Preview

Attachment Theory's Strengths And Weaknesses

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
252 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Attachment Theory's Strengths And Weaknesses
Teenagers who fall under the disorganization attachment can behave in two different ways towards their caregivers. The adolescents can act harshly towards their parents by degrading them or being defiant towards them or they will take on the caregiving role and try to comfort their parents. Even though these are two different types of temperaments, it has been narrowed down to a certain behavior trait, which is a controlling behavior. Other behaviors that have stemmed from this attachment style are self-harm, fear of interacting with parents, aggression, and dissociation (Rholes, Paetzold, & Kohn, 2016). Children who have been abused can display these types of behavior. Attachment Theory’s Strength’s and Weaknesses
Attachment Theory is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Furthermore, there are few weaknesses that Bowlby`s attachment theory displays. For instance, his theory promotes the idea that attachment behaviour has evolved therefore the child`s development presents good face validity. But he fails to take into consideration that these evolutionary ideas he proposes are seen as outdated and not universal to today’s modern society. Secondly, the theory is viewed as gender bias because it emphasises on the role of the mother being the caregiver. There is a research that has shown within two parent families, the father `s involvement in the quality of attachment can play major role in the child’s behaviour and development (Grossman & Grossman,…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many researchers have studied attachment; however, John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth are the researchers responsible for the origination of the attachment theory, therefore also becoming catalysts for the research of attachment in the late eighteenth century. Attachment, as defined by Ainsworth, is “‘an affectional tie’ that an infant forms with a caregiver—a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time” (Berger, 2014, p. 142). Furthermore, as described in Berger, the attachment theory assesses the behaviors associated with four identified types of infant attachment. These four types include secure, insecure-resistant/ambivalent, insecure avoidant, and disorganized attachment. Berger defines each of these types as follows: securely…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Robert Sternberg created his triangular theory of love based on three dimensions: passion, intimacy, and commitment. The degree to which a relationship demonstrates these three dimensions determines the type of love relationship. People begin love relationships with those who care for them as children. These early relationships can have a great effect on their adult relationships.…

    • 1368 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The learning theory has two main concepts to help explain attachment formation. One concept is operant conditioning which explains attachment formation through a reinforced response. When an infant gets food its discomfort from its hunger will become happiness. The infant will now associate the happiness with food and so the food becomes the primary reinforcer. The person feeding the infant will also become associated with the happiness and becomes the secondary reinforce and an attachment will be formed.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Humans are social beings and need to be with others and form relationships but our relationship behaviors do not "come naturally" and they need to be learned similar to other social skills (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2005, p.77). Many psychologists argue that the kind of relationships infants have with their primary caregivers is the blueprint for the later life relationships (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2005). Behaviors in adult relationships' are influenced by the kinds of relationships and attachments they have experienced in their early years with their primary caregivers. This is the basic perspective of the theory of attachment styles that claims that the kind of bonds we form early in life influence…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Attachment Theory

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This essay describe the importance and results of parents impact on their children's social development, which involves children learning values, knowledge and skills enabling them to relate to others effectively. Furthermore, describing the role of parents, what influences that role, parents as role models and how parents implement different parenting styles and their impact? As well as focusing on children's first relationships, attachments and how they relate to others as they develop towards adulthood.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Attachment Theory Paper

    • 745 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are many factors that contribute to the theory of attachment. One of many different behavior patterns, attachment, seems to develop in a variety of ways due to the interaction of nature and nurture. Mary Ainsworth, who researches different aspects of attachment, defines attachment as “an emotional tie formed between one animal or person and another specific individual.” Chris McCandless displayed many different attributes that would make one believe that he has multiple different types of attachment disorders. One would be that throughout the movie you can feel the anger and resentment that he has towards his parents, you get the sense that he wants absolutely nothing to do with them. But even though he does not have a well-rounded relationship with his parents he is still able to have a functioning relationship with his sister. He is able to communicate with her in ways that he has never been able to with his parents and that is a very vital factor in the movie because Chris comes off as very independent yet he takes on a somewhat parenting role for her. Another factor is that Chris is more of a traditionalist; he doesn’t like to live the modern day lifestyle like his parents do and that is where they clash the most. Their viewpoints are complete opposites. It seems to me as if it has been a constant battle in their relationship so once he graduated he began to rebel. Instead of doing what the typical teenager would do, talking back and staying out past curfew, he runs away and drops off of the grid. Chris was seeking the ultimate isolation and freedom, to where there were no rules, money, bills, or anything.…

