Attachment Theory

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses John Bowlby's attachment theory that suggests that the first attachment relationships which children form can affect their mental health for the rest of their lives, and that insecure attachments can be associated with anxiety, and lack of secure relationships in adult life. The paper provides a brief literature review and summarizes the main ideas of attachment theory. The paper concludes by pointing out that Bowlby's theories concentrate upon the mother as primary caregiver, but today this is not necessarily the case.

Outline:
Introduction
Literature Review
Results
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Attachment theory is the theory of infant bonding, usually seen as that of bonding with the mother. Bowlby, who was educated as a psychoanalyst, and certainly regarded himself as one for the rest of his life ("Bowlby always considered himself a psychoanalyst and believed that his work was in keeping with the best psychoanalytic tradition" (Cortina and Marrone, 2003)) proposed this theory in a number of papers presented in London, and this received a lot of opposition from psychoanalysts of the time, especially as it seemed to diverge significantly from psychoanalysis, and instead was seen as a more behavioral model of child development (Cortina and Marrone, 2003). He himself confessed that the idea was unpalatable for him at first, but eventually he found that the evidence supported his theories, and he felt able to present them (Cortina and Marrone, 2003)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bretherton, I. (1992) "The Origins of Attachment Theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth" Departmental Psychology Number 28.
• Carpendale, J. and Lewis, C. (2002) "Constructing an Understanding of Mind: the Development of Children's Social Understanding Within Social Interaction" Behavioral and Brain Sciences Cambridge University Press.
• Cortina, M, and Marrone, M (2003) "Reclaiming Bowlby's Contribution to Psychoanalysis" Fromm Forum number 7.
• Garelli, JC (1997) "Attachment" POL.it. Volume 3, issue 1.
• Garelli, JC (2007) Controversial Aspects of Bowlby's Attachment Theory http://members.fortunecity.com/garelli/controvery.html

More papers on Attachment Theory:

• Research Paper # 84896 : "Bowlby's Attachment Theory"
• Research Paper # 115246 : "Attachment Theory"
• Essay # 35387 : "Attachment Theory"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: