Attachments Revision

1
Attachments Revision

• The Essential Guide!!

2
Name FOUR things about

• Attachment

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Attachment What is it?

• 1. An affectional tie between two people or
  animals
• 2. A two-way process that endures over time
• 3. Leads to certain behaviours such as
  Clinging Proximity seeking Crying - Smiling
• 4.Serves the function of protecting the infant or
  young animal
• (Mary Ainsworth 1970)

4
What do we mean by theseBehaviours

• And how are they essential to the development of
  a healthy creature?
• Proximity Seeking
• Secure Base Behaviour
• Separation Anxiety
• Stranger Anxiety

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Key Terms

• Proximity Seeking Staying close to the
  attachment figure
• Secure Base Behaviour Regularly returning to an
  attachment figure when exploring
• Separation Anxiety Anxiety at being apart from
  an attachment figure
• Stranger Anxiety Anxiety in the presence of
  strangers

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Why are Psychologists so

• interested in Attachment?

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Why are Psychologists so interested in Attachment?

• Because ALL psychologist believe that the
  attachment we form with our primary carer
  (usually our mother) forms a TEMPLATE for all
  future relationships - with friends, with
  teachers, and, in the future, with husbands and
  wives and in turn, OUR FUTURE CHILDREN. If our
  attachment with our mother is not good,
  psychologists believe our whole life could be put
  at a disadvantage.

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Explain Attachment using the

• Learning Theory

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Explanations of Attachments N0. 1

• LEARNING THEORY
• Dominated psychology for the first half of 20th
  Century-
• All behaviour is learnt rather than inborn
• Children are born blank slates and everything
  they become is dependent on what they experience
• Learning theory is put forward by BEHAVIOURIST
  psychologists who say that all behaviour,
  including attachment is learnt by
• Classical and Operant Conditioning.

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Classical Conditioning

• We learn through Association.
• Ivan Pavlov Early 20th C. Russian scientist
• Conducting research on Salivation reflex in dogs
• Recorded how much they salivated when fed
• Noticed they started salivating BEFORE being fed
• Dogs began salivating as soon as the door opened
• Signalling the arrival of food.

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What did that mean?

• The dogs had come to Associate the sound of the
  door with food and had learnt that the sound of
  the door meant food was coming .
• This is Classical Conditioning.

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Operant Conditioning

• Because their behaviour (salivating) was rewarded
  with food, or REINFORCED, they started to
  salivate when they heard the door. This
  reinforcement behaviour is called OPERANT
  CONDITIONING
• We tend to repeat behaviours when rewarded and
  not repeat them if were punished.
• Operant Conditioning is learning by the
  experience of being rewarded (reinforced) and
  punished.

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So What has the Learning Theory

• Got to do with Attachment?

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Whats the Learning Theory to do with
Attachment? Here it is!!

• All behaviour is learned.
• Classical Conditioning food produces pleasure.
  Feeder (mother) becomes associated with
  food/pleasure so baby becomes attached to her.
• Operant Conditioning food is the primary
  reinforcer, feeder becomes the secondary
  reinforcer both food and mother reduce
  discomfort, and therefore reward the infant and
  so the baby becomes attached to the mother.

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Evaluating the Learning Theory(Sometimes called
the Cupboard Love Theory!)

• Strengths ?
• Learning theory suggests that the attachment
  develops between infant and carer because the
  carer provides food. And its true we do learn
  through association and reinforcement.
• Weaknesses ?
• ? We do learn through association and
  reinforcement but it may not be the food that is
  the reinforcer, it may be the responsiveness and
  attention of other carer.
• ? If the learning theory is true
• How come babies often develop strong attachments
  to people who dont feed them?
• The Harlow Monkey Experiment.

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Name, date and describe Two research studies
which cast doubt on the

• Learning Theory

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The Harlow Monkey Experiment

• Harry Harlow, 1959 conducted research in to
  learning using young rhesus monkeys, kept alone.
• He created two mothers, one with made of wire
  but a full feeding bottle of milk, and the other
  wrapped in a soft cloth but without food.
• According to the learning theory the young
  monkeys should have become attached to the wire
  mother.
• In fact the monkeys spent most of their time with
  the cloth-covered mother and would cling to it,
  especially when frightened.(a proximity-seeking
  behaviour, characteristic of attachment)

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Schaffer and Emerson 1964

• Whilst the Harlow Monkey experiment used animals,
  the above study used human infants.
• 60 babies (from mainly working-class Glasgow
  homes) were observed for a year.
• Schaffer Emerson found that infants were not
  most attached to the person who fed them but
  became attached to the person who was most
  responsive to them and who interacted most with
  them.
• This reinforces the Harlow Monkey experiment and
  suggests that cupboard love is not likely to be
  the best explanation for attachment, although
  association and reinforcement may be part of the
  story.

