out to the support-starved members of the society. Appropriate education of social service practitioners and care-givers enable a caring and supportive relationship - devoid of criticism, with the client, for a smooth and efficient integration of field work management (Kadushin, 1992). Bennett & Saks (2006) have explicitly stated that not only does the study of Attachment theories offer a sold basis for the comprehension of important relationships, but it is also useful in understanding supervisory relationships in actual field work experiences (social services). This essay shall consider the Attachment theories, and analyze the various characteristics of attachment, and styles of attachment, the scales of measuring maternal sensitivity, and the usefulness of the research as a concept in providing therapeutic services by social service professionals. The essay shall further cite one experience of social service seeker as an example. John Bowlby and Attachment Theory The emotional nature of relationship that human beings develop from the time of their birth is central to this theory. John Bowlby is the father of the ‘Attachment theory.’ He explains the term ‘attachment as a "…lasting psychological connectedness" (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194) that existed between human beings. According to Bowlby (1953), the attachment formed at the initial stages of infancy by children towards their mother or the caregiver are powerful in nature, and have the potential to influence later stages of life of the child. It was Lorenz's (1952) research of imprinting in baby geese that inspired Bowlby to posit the Attachment theory (Pendry, 1998). Babies of human beings, just like animal babies, inherently possessed some behaviour that aided the infants to retain their parents’ close-by, and therefore increased the chances of getting protected in case of danger. Even at the time of birth the child has built-in, albeit unconscious signals through which it is able to keep the mother’s attention, and proximity. The bonding is further strengthened into enduring affection by constant, continuous and sensitive attention given by the parent/mother, in a "warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment" (Bowlby, 1951, p. 13). In his work The Nature of the Child’s Tie to His Mother (1958) Bowlby states that by the end of a twelve month period "a strong libidinal tie to a mother-figure" (p.1) is already in place in the child. This relationship then becomes the secure foundation for the future. The internal depiction of this parent-child bonding within the child therefore becomes the internal working model for the child to unconsciously compose and assess a list of figures of who can be relied upon in the event of unfavourable, stressful, and threatening situations. Furthermore, this unconscious mental tabulation of the child then becomes the "basis of all future close relationships during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adult life" (Pendry, 1998). Relevance of Ethological Research in the Attachment Research Ethology is the study of the evolutionary history of the adaptive, or survival, value of behaviour especially in animal behaviour (Hinde, 1989), and perhaps had its beginnings in Darwin’s research methods. It is pertinent to note that Lorenz (one whose research had an impact on Bowlby) was also a zoologist (Pendry 1998). In other primates like monkeys and apes, the introduction and development of social interaction behaviour, begins with the child’s association with the mother. Like many other species in the animal kingdom, just-born primates too, have a whole set of behavioural modes that facilitate interaction with their mother, like grasping, clinging, sucking, vocalizations and sound signals. Researcher Harry Harlow and his fellow associates conducted experiments on rhesus monkeys at the Primate Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin; he states that they "sought to compare the importance of nursing and all associated activities with that of simple bodily contact in engendering the infant monkey’s attachment to its mother"(Harlow, 1959, pp .68) In Harlow's experiments, baby monkeys were removed from their mothers within twelve hours of their birth. They were exposed instead, to mother-like substitutes of two types. The monkeys were split into two groups with one set being raised by mothers made of heavy wire and the other group was raised by mother-figure made of wood covered with soft terry cloth. In a particular experiment both types of substitute mother figures were placed in the cage, with only one being fitted with a nipple from which the infant could suck. Despite the wire mother being fitted with the nipple to suck from, Harlow observed that the infant monkeys spent a more time clinging to the cloth-covered substitute mother, "Records made automatically showed that both groups of infants spent far more time climbing and clinging on their cloth-covered mothers than they did on their wire mothers. . . "(Harlow, 1959, pp .68-74) The relevance of Harlow’s experiment to the attachment theory is quite obvious and as he rightly states "the depth and persistence of attachment to the mother depend not only on the kind of stimuli that the young animal receives but also on when it receives them" (Harlow, 1959, pp .68-74). Characteristics of Attachment There are four typical characteristics that define the sort of attachment that the child experiences with its mother/care-giver. They may be stated as 1) ‘Safe Haven’ –The tendency of the child to return to the safety of mother or the care-giver whenever it feels threatened or experiences fear and seek reassurance and comfort. 