Influence of Early Attachment on Later Relationships

Internal Working Model

- Bowlby (1969) suggested a baby's first relationship with their primary attachment figure leads to a mental representation of this relationship

- This internal working model acts as a template for future childhood and adult relationships

- A baby whose first relationship is loving and with a reliable attachment figure tends to assume this is how relationships are meant to be so will seek out functional relationships and behave functionally within them

- A child with bad experiences of first attachment will bring these bad experiences to later relationships so may struggle to form relationships and/or behave appropriately within them, displaying insecure behaviour towards friends or partners

Peer Relationships in Childhood

- Securely attached babies tend to form best quality childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached babies will have friendship difficulties (Kerns 1994)

- Bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type 

- Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 in London

- Secure children unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure-avoidant children most likely to be victims, and insecure-resistant children most likely to be bullies

Hazan and Shaver (1987)

- Studied association between attachment and adult relationships 

- Analysed 620 replies to 'love quiz' in local American newspaper

- 3 sections of quiz: current/most important relationship, general love experiences e.g. number of partnerships, and attachment type

- 56% respondents securely attached, 25% insecure-avoidant and 19% insecure-resistant

- Securely attached most likely to have good and longer-lasting romantic experiences, whereas avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy

- Suggests patterns of attachment behaviour shown in romantic relationships

McCarthy (1999) 

- Studied 40 adult women whose early attachment type had been assessed when they were babies

- Securely attached babies had best adult friendships and romantic relationships

- Insecure-resistant babies had particular problems maintaining…