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Describe the

• Evolutionary Perspective - Bowlbys Theory of
  Attachment

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Explain Bowlbys theory of Attachment using the
following terms

• Survival Value Reproductive Value
• Innate Drive Imprinting
• Pre-programmed Social Releasers
• Adaptive Sensitive Period
• Monotropy Template
• Internal Working Model
• Continuity Hypothesis Responsive Mother

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Bowlbys Theory of Attachment

• Bowlbys theory is an Evolutionary theory
• In his view attachment is a behaviour that has
  evolved because of its survival value and,
  ultimately, its reproductive value.
• According to Bowlby, children have an innate
  drive to become attached to a caregiver because
  attachment has long-term benefits. He proposed
  that normal psychological development requires
  the development of a secure attachment between a
  baby and its main carer.
• He also proposed the concept of imprinting an
  innate readiness to develop a strong bond with a
  mother figure.

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Pre-programming!!

• John Bowlby said that babies are pre-programmed
  to behave in ways that encourage adult attention
• He called these behaviours social releasers
• These include cute behaviours such as smiling
  and cooing and are the childs contribution
  towards an attachment. The mothers contribution
  is that she must respond and react to these
  behaviours
• He suggests these instinctive behaviours enhance
  survival and and are protective for the infant.
  He called these behaviours ADAPTIVE.

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Sensitive Period

• Bowlby said there is sensitive period from when
  the baby is born to around the age of 2, when the
  baby is programmed to form a special attachment.
  He called this monotropy. If something happens
  to damage or break this attachment, the child may
  develop and insecure attachment its development
  may well be damaged.
• For a secure attachment to take place, the
  childs main carer (usually the mother) needs to
  be present and attentive and responsive to the
  childs needs, during this sensitive period.

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More about Bowlbys theory

• Bowlby said the child develops a model or
  template from the attachment with its mother
  which influences all future relationships and
  future parenting style. It is a prototype of all
  future relationships. He called this the internal
  working model.
• The internal working model indicates a big link
  between early emotional experiences and later
  relationships. He called this the continuity
  hypothesis the idea that early experiences
  continue to influence throughout life.

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Give some ? Strengths of

• Bowlbys theory of Attachment

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Evaluating Bowlbys theory of Attachment -
Strengths

• It is considered the dominant explanation of how
  and why attachment develops.
• ? Imprinting is supported by Lorenzs ducks
• ? Bowlby suggests that attachment evolved to as
  an aid to survival. If this is true then
  attachment and caregiving behaviours should be
  universal, in all cultures, despite differences
  in child-rearing practices. There is evidence to
  support this.(Tronick et al 1992)

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Give Some Research Evidence

• Supporting Bowlbys Theory
• ?

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Research Evidence for Bowlbys Theory

• ? Schaffer and Emerson, 1964, observed that
  strongly attached infants had mothers who
  responded quickly to their demands and who
  offered the child the most interaction whereas
  weakly attached infants had mothers who failed to
  interact with them.
• ? The Minnesota longitudinal study (Sroufe et al
  2005) followed children from infancy to
  adolescence and found continuity between their
  early attachment styles and their later emotional
  and social behaviour. This supports the
  continuity hypothesis.

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And the Harlow Monkey Experiment

• ? Supports Bowlbys theory that a responsive
  mother is needed for good, lifelong psychological
  health. The monkeys were not only
  psychologically damaged, but proved incapable of
  becoming effective and loving parents, themselves.

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Give some Weaknesses ? of

• Bowlbys Theory

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More Evaluation of Bowlbys theoryWeaknesses

• ? The idea that attachment behaviours have
  evolved to promote child development has good
  face validity. But evolutionary ideas are very
  difficult to test and so difficult to prove or
  disprove.
• ? Bowlbys theory focuses on the role of the
  mother. There is evidence that in two-parent
  families, the quality of attachment of the father
  can also have a big effect on the childs
  development. (Grossmann and Grossmann, 1991)

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Give an Alternative Explanation for

• Attachment

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More Evaluation of Bowlbys theoryWeaknesses

• ? The idea that attachment behaviours have
  evolved to promote child development has good
  face validity. But evolutionary ideas are very
  difficult to test and so difficult to prove or
  disprove.
• ? Bowlbys theory focuses on the role of the
  mother. There is evidence that in two-parent
  families, the quality of attachment of the father
  can also have a big effect on the childs
  development. (Grossmann and Grossmann, 1991)

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More Evaluation - An Alternative Explanation

• A key feature of Bowlbys theory is the
  continuity hypothesis the idea that there are
  continuities between early attachment and later
  social/emotional development. However Kagan,
  1984 proposed the Temperament Hypothesis, in
  which he proposed that we are all born with our
  distinct, innate temperament, and it is this that
  is the big factor in determining our attachment
  style and our subsequent emotional and social
  development. In other words, to some extent, our
  development is pre-determined by our genetic
  makeup. And there is evidence to support
  this------

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More Evaluation of Bowlbys theoryWeaknesses

• ? The idea that attachment behaviours have
  evolved to promote child development has good
  face validity. But evolutionary ideas are very
  difficult to test and so difficult to prove or
  disprove.
• ? Bowlbys theory focuses on the role of the
  mother. There is evidence that in two-parent
  families, the quality of attachment of the father
  can also have a big effect on the childs
  development. (Grossmann and Grossmann, 1991)

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More Evaluation - An Alternative Explanation

• A key feature of Bowlbys theory is the
  continuity hypothesis the idea that there are
  continuities between early attachment and later
  social/emotional development. However Kagan,
  1984 proposed the Temperament Hypothesis, in
  which he proposed that we are all born with our
  distinct, innate temperament, and it is this that
  is the big factor in determining our attachment
  style and our subsequent emotional and social
  development. In other words, to some extent, our
  development is pre-determined by our genetic
  makeup. And there is Research Evidence to support
  this------

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Belsky and Rovine 1987

• Assessed babies aged one to three days old and
  found a link between certain psychological
  behaviours and later attachment types. They
  found that infants who were calmer and less
  anxious were more likely to be securely attached.
  

39
Name and date the procedurewhich aimed to test
the nature

• of attachment systematically.

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The Strange Situation Which isAinsworth and
Wittig 1969

• Laboratory Procedure using
• Observation Techniques
• Designed to measure the security of attachment a
  child displays towards its main care giver
• What is being assessed?
• Secure base behaviour, proximity seeking,
  separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, response on
  being reunited with care giver.

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What is the Procedure of the

• Strange Situation

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The Strange Situation it gets its name from the
fact that the baby is placed in an unfamiliar
that is, a strange room
Stage Situation Designed to measure
1. The child and carer are placed in an empty room.
2. The child is free to explore-encouraged if necessary Proximity-seeking and secure base behaviour
3. A stranger enters, greets the carer and attempts to play with the child Stranger Anxiety
4. The carer leaves the child with the stranger Stranger anxiety Separation distress
5. The carer re-enters and the stranger leaves Reuniting response
6. The carer leaves the child alone Separation distress
7. The stranger re-enters Stranger Anxiety
8. The stranger leaves and carer re-enters Reuniting response
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What were the findings of the

• Strange Situation

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Behaviours displayed by infants in The Strange
Situation (Ainsworth et al 1978)
Secure attachment (Type B) Insecure Avoidant (Type A) Insecure Resistant(Ambivalent) (Type C) Insecure Avoidant/ Resistant. Disorganised (Type D)
Willingness to explore HIGH HIGH LOW Alternate between A C
Stranger Anxiety HIGH LOW HIGH Often prefer strangers company
Separation Anxiety Reasonably easy to soothe INDIFFERENT DISTRESSED Alternate Between A C
Behaviour at re- Union with carer ENTHUSIASTIC AVOIDS CONTACT SEEKS AND REJECTS Often afraid of carer
of infants in this category 66 22 12 Minority of Infants display
this disorganised behaviour
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How did Mary Ainsworth account for the

• Variations in attachment types?