2) ‘Secure Base’- The child’s attempts to explore the world around it, based on the platform of security provided by its mother or the care-giver. 3) ‘Proximity Maintenance’- The constant attempts of the child strives to ensure that the mother or the care-giver is close by, to ensure safety. 4) ‘Separation Distress’ – Display of protest or unhappiness or distress when the child is separated from its mother or the care-giver. All the above traits are commonly observable in normal instances (Wagner, 2008). Maternal Deprivation and Seeking Security in ‘Strange Situations’ As can be understood from the above, when the infant-mother/care-giver relations are secure and safe, they encourage the qualities of self-reliance, and self-confidence in the child, and more importantly "resiliency in dealing with life’s stresses and crises" (Sable, undated). Conversely, lack of this security base or attachment, may lead to improper development in the regulation of emotions and forming social relationships, which places the infants at the risk of being susceptible to psychological distress – is termed as ‘maternal deprivation.’ It is Bowlby (1953) who indeed warned that "Deprived children, whether in their homes or out of them, are the sources of social infection as real and serious" (p.181). This led to serious changes in Britain and modified the way in which the family court proceedings were conducted there. However, the aspect of maternal deprivation being excess of importance has been criticized by some, and Michael Rutter mentions in his work, 'Maternal Deprivation; Reassessed' (1972) that several influential reviews pointed to the serious methodical deficiencies in many of the studies that Bowlby cited. Rutter further cites other researchers to point to the controversies in the maternal deprivation theory regarding the possibility of the genetic origin of the observed adverse effects, a stimulant environment and care-giver being more necessary than a mother for the infant learning to take place and so on (pp. 331- 374) However, this lack has been remedied by extensive research support later, by Anisworth’s research on the subject in 1969 in Baltimore, being one among them. Important to the Attachment theory is the research done by Mary Anisworth from 1955-6, based largely on Bowlby’s theory. Ainsworth’s work Infancy in Uganda: Infant care and the Growth of Love (1967), has examined children from infant stages of a few weeks old to 18 months and analyzed their security-seeking responses by initiating what is termed a ‘Strange Situation;’ in this case, the introduction of an unknown woman to the child in the presence of the mother, or the child being left alone without the mother. Anisworth enlists several patterns by which the infant ensures the proximity to the mother. Some are: Differential crying, Differential smiling, Differential vocalization, Crying when the mother leaves, Greeting through smiling, Clapping hands in greeting, Scrambling over the mother, and Clinging (chapter 20, p. 1). Her research findings show that, "The use of the mother as a secure base from which to explore the world manifests itself under circumstances in which danger is absent and the child does indeed feel secure" (Anisworth, chapter 20, p.8). Through this study of Anisworth emerge three styles of attachment of the child to the mother. Styles of Attachment The styles of attachment are nothing but the manner in which the infant displays its attachment to the mother or the care-giver, and Ainsworth (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) has entailed three such major styles of attachment namely, secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. A fourth style of attachment was later added by researchers Main and Solomon (1986) which is ‘disorganized attachment.’ Before embarking on a brief look at each of the four styles, it is essential to understand that these styles have proved to be invaluable to the social service practitioner, as they provide the framework under which psychological health of the client can be assessed. The psychological well-being is associated with the positive quality of such attachment experiences, and may be a part of the present or the past, and the way they are interpreted personally within the individual. This is because, as said earlier, though these experiences may be in the distant past, they are internalized and have a tendency to persist (though changeable) through the adult and old ages (Sable, undated). Secure Attachment - Anisworth states that she by and large agrees with Blatz’s security theory that "seemed to equate feeling secure with feeling competent or effective, even though one's feeling of efficacy rested with reliance on something or someone other than oneself" (Anisworth, 1988, p.1). Consequently, Anisworth (Ainsworth et al, 1978) has delineated that a secure child displays little distress in case of separation from its mother, since are able to depend on her and are confident that she shall return. Similarly, in case of a ‘strange situation’ the child seeks the comfort and the soothing warmth of the mother and sure to get it. Oftentimes, this may persist into adult age and those with secure attachment are more likely to have relatively long-lasting and trusting, and fairly intimate relationships. Ambivalent Attachment – when a child is ambivalently attached to the mother, although the child displays anxiety and distress when the mother disappears, it does not seem exactly comforted or soothed on her return; sometimes the child may not display any positive cue on the return of the mother. On few occasions it may even put up passive resistance to the mother’s comfort or soothing (Anisworth et al, 1978 cited in Wagner, 2008). As adults, if the traits persist, these persons may be described as per-occupied, being too dependant and clingy. Also, adults with ambivalent style of attachment have difficulties in forming intimate relationships and tend to be suspicious of the reciprocation of their feelings for their partner. This may lead to break-ups in relationships (Wagner, 2008). Avoidant Attachment – The child with this style of attachment seeks to avoid the mother or the care-giver, which is especially evident when the mother returns after a period of absence. The child does not display and cue to recognize the mother’s return or behaviour to seek the mother for comfort. Though it may not actively reject the mother, neither does it display any positive cue towards the mother. Additionally, the child hardly displays any preference for its mother to a stranger. Adults with avoidance style of attachment find it difficult to form intimate relationships or display their emotions to others, and seek to avoid close associations under some pretext; they may also tend to avoid long term commitments and engage in casual sex (Feeney & Patty 1993 cited in Wagner, 2008). Disorganized Attachment - Two researchers at the University of California in Berkeley, Mary Main and Judith Solomon, (1986) added the fourth style of attachment to Anisworth’s three styles. Accordingly, a child with a disorganized-insecure attachment style displays rather confused attachment behaviour. The cues given by disorganized-insecure attachment style child rather lack clarity of behaviour. A disorganized-insecure attachment style child’s responses to the presence of the mother or the care-giver, ranges from dazed behaviours to display of resistance and anxiousness. This is because the parent may be seen as a fond of fear and comfort by the child, and this leads to the confusion in the style of bonding with the parent, argue researchers Main and Hesse (1990, cited in Wagner, 2008; Sonkin, 2005).Bowlby (1969) states that such a child may display movements that simultaneously put some distance between the mother and itself, like arching backwards, even as it seeks proximity to the mother, on the latter’s reappearance (cited in Sonkin, 2005). In adulthood, the person with disorganized-insecure attachment style is referred to as disorganized or unresolved and deemed to be unpredictable in relationships. Ainsworth in her Baltimore research (1969) also mentions two ‘maternity sensitivity scales’ based on the quality of responses of the mother or care-giver, to the child’s sues. They are 1) sensitivity vs. insensitivity to the baby’s signals and 2) cooperation vs. interference with baby's ongoing behaviour (Waters, undated, pp.2-10). Furthermore, the application of Attachment theories on adults has revealed three important things, states Sonkin (2005). They are: 1) the attachment status of a prospective parent shall foretell the attachment status of the child to that parent 2) even though transformations in the attachment status of a particular child, attachment styles tend to persist or have continuity through the various developmental stages of the person, from infant attachment patterns, child and adolescent patterns and adult attachment patterns. However, changes in attachment status can occur in either way from secure to insecure, insecure to secure, and mostly at the instance of a circumstantial experience or intervention 3) as compared to secure-attachment style adults, those assessed with insecure attachment styles are likely to face more problems in managing extremities in life, and may find it difficult handle interpersonal skills. Application of Attachment theories to Social Service Work with an Example Now being equipped with a sound understanding of the conceptual theories, a social service practitioner who uses Attachment theory framework envisions a treatment that offers the “experience of an attachment relationship within which to remember, to reflect on, and gain a new understanding of the events and experiences that have led to distress” (Sable, undated). The service practitioner shall fit in the role of providing a secure base, in terms of the therapy and where the client to form a bond for purposes of getting treatment. This is imperative since only this bonding with clients shall ensure that they have a safe platform from which they can start exploring the past and the present experiences, and help them come to terms with those events. Attachment theory can be applied on to people belonging to all age groups, who have suffered bereavement, separation or loss; children who have been separated form their parents, and or have suffered abuse/maltreatment (Lehmann & Coady, 2001, pp. 123-4). One of the methods to do this as described by Holmes (1999) is through the process of examining and organizing the experiences like arranging the fragmented pieces of a puzzle, in the form of stories. One such narration, collected from the experiences of a service seeker is analyzed below, as an example to assess the status of the client and the possibilities of positive intervention and treatment. Example 1) The Narration of Cynthia Thomas (names changed to protect identity) Cynthia Thomas is a 14 year old teenager who has been brought for counselling due to constant interpersonal problems with her mother in particular and other members of the family in general. Others in the family are the father, and an elder brother. At home, Cynthia prefers to limit her activities to listening to music and doing the bare minimum like eating and sleeping. She admits to being a poor eater, not because she is not hungry, but because she does not like what her mother cooks. She complains that her mother does not understand her and sometimes forces her to eat. She admits to having great affection for her father, and states to have no problems with him. Her relations with her elder brother are at the best tepid, in her description. She resents his big-brother tactics, though she admires his ability to study well and keep his scores high. Cynthia prefers to spend most of her time out of the house, or sleep when inside, or listen to her favourite music on her ipod. She was good at singing. At school, she made friends easily, though she did have problems form time to time with some. The social service practitioner gently uncovered details of the girl’s childhood, by encouraging self narration of instances or events that the client had enjoyed most. Thumb-sucking and clutching hold of her own dress came up as being habitual practices of Cynthia in her childhood. Furthermore, it came to light that her mother tried a wide range of modes to discontinue the thumb-sucking habit, from smearing bitter medicines to beating her sometimes, though such episodes were always followed by extra-display of affection for sometimes. Her mother’s constant lament that Cynthia was not robust as her brother made her sick, she states. From the above studies, it is clear that Cynthia was displaying avoidance-insecure attachment style in her relationship with her mother and brother. The relatively strong interference of the mother on Cynthia’s childhood behaviour or thumb-sucking had caused Cynthia to develop the avoidance-insecure attachment style. The continuity of this behaviour style has manifested itself as dislike for her mother’s cooking. Furthermore, her resentment of the constant comparison with her brother’s robustness too served to exacerbate the situation. Typically, neither Cynthia nor her mother saw these as related events. Using a holistic approach, the practitioner highlighted the positive characteristics of Cynthia like having a great talent of singing, and the goodness in her to still admire her brother for his academic abilities, rather than hating him as a person. During the course of the therapy, the client was encouraged to talk about her views of the actions of the mother, and slowly it was realized by Cynthia that her mother was pressured for time having to shuffle between work, taking care of Cynthia’s elder sibling and Cynthia herself. Being in a high-profile job left little time and space for her father to help her mother in raising two small children with hardly any age difference. The softening actions of the mother after harsh episodes of intervention may be viewed as the mother regret of her actions, and her helplessness at that point of time. The realization that her mother’s actions may have been inadvertent and not deliberate helped soften Cynthia’s perception of her mother. The practitioner then encouraged the client to focus on her musical skills to build her self-esteem and confidence. Eventually, the client was ready to take a few innocuous steps towards mending the relations with her mother. Though it was not easy for the client, the practitioner’s uncritical bonding and patient encouragement, helped heal the past wounds of the client and improve her relations with her mother slowly, but steadily (Much later, the mother was also counselled and was gradually made to realize the consequences of her strong interference in her daughter’s interference, among other things). Gradually, Cynthia’s relationship patterns at school too improved, and with her self-confidence dealt with her brother’s bossiness. This experience is a good example of how attachment statuses can be changed through the positive intervention of the social service practitioner. Conclusion Attachment theory was first put forth by Bowlby (1953). His research led him to postulate that the infant had several inherent patterns through which it retained the proximity of the mother, who was essential for its survival. The relationship that develops between the display of such signals by the infant and the response of the mother created an emotional bonding between the two, and this helped the infant survive. Research done by Harlow with monkeys helped in the development of the ethological perspective of the Attachment theory. Attachment theory also faced criticisms from some sections, though subsequent developments helped support it. Mary Anisworth drew inspiration from Bowlby’s theories and researched the patterns of responses of children and their mothers. Her findings supported Bowlby’s theory and added to it, by proposing three styles of attachment of the children to the mother, thereby offering a way to measure the attachment characteristics. Main and Solomon (1986) added a fourth style of attachment to Anisworth’s triad. The study of Attachment theory is a powerful tool in the hands of the social service worker to help various sections of the population, especially those who have experienced loss, deprivation and ill-treatment. An example from a service-seeker’s experience has explicated the potency of the concept in social service practice. This study has kindled the interest to study and know more about the possibilities of the application of the theory in a multi-cultural global environment, where the cultural dimensions tend to further complicate the already complex field of psycho-analyses. 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Online article accessed on 22, January, 2008. http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/pdf/mda_sens_coop.pdf Read More