Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Our early childhood experiences can shape not only what we think, but also what we do. These experiences go even further as to shape us into the next generation of adults. There is little research that has shown how various parenting styles in childhood have effected that child’s relationship as they grow up. The goal of this study was to see if there if there was any relation between a child’s experience with their parents, various styles in relationships, and overall satisfaction in a sample of adults. Participants are asked to complete a series of self-report to help examine their relationships, their overall satisfaction in their current relationship, along with a brief description of their parents and their relationship to them. This
This study will look to discover possible interactions between child’s experiences with their parents, various styles of romantic relationships, and their overall satisfaction. There is a long standing theory known as the attachment theory by Bowlby (1969), the overall quality of interactions between children and their parents has a major influence on the child’s psyche and their social interactions for the rest of their lives. There is a study suggesting that relationship security develops when the parent is perceived as caring and responsible whereas relationship insecurity results when the parent is perceived as irregular in their responses and affection. “Initially there are three dististinct forms of attachment in childhood: secure, anxious/ambivalent, and avoidant. The anxious/ambivalent child is characterised by uncertainty regarding the love of their attachment figure while the avoidant child tends not to seek contact with the caregiver, appearing self-reliant.”(Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters and Wall
There is strong evidence in these studies that correlates that while some individuals can be resistant to change that this can slowly be overwritten and revised as time goes on. Crowell discusses this as he states that “while individuals can show some resistance as they are raised on secure relationship styles it should be noted this can change due to unstable relationships and that attachment alone is not the only factor to think about.”(Crowell 2002). There are two preferred approaches within the scientific community when it comes to assenting levels of attachment. The first approach being the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) this interviewing process is considered the best in terms of developing cohesive and scientific data with the only perceivable disadvantage of it is that it requires a lot of training before the test can be given. AAI is “a procedure for assessing adults' strategies for identifying, preventing, and protecting the self from perceived dangers, particularly dangers tied to intimate relationships.”(Feeney 2008).While AAI is considered the best way to do these studies the second and most popular method would be self report measures. This method asks participants to recall memories of their childhood where there parents may have acted either affectionate or abusive. This information can then be used to