Attachment anxiety Disorganised- When a child witnesses

Attachment Formation:Pre-attachment- this is when a child is between 0-2 months old, theywould give a non-discriminative response to their caregivers, they becomereflexive and have a positive response towards social and non-social stimuliAttachment-in-the-making- this is when a child is between 2-6 monthsold, they now have a clear preference for social stimuli, they gain a positiveresponse to familiar caregivers and have no single attachment preferenceClear-cut attachment- the child is now 7-12 months old, they nowprefer to have a single attachment figure; they begin to have separationanxiety when in a stranger is near.Goal-corrected partnership- the child is 48 months old, they begin torecognise that a caregiver has feelings which can be different to the child’s,they are now learning and trying to make an effort to become a partner in therelationship with their caregiver.

 Attachment Styles:There are different attachment styles for a child, which depends onthe attachment between the child and caregiver. Secure- When a child becomes secure with their caregiver, they areable to go to them as a safe base, because of this; they seek the attention oftheir caregiver, as they are comfortable with making contacting and interactingwith themInsecure avoidant- When a child is insecure around their caregiver,they tend to avoid contact and interaction with them. Whenever their caregiveris not around, they become distressed, and try to be independentInsecure ambivalent- This is when a child is unable to calm down, theyseek the comfort of their caregiver, yet they are unable to become comfortablewith them, they child would angry cry when they are around strangers and getanxietyDisorganised- When a child witnesses something traumatic in theirlife, their behaviour becomes inconsistent. They would not be able to approachtheir caregiver because they become anxious when the caregiver tries to makecontact with them.  Research has been conducted over the past several years and hassuggested that secure attachments are needed for a child’s development. It issaid that at early childhood, a child’s developing brain is keener on gainingrelationships and experiences; this is why it is important for a caregiver tomake a secure attachment with a child.

Without a good attachment, it couldcreate negative impacts on the child. A secure attachment with a child is important;it provides help with mental processes that are necessary to help a child whenthey are developing. When a child is born, they have an inbuilt system forattachment, which affects cognitive processes, these processes help with emotionalregulation, social relationships and learning about their self and moralreasoning.  The inbuilt system within achild would seek a primary caregiver’s attention. If a caregiver was to ignorea child, and give a child bad experiences, it would impact the child’s developmenton relationships.

Which leads of to the internal working model.      The internal working model:The internal working model is about the attachment between child andprimary caregiver. The attachment can be secure or insecure; depending on whatexperiences the child have had with their primary caregiver. The attachmentbecomes secure or insecure depending on the caregiver and how they respond tothe child. Within the internal working model, there are two processes, which involvethe primary caregiver and how they recognise their child’s emotional andphysiological states experienced by the child, and then how the caregiverresponds back. Sensory signals are given back and forth a child and caregiver,depending on the different states given from caregiver (attention, inattention,engagement, and disengagement) it will affect a child’s development If a caregiver responds to a child quickly, the child would have ahealthy development, but if not quicker enough and if the caregiver does notrespond to the child, development becomes compromised and a lot slower.

If achild is not given the right attachments from their caregiver, it can break asecure bond, which then affects a child’s development with mental processes,which can include how to control their emotions, reduce fear, and have aself-understanding and insight. If attachment is compromised, it can affect achild’s empathy for others and gain appropriate reasoning. Insecure attachmentsare made when a child is given a negative interaction from their caregiver,which can involve insensitivity towards the child, being unresponsive andignoring the child, and being inappropriate towards the child; all of thesethings can give a child long-term consequences. Long-term consequences caninvolve, not being able to control their emotions, not being able to gain goodrelationships due to not trusting others, and they are unable to feel safe;this is why it is important for a child to have a healthy attachment with acaregiver, so they can have secure relationships with others.

 Impact of the environment:Without a good attachment between caregiver and child, children areeasily prone to illness; this is due to sensitivity between caregiver andchild. A child relies on the caregiver for attachment and sensitivity. A childcan become ill without a secure attachment, they can become ill because ofpsychological development. A child is reliant on the environment they are in,whether it is warm, safe, and protected; if a child doesn’t get any of thesefrom their caregiver, it can affect a child’s development in growing. If achild lives in poor conditions and has a threatening environment they rely ontheir primary caregiver for warmth and protection. It is important for acaregiver to know about socio-economic conditions, social support, and have anunderstanding about their child’s health and development, this can then helpthe caregiver learn new skills to be able to understand their child and createattachments. When a caregiver has a better understanding, and interacts with achild, it leads to better health and development and reduces childhoodmalnutrition.

 Ecological Systems Theory:Bronfenbrenner created a model of systems looking at a child’sdevelopment on the relationships they gain depending on the environment theyare in. The microsystem- this is wherea child has direct contact with their surroundings. This can include family,school, the neighbourhood or the environment. In this system, there are 2paths, the one path is where the caregiver affects the beliefs and behavioursof the child and the other path is where the child affects the caregiversbeliefs and behaviours.The mesosystem- in thissystem, is explains the connection between the child’s microsystem.The exosystem- in thissystem, it is where the child interacts with their surroundings and caregiver,although the child doesn’t completely understand everything, they understandpositive or negative behaviour from their caregiverThe macrosystem- thissystem is about a child environments when it comes down to culture and beliefs,this is where a child becomes influenced from their surrounds, parents andprimary caregiverThe chronosystem- thissystem explains time towards the child, it is either where an event hashappened or it has affected the child, or the time the child is aging. The systemaffects the way a child reacts to its environments while they are growing. Bronfenbrenner suggested that as a child grows and develops, theirsurroundings and environment which they are in, changes due to physical andcognitive features within their growth.

 Conclusion Different types of research has been conducted over several years,they all suggest that attachment bonds are important for a developing child.When a caregiver is there for the child, and creates secure attachments, andinvolves the child in everyday life, the child’s cognitive skills improve,which affects the way the child feels, it helps them gain relationships withothers easily, and are able to control their emotions. A child with no secureattachments affects the child in a negative way, it affects their social skillswith others, they are also unable to control their emotions meaning that theywill find it difficult being able to create relationships with other children.

Itwould create anxiety for the child meaning that the child will not be able tosettle down with the caregiver. For these many reasons, this is why having asecure attachment with a child is important, otherwise it will cause negativeimpacts on a child.