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Explaining Attachment Types

• Mary Ainsworth believed variation in attachment
  types is a result of the main carers behaviour
  towards the child. Maternal Sensitivity
  Hypothesis
• High levels of maternal sensitive responsiveness
  Secure attachment
• Mothers who pick up signals and respond
  Secure attachment

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What is Secure Attachment?

• What did Ainsworth believe caused it?

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Secure Attachment

• This is a strong and contented attachment of an
  infant to its caregiver, which develops as a
  result of sensitive responding by the caregiver
  to the infants needs. Securely attached infants
  are comfortable with social interaction and
  intimacy. Secure attachment is related to healthy
  subsequent cognitive and emotional development.

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What is Insecure Attachment? What causes it?
What can it lead to?

• What is the difference in the various insecure
  attachment types?

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What is Insecure Attachment?

• Insecure attachment This is a form of
  attachment between infant and caregiver that
  develops as a result of the caregivers lack of
  sensitive responding to the infants needs. It
  may be associated with poor subsequent cognitive
  and emotional development.
• Insecure Avoidant Type A children who avoid
  social interaction and intimacy with others.
• Insecure Resistant Type C Children who both
  seek and reject intimacy and social interaction.
• Insecure Disorganised Type D Children whose
  behaviour patterns are inconsistent and a mix of
  types A C.

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What Research Methods

• Were Used?

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Research Methods used

• The research room was a novel environment
• A 9 X 9 foot square marked off in to 16 squares
  to help the recording of the infants movements
• Research methods used were Laboratory procedure
  using covert and controlled observation
• Using covert observation (One-way mirrors were
  used to prevent participants being aware they
  were being observed). Knowing your behaviour is
  being observed is likely to alter it.
• It used Controlled observation because it
  involved structuring the behaviour of the
  participants as well as the observers the
  participants had to follow 8 episodes and the
  observers had a checklist of 5 behaviours that
  they had to rate every 15 seconds.

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Give 2 Criticisms of the

• Strange Situation

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1. Is it Valid?

• Validity means are we measuring what we meant
  to measure. This lab procedure intended to
  measure the attachment types of children. Did
  it? A criticism is that it only measured the
  strength of one particular relationship, and this
  wasnt necessarily with the main carer.
• Others say this doesnt matter, since Bowlby said
  the relationship with the main carer becomes
  internalised and is reflected in all other
  relationships-so if the child appeared insecurely
  attached, even if the main carer wasnt present
  during the Strange Situation, the attachment type
  given to the child is a reflection of what is
  happening at home with the main carer.

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2. Is it Ethical?

• The intention of the Strange Situation was to
  cause mild distress. Is this acceptable?
  Ainsworth claimed that the whole procedure was
  not intended to be any more disturbing than
  ordinary life experiences, yet in episode 6 (The
  carer leaves the child alone) 20 of infants
  reportedly cried desperately.

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What did Prior and Glaser (2006) find between
attachment types and later childhood development?

• Secure attachment is associated with positive
  outcomes such as less emotional dependence and
  higher achievement and interpersonal harmony.
• Avoidant attachment is related to later
  aggressiveness, and generally negative emotional
  behaviours.
• Resistant attachment is associated with greater
  anxiety and withdrawn behaviour.
• Disorganised attachment is related to hostile
  and aggressive behaviour.

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And what did Hazen and Shaver 1987 find about
Adult Romantic Relationships in their

• Newspaper Love Quiz?

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Love Quiz Findings
Attachment type Secure adults Insecure-avoidant adults Insecure-resistant adults
Current love experiences Relationships Are Positive Fearful of closeness Preoccupied by love
Attitudes towards love Trust others and believe in enduring love Love is not lasting nor necessary for happiness Fall in love easily but have trouble finding true love
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Name and date the Research that aimed to study

• Cross-Cultural Attachments
• What were the Aims and Procedure?

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Cross-cultural patterns of attachment Van
Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg, 1988

• Aim To investigate global attachment patterns
• Procedure - This was a meta-analysis (the data
  from 32 Strange Situation studies from
• eight countries was collated and analysed)

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What were

• The Findings?

