Attachment Essay, Research Paper

1. What is meant by attachment?

Attachment is where an infant starts to become familiar with those who have cared for he/she. When I take my son to my grandmothers so she can watch him while I run errands he has a sense that he?s going to be left and starts to wine. My son is seventeen months old and started to act attached to his mother and I about seven or eight months old pretty much what the book said. When we pick him up from school or someone?s house he runs to our arms and gives us hugs and kisses. This is a feeling like no other. My son definitely has stranger anxiety, when we go out to eat, the waitress can?t even talk to him with out him pulling away or saying NO! My definition of attachment is my son to his mother and I, he clings on to us like you wouldn?t believe. I?m guessing this is a good thing.

2. List and explain the factors that create a secure attachment.

Body Contact- is where the infant begins to feel attached to you simply because of the nurturing, the feeding, rocking, warmth, and the security that you bring to this child. At nighttime my son just doesn?t lay down and go to sleep, he want to be held and given a bottle. (mostly by his mother)

Familiarity- is another key to attachment. Once this familiarity is formed it is very hard to reverse, for instance if a child were to taken away from his birth parents and adopted by someone else, it would be hard for this child to adjust to his new parents. My son likes watching Elmo and can watch the same video all day long. This is a sense of attachment.

Temperament- is where a child may cry when mommy or daddy leaves the room or better yet when we used to drop our son off at school he would scream and cry, but as soon as we left the room and peaked in he was playing and enjoying hi self. It was like he was putting on a front. Some babies are predisposed to be emotionally reactive, others to react calmly. I guess mine is right in the middle.

Responsive Parenting- This factor has to do with how the parents react to a child when he/she needs attention, when he/she does wrong, and how you handle these situations. My son is to the point where he says what you say. (sort of anyway) If my brother says a cuss word my is right behind him repeating it sit, sit , sit. In some way this is funny to people, but if we were to just laugh and not discipline him he would think it was cute. We also have to yell at my brother so that they both know it?s wrong. Acting in this way is responsible. Our son is securely attached and according to Mary Ainsworth that is a good thing.

3. According to Erikson at what stage of development does trust occur?

According to Erikson trust begins at the earliest stage of parenting, this is very important because this is where your child becomes really secure with you and reacts the way you do. Sometimes my son will fall really hard and get up and laugh, but he can just barely bump his head and if mom has a huh! reaction then he may start to cry because of the reaction that she had.

4. Why is this stage so important in development?

This stage is what sets the relationship you and your child for the rest of your relationship. ?What is learned in the cradle,? says a French proverb, ?lasts to the grave.?

5. What happens when a child is abused? What happens to the attachment?

When a child is abused it can scar them for a long period of time, even a lifetime. When a child is sexually or physically abused it can leave horrible memories which could lead to a horrible child like the little girl in the movie. The sense of attachment is rapidly disappearing the more and more that child is being abused, and can lead to binge eating, drinking, or drugs.

6. what is the relationship between developing trust in the formative years and intimacy in adulthood?

The relationship between the two is that when you?re in the formative years you?re looking for that attachment and when you get to the intimacy part in adulthood you are also looking for that attachment, since of security, and body contact. I try and stay away from the intimacy part, NO MORE KIDS! 