Attachment is a complex process that involves an affectionate bond between individuals that forms early in life and endures. It involves responsiveness to and closeness with infants through mutually responsive behaviors like touching, feeding, and eye contact. Early experiences help form stable brain pathways as synapses are pruned or maintained. While attachment to caregivers differs from parents, both are important for development.

1. Chapter 5:
Attachment
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

2. What is Attachment?
• Attachment:
– Is a complex, on-going process
– Involves a responsiveness to an infant
– Involves a closeness to an infant
– Is an affectionate bond that forms between individuals
that endures through space and time
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3. Brain Research
• The basic building blocks of the brain include:
– Neurons: The basic building blocks
– Axon: Output fiber of a neuron
– Dendrite: Input fiber of a neuron
– Synapses: Connections formed through experiences
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4. Brain Research
• Unused synapses are pruned.
• Used synapses are maintained.
• Early experiences help to form stable pathways.
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5. Attachment
• How does attachment to caregivers differ from
attachment to parents?
– Caregivers know the attachment is for a shorter period.
– Caregiver attachment starts later in life.
– Caregiver attachment is secondary to parent
attachment.
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6. Milestones of Attachment
• Milestones of attachment include:
– Trying to follow a departing parent
– Crying
– Pulling away from strangers
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7. Milestones of Attachment
• Extremely close infant-adult relationships are
formed through mutually-responsive behavior,
including:
– Touching
– Feeding
– Fondling
– Eye contact
How is autonomy related to attachment?
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8. Toddler Separation Issues
• Securely attached toddlers may have difficulty
with separation.
• Ways to assist caregivers in helping parents with
separation include:
– Allow the child his or her feelings
– Help the parent leave immediately when good-byes are
said
– Discourage the parent from “sneaking away”
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9. Toddler Separation Issues
• During separation, remind parents that secondary
attachments to caregivers are in addition to
parental attachments—they do not replace them.
Parents and family members are
superstars in the toddler’s eyes!
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10. Measuring Attachment
• Mary Ainsworth created the strange situation to
measure attachment between mother and child.
• Securely attached infants and toddlers seem comfortable
in a new setting and explore independently as long as the
parent is present.
• Insecure avoidant attachment is indicative of children who
do not seek closeness to the parent nor seem depressed
when the parent departs.
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11. Measuring Attachment
• Insecure ambivalent attachment patterns involve positive
and negative reactions to parents.
• Disorganized-disoriented patterns of behavior are
evidenced by children who approach the parent while
looking away at the same time.
These 4 descriptions of attachment focus only
on mother and child attachment, and are based
on research from the 1970’s. A lot has changed
since then!
How might a child’s attachment behavior be
misinterpreted?
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12. Measuring Attachment
• Children from some cultures may live in extended
families and have multiple attachments.
Children and their families come in many varieties!
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13. Attachment Issues
• Some infants are born without a strong set of
attachment behaviors.
– Adults may find it hard to interact with these children.
– Caregivers need to find ways to work with these
children.
– Caring for more than 12 babies in one caregiving
environment works against developing attachment with
each child.
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14. Attachment Issues
• A primary-caregiver system helps promote attachment.
• If a baby has no attachment or negative attachment:
– Families and caregivers should try working together to promote
attachment.
– Outside help may be necessary if the child does not respond to
other interventions.
– Without help, these children may fail to thrive, may become
passive, and may lack trust.
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15. Attachment Issues
• Infants need ongoing, reciprocal, responsive
interactions to promote attachment.
• Remember: Exemplary infant child care that
promotes attachment helps children gain a sense
of security and trust.
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16. Children with Special Needs
• What is early intervention?
– The process of identifying young children with
disabilities or “at risk for developing disabilities.
– Creating a plan for supports so children can achieve
their full potential.
– Plan focuses on developmental needs of the child.
– A multidisciplinary approach.
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17. Children with Special Needs
• The laws that guide early intervention:
– Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975)
– Education of the Handicapped Act (1986)
– Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
(2004)
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18. Children with Special Needs
• Benefits and challenges of early intervention:
– It can support young children with disabilities early in
their development in overcoming obstacles.
– Recognizing the difference between temporary and
permanent delays and differences.
– Assisting families in their efforts to find the most
appropriate resources.
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19. Online Learning Center
• See Chapter 5 of the text’s Online Learning
Center for chapter quizzes, Theory Into Action
activities, Video Observations, and more.
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