Understanding attachment theory is important for all early years professionals because the early years are critical for the formation of secure attachments. Attachment theory is concerned with the relationships and bonds between people, and particularly those formed children and primary care givers in the first year of life. However, as research shows, early attachment issues can continue into adulthood and affect a child’s self-esteem, independence, educational attainment and social interactions. Therefore, it is vital that all early years practitioners understand attachment and are able to influence children in a positive way.
A Brief History Of Attachment Theory
The main attachment theory was proposed in the 1950s by psychologists John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Bowlby described attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings.” He was interested in the anxiety and distress that children experienced when separated from their primary caregivers – their ‘separation anxiety’. Some researchers suggested that attachment theory was related to the feeding of the child, or was a learned behaviour, but Bowlby observed that even when children were fed by someone else, the separation anxiety that the child had for their primary carer did not reduce. Instead, he identified clear behavioural and motivational patterns in children related to the attachments they had developed.
Stages Of Attachment Theory
Researchers, Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson, later proposed four distinct phases of attachment as shown in the table.
| Stage | Approx. age of child | Characteristics |
| Pre-attachment stage | Birth to 3 months | Infants do not show any particular attachment to a specific person or caregiver. |
| Indiscriminate attachment | 6 weeks to 7 months | Infants begin to show preferences and trust for primary and secondary caregivers and start to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people. |
| Discriminate attachment | 7 months to 11 months | Infants show a strong attachment and preference for one specific individual and protest when separated from the primary attachment figure. They also develop stranger anxiety. |
| Multiple attachments | From 9 months onwards | Young children begin to form strong emotional bonds with other caregivers beyond the primary attachment figure. This often includes a second parent, older siblings, and grandparents. |
Factors That Influence Attachment
These stages of attachment may seem natural and straightforward, and in most situations, they are. However, there are different factors than can influence how and when attachments develop which may result in attachment difficulties.
Two things that can influence this are:
- The child’s opportunity to form attachments. Some children do not have a primary caregiver, such as those raised in orphanages, or where the primary caregiver has died or been taken away early on. In these cases, children can struggle to develop the trust needed to form secure attachments.
- The quality of the care given. If the quality of care given is high and consistent, then children learn to depend on and trust the people caring for them. In some cases, where the quality of care is poor or inconsistent, children may learn subconsciously that they cannot trust anyone to care for them or support them and they can only depend on themselves.
Attachment Theory: Different Types Of Attachment
Researchers have classified four different types of attachment that children can develop. It is important that early years professionals understand these different types of attachment as there will be children in all settings who present with behaviours associated with them.
Secure Attachment
This is the most common form of attachment style. A child with a secure attachment style is the result of a warm, trusting and loving bond with their primary caregiver. The child learns to depend on their caregiver to support them and fulfil their needs and will seek reassurance from them if frightened. Although they may be upset at separation, they trust the carer to return and show joy when reunited. They do not fear abandonment and grow up being able to form healthy relationships with different people.
Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment
Anxious-ambivalent attachment usually develops as due to inadequate parental availability and children are usually anxious, continuously looking around for their caregivers and need constant reassurance from them due to a fear of being abandoned. This is usually because they have experienced times when the carer was not there to fulfil their needs. As adults, these people are also more likely to show distrust and insecurity and can be emotionally dependent.
Avoidant Attachment
This type of attachment can develop due to abusive or neglectful caregivers and children learn to avoid seeking help from anyone. Children with avoidant attachment tend to show no preference between their primary caregiver and a stranger and may avoid their caregiver altogether. These children learn to accept that their emotional needs are unlikely to be met and often grow up feeling unworthy, insignificant and unloved. This can translate into adults who avoid intimate relationships.
Disorganised Attachment
Disorganised attachment is a mixture of anxious-ambivalent and avoidant attachments. Children who have this type of attachment often display a confusing mix of emotions, such as intense anger, disorientation or confusion, and often have a difficult time controlling their emotions. It is a result of inconsistent caregiving where the caregiver has been both a source of comfort for the child at times, and one who causes fear. This leads to the child’s disorganised behaviour. These children may carry these traits into adulthood and tend to continue having difficulties controlling their emotions and/or avoid intimate relationships altogether.
Attachment disorders
Some children can develop attachment disorders, and there are two recognised ones:
- Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) – children with RAD usually emotionally withdraw from caregivers and don’t look for or respond to comfort, even when they’re upset, and have difficulty expressing emotions
- Disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) – these children often display excessively familiar behaviours around strangers, a lack of social boundaries and may even wander off, approach strangers without hesitation, and hug or touch unknown adults
How To Help
Training staff to understand attachment and attachment disorders will help them recognise children who are struggling and how to help. There are some short courses online which can help. Alternatively, some local authorities and safeguarding companies run training courses in attachment awareness. See https://www.udemy.com/course/attachment-at-early-childhood/ or the-arc.org.uk for more information and a list of training providers.
Relationships are extremely important and building consistent, trusting and supportive relationships with children can go a long way to help children learn to trust adult carers, so it is vital your setting’s key person relationships are secure and consistent.
Practitioners who are aware of attachment, will also be able to remain calm and compassionate if children display challenging behaviours and will understand that it is the child trying to communicate their distress above all things.