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Findings

• In all countries, secure attachment was the most
  common but.!!!!!!!!!!!
• Secure Attachment (Type B) -Most common in all
  cultures. The
• The Lowest proportion was in China (50)
• The Highest (approx 75) GB Sweden.
• --------------------------------------------------
  ----------------------------
• Avoidant Attachment (Type A) More common in W.
  Germany than other western countries.
• Very rare in Israel and Japan.
• --------------------------------------------------
  -------------------------------------------
• Resistant Attachment (Type C) - Common in Israel,
  China Japan.
• Lowest proportion was in Scandinavian countries
  such as Sweden

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What Conclusions

• Can be drawn?

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Conclusions

• Globally, secure attachment was the most common
  and we could conclude, the best for healthy
  social and emotional development.
• The variation in percentages, particularly
  between types A and C suggest that child-rearing
  practices in different countries may affect the
  attachment of babies -------and/or
• It may be that the Strange Situation does not
  work well in all cultures.

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Give a Criticism of the

• Cross-cultural Strange Situation

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Big Criticism Is the Strange Situation
Culturally Biased?

• The Strange Situation was developed in the U.S,
  an individualist country.
• But in Japan for example, which is a collectivist
  country, the cultural norm is for mothers and
  babies to rarely be separated, which means we
  might expect to see high levels of separation
  anxiety and might explain the high of Type C in
  the SS. Many of the differences in the
  cross-cultural SS concern collectivist countries.

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More on Culture Bias

• Rothbaum et al 2000 said that attachment theory
  and research is not relevant to other cultures
  because it is so rooted in American culture. Why
  did they say this? Here are two examples.
• 1. The Continuity Hypothesis (Ainsworth said
  that those infants who are securely attached grow
  up to be socially and emotionally competent
  adults)- people who are independent and able to
  express their emotions. BUT!! .. In Japan
  being a socially and emotionally competent adult
  means being group orientated and someone who is
  able to inhibit (not show) their feelings.

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We must be so careful when interpreting data!!

• What we call avoidant behaviour in the UK and
  USA, might well be called independent in
  Germany, an individualist country, but where
  independence is very highly valued. And just
  look at the graph and you will see that there are
  a higher proportion of type As in Germany.

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So why are there such cross-cultural similarities?

• Van Ijzendoom and Kroonenberg sugest that the
  apparent cultural similarities they found might
  be explained by the effects of the mass media,
  with TV and internet, which spreads ideas about
  parenting so that children all over the world are
  exposed to similar influences.
• This means that the cultural similarities may not
  be due to innate biological influences but are
  because of our increasingly global culture.

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Methodological Issues (can also be used for
evaluation)

• 1. Meta-analysis (the results of 32 S.S studies
  were analysed)
• 2. Substantial study and large sample size (over
  2000 babies)
• 3. But half of the 32 studies studied were
  carried out in the US, reflecting the dominance
  of US in psychology studies.
• 27 were carried out in individualistic cultures
• Only 5 in collectivist cultures, implying that
  the sample was not truly representative.

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More Methodological Issues

• 4. Ainsworths Strange Situation was developed
  in the US so we can only make valid
  interpretations in cross-cultural studies if we
  really understand the attitudes to child-rearing
  in that culture.
• 5. Van Ijzendoorn Kroonenberg found that the
  variation within cultures in attachment was
  one-and-a-half times greater than between
  cultures. This shows clearly that it is a mistake
  to assume that all children are brought up in
  exactly the same way in a particular country or
  culture.

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What does all this mean?

• When looking at attachment behaviours
  cross-culturally, some might question Bowlby and
  Ainsworths view, that attachment is a universal
  factor in human development. However, whilst
  there are differences, and to some extent,
  attachment theory is culture-bound, the
  impressive fact is that in in all 8 countries
  involved in the meta-analysis of the Strange
  Situation, secure attachment was the most common,
  by far, and we could conclude, the best for
  healthy social and emotional development.
• Certainly research has shown that secure
  attachment is associated with good psychiatric
  health in adulthood.

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What is Disruption of the

• Attachment Bond?

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Disruption of the Attachment Bond

• Deprivation - temporary or permanent disruption
  of the attachment bond.
• This means there was an attachment to start with
  but its been broken in some way, perhaps due to
  hospitalisation or death of the mother.

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Identify some effects that disruption of
attachment has on

• A childs social and emotional development
• Provide Research support

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Effects of Disruption.

• Robertson and Robertson observed John and Laura
  sufferering when they experienced physical
  disruption with no substitute emotional care. But
  Jane, Thomas, Lucy and Kate coped well when given
  substitute emotional care at the Robertsons home
  .
• Spitz and Wolf 1946, observed that 100 normal
  children placed in an institution became severely
  depressed within a few months.
• Skeels and Dye 1939, found that the intellectual
  deficits of the institutionalised children
  recovered when they were transferred to a home
  for mentally retarded adults and given lots of
  T.L.C.

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Evaluate the

• Robertson Research

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Evaluation of the Robertson Research

• 1. ? High validity films were made of John and
  Laura. These were naturalistic observations in a
  realistic setting.
• 2. ? Low validity The conclusions were based
  on case studies of only a few children, who may
  not have been typical of the majority of
  children.

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So what factors effects whether

• A child will recover from Disruption?

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Bowlby concluded..

• Children cope better and recover better from
  disruption if they were securely attached to
  start with.
• Bowlby 1956 60 children under the age of 4 who
  had TB
• They were put in a hospital, no substitute
  emotional care was given.
• When assessed in adolescence. 63 were
  maladjusted, leaving 37 who were not.

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So What is

• Privation?

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Privation

• Privation when there was never any attachment
  bond to begin with.
• This can be due to extreme abuse or Institutional
  care, or in rare cases, children kept in total
  isolation.

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Can you describe some real-life cases?

• Genie and the Czech twins, handout N0. 8
• AlSO it is essential to revise The Affects of
  Privation, Hodges and Tizard, 1989 also Handout
  No. 8

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What do most of the studies on Privation

• Show?

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The Findings suggest..

• The findings suggest that early privation had a
  negative effect on the ability to form
  relationships even when children were given good
  subsequent care.
• This supports Bowlbys view that the failure to
  form attachments during the sensitive period has
  an irreversible effect on emotional development.

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What are some of the effects of

• Privation and Institutionalisation?

87
The Effects are.

• Attachment Disorder There are two types
• Reactive or inhibited when the child is unable
  to cope in most social situations
• Disinhibited - Over-friendly and attention
  seeking to people the child hardly knows.
• Deprivation Dwarfism Gardner 1972, suggests
  emotional disturbance may effect the production
  of growth hormones which may explain why children
  in institutional care tend to be physically
  small.

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The research suggests that some

• Children are able to recover from privation. How
  come?

89
Evaluation

• Some research suggests that children who do not
  form an attachment within the sensitive period
  are unable to recover.
• But this is not true of all children. How come?
• One reason is because we really dont know enough
  about the children in the studies. For example in
  the Hodges and Tizard study -Why were some
  adopted and others not? Could it be that some
  were easier children to start with thats why
  they were chosen for adoption, so of course,
  their outcomes were better!

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1.Why are we interested in day care?

• 2. What is Day care?

91
Day Care is -

• A form of temporary care (not all day and not all
  night) that is not provided by family members and
  takes place outside of the home.
• Why are we interested in day care?
• Because day care involves the very thing
  psychologists are interested in disruption of
  the attachment bond with the primary carer which
  may affect the childs social and emotional
  development.

92
What do we mean by

• Social Development?

93
Social Development

• The development of sociability, learning to
  relate to others and acquiring appropriate
  knowledge skills of how to integrate socially.
  

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You may be asked for research evidence on social
development and aggression in children

• In Day Care.
• Here it is.

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Research on the impact of Day Care

• Negative effects on social development ? ? ? ?
• Bowlby said prolonged separation from mother
  figure could cause long-term maladjustment. Many
  studies of day care have supported this.
• Violata Russell, 1994 did a meta-analysis of
  the findings of 88 studies of day care and
  concluded that regular day care of more than 20
  hours p/w had a negative effect on the social and
  emotional development of young children.
• Increased Aggressiveness (NICHD 2003) ? ? ? ?
• The NICHD in America started a longitudinal study
  in 1991, using 1000 children from mixed
  backgrounds and locations. Assessed aged 5, the
  data found that, irrespective of quality, the
  more time spent in day care, the more aggressive
  and disobedient they were deemed to be by adults.
  Belsky, 2007 looked at the same children at the
  end of primary school education, and still found
  these children more aggressive than children who
  hadnt been in day care.

96
On the other hand

• This same NICHD study found that a mothers
  sensitivity to her child is a better indicator of
  whether a child had behavioural problems, than
  was time in child care. Sensitive mothering was
  linked to fewer problem behaviours. Higher
  maternal education and family income also
  predicted lower levels of problem behaviours. So
  this same data suggests that childrens
  development is more strongly affected by factors
  at home, than by day care.

97
Peer Relationships ? ? ?

• Bowlbys theory of attachment and his Continuity
  Hypothesis predicts better peer relationships for
  securely attached children. There is evidence
  that children in day care are less securely
  attached. Belsky Rovine, 1988, assessed
  infants in day care for more than 20 hours p/w
  using the Strange Situation. They found these
  children were more likely to be insecurely
  attached than children at home. We could
  hypothesise that their peer relationships would
  also suffer too.

98
On the other hand? ? ?

• Day care allows children to develop social
  strategies, such as the ability to negotiate and
  make friends. Field, 1991, found the amount of
  time in full-time day care was positively
  correlated to the number of friends the children
  had once they were at school.
• However we cant assume that experiences in day
  care cause later sociability - there is a link
  it could be that shy and unsociable children have
  mothers who are like that too (temperament is
  inherited) and these mothers prefer to stay at
  home to care for their children. The outgoing
  mothers send their outgoing children to day care,
  which explains why theyre more sociable.

99
Mediating Factors

• A mediating factor is something that connects two
  other things, in this case it is intervening
  between the effects of day care and social
  development.
• Quality of care - A NICHD study (1997) reported
  that low-quality day care was associated with
  poor social development.
• Individual Differences The above NICHD study
  found that insecurely attached children did less
  well in day care. On the other hand, Egeland
  Hiester, 1995, found that insecurely attached
  children did best in day care and it was the
  securely attached ones who became aggressive.
  This might be due to the fact that the insecurely
  attached children needed the care and attention
  that they werent getting at home.

100
More Mediating Factors

• Childs age and number of hours
• Gregg et al, 2005, found that the negative
  effects of day care were more likely to be found
  in children placed in day care before they were
  18 months old. On the other hand, Clarke-Stewart
  et al, 1994, found no difference in attachment
  between spending a lot of time in day care (30
  hours or more a week from 3 months of age).

101
Implications of research into attachment and day
care

• Now we must look at how research translates into
  the practical issues of childcare provision in
  the UK. What advice can be given to governments
  and to parents?
• Attachment Research
• In previous handouts we discovered that James and
  Joyce Robertson (remember little John and Laura
  in hospital?) found that the negative effects of
  emotional disruption could be avoided if
  substitute emotional care was provided. This
  entailed specific adults spending time with the
  children and responding to their needs in a
  sensitive way in the same way that a primary care
  giver would. The characteristics of quality day
  care do just that and psychologists have
  identified the following key characteristics
  needed for high-quality day care.

102
Characteristics of high-quality day care

• 1. Low child-to-staff ratio NICHD study 1999,
  identified this was absolutely necessary for
  high-quality care.
• 2. Minimal staff turnover Schaffer, 1998,
  identified consistency of care as one of the most
  important factors in high-quality care.
• 3. Sensitive emotional care The NICHD study
  found that 23 of infant-care providers give
  highly sensitive care, 50 give moderately
  sensitive care and 20 are emotionally detached
  from the infants in their care.
• 4. Qualified Staff Sylva et al 2003, reported
  that the higher the qualifications of the staff,
  the better the outcome for the children in terms
  of their social development.

103
What are the most important factors to consider

• When looking at Day Care?

104
The most important factors in day care with
regard to the welfare of children are

• 1. QUALITY of the day care Research indicates
  positive effects for good quality day care but
  negative effects for poor quality care. Quality
  encompasses having sufficient stimulation, such
  as toys, sufficient and verbal interactions
  between staff and children and sensitive
  emotional care to provide a substitute for the
  break in the mother-child relationship. A rapid
  turnover of staff can have a profound effect
• 2. CHILD-TO-STAFF RATIO This affects results
  tremendously as it determines how much attention
  each child gets.
• 3. AGE of the children in care. Research
  indicates day care can be detrimental to very
  young babies.
• 4. NUMBER OF HOURS the child is in care This has
  a big effect on whether the bond with the primary
  care giver is disrupted.
• 5. The strength of the bond between each child
  and its primary care giver is very important.
  Securely attached children are less likely to be
  affected by the separation that day care entails.
  (The Strange Situation study)