    • 745 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    She determined that the parents of disorganized adolescents were likely to have been disorganized themselves. She noted that the parents who failed to fix their own trauma issues prior to having children, lacked the emotions and coping skills to provide their own kids with a secure attachment. The children in turn have a disorganized attachment. They lack coping skills; always; nervous; they are not able to calm themselves; and they may have a hard time communicating with peers (Carlson, Cicchetti, Barnett & Braunwald, 1989). However, heredities and variables may contribute to the differences in…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lastly, an insecure/disorganised attachment is seen through the child having no strategy for handling distress (Passer & Smith 2013, p. 432). This is due to the child seeing their parent or caregiver as comforting and/or frightening. Therefore, the child has no strategy of meeting the needs of being cared for and to engage in play (Passer & Smith 2013, p. 432).…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Healthy Family System

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In an unhealthy family setting parents could be emotionally or physically abusive to their children or one another, neglect their children, or raise their children in an inhabitable location. Unfortunately, this can negatively affect a child’s development. For example, uninvolved parents show no interest in their children, and display indifference and rejecting behavior. They are emotionally detached from their children and often view their parenting role as merely providing the essentials – food, clothing, shelter (Feldman, 2014, p. 253). Children of uninvolved parents can often feel unloved, unwanted, and they ultimately become emotionally detached like their parents (Feldman, 2014, p. 254). As a result of uninvolved parenting, the cognitive, emotional, and psychology development of these children is significantly impeded. Child abuse can occur in any household, but it is more common in families living in stressful environments such as poverty and single parenthood. Physically abused children are anxious, resistant to control, suffer from headaches more frequently than other children, and also portray signs of developmental delay (Feldman, 2014, p. 255). While it is not always the case, children who suffer from abuse or neglect are predisposed to abuse or neglect their children. Unfortunately, these children have learned that violence is an acceptable form of punishment (Feldman, 2014, p. 255). Abuse is not…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The topic of teen pregnancy has been studied in a variety of areas, but much of the research focuses on the teen mother. According to Allen & Doherty (1996), “Compared with adolescent mothers, relatively little is known about adolescent fathers.” Parenthood seems to be the sole responsibility of the teen mother. When exploring teen pregnancy one group that is held to minimal standards, and seen to be absent in the parenting process is the teen father. Research has been conducted on African American fathers with respect to their lack of presence in the lives of their children, the negative effects to children due to their absence, lack of provision for their children, and child support issues (Bronte-Tinkew, Scott, & Lilia, 2010; Coles, 2009a; Gursimsek, 2003; Krampe & Newton, 2006).…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What is Attachment?:- “Attachment is the close bond between two people which endures over time and leads to certain behaviors such as proximity seeking, clinging and distress on separation, These behaviors serve the function of protecting an infant”…

    • 2561 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reactive Attachment Theory

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages

    According to Lynos Hardy, the attachment theory, “suggests that infants are. . . primed to form a close, enduring, dependent bond on a primary caregiver beginning in the first moments of life” (2007, p. 27). Four primary attachment styles have been identified, which are secure, avoidant, disorganized, and ambivalent (TCU Institute of Child Development, 2012). A child with a secure attachment, which is the healthiest form of attachment, is bonded with his parents and will often cry when the parent leaves the room (TCU Institute of Child Development, 2012). However, the disorganized form of attachment is the worst form of attachment, and many children who have been maltreated by their primary caregiver display this form (Hardy, 2007). This type of attachment is often characterized by the child resisting, yet reaching for the primary caregiver (Hardy, 2007, p. 28), and “80-85% of children with a history of abuse” have this type of attachment (TCU Institute of Child Development,…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fourth type of attachment is Disorganized/Disoriented which relates to the Neglectful/Abusive parenting type. The infant’s characteristics for this attachment type are that they show disturbances in their social relationships and they are less likely to do well in school (“Attachment Theory,” 2012). The same article also states that the characteristics of the parents are that the mother maybe depressed or overwhelmed by life problems and they may not have a strong emotional connection with their…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For this assignment, I am choosing to write about the Attachment Theory, because the concepts of this theory had captured my attention during class. The Attachment Theory was discovered by John Bowlby, which he had examined and analyzed the relationships between a child and their caregiver. Bowlby was attempting to understand the extreme distress from infants, who had been separated from their parents, which left the infants in discomfort. The most important stages of the Attachment Theory is during the first nine months of the infant’s life, when the bond of the newbond and caregiver must be endless, to create a trust and hopeful relationship. A child without a caregiver will likelyhood have relationship issues with another human being or…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays