Interdisciplinary Journal of the Dedicated Semester
Happiness: Traditions and Tensions (2010)
Infant Happiness: The Role of
Attachment
SARAH HUISMAN
FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY
.
f parents were asked to name one of the happiest days of their
lives, I would assume that most parents would say the day their
babies were born or adopted. The birth of a baby changes life
forever. With each milestone, each new skill, and every day that
passes, the bond between baby and caregiver strongly grows an
evolutionary binding contract called attachment. Attachment for the
infant becomes the foundation for the development of the social
emotional domain, well-being, and perhaps the basic emotion of
happiness.
Infant-caregiver attachment is most important to an infant‟s
overall well-being and survival. Attachment research goes back to
the work of John Bowlby, who defined attachment as the relational
bond between the caregiver and child (1969). Attachment can be
formed through the caregiver being consistently and appropriately
responsive to the physical and emotional needs of the infant and,
more specifically, through physical holding (skin-to-skin contact),
eye-contact, and verbalizations or communication. Poor attachment
to a primary caregiver can damage the well-being of the infant.
Research in long-term institutions (similar to orphanages) explored
children that had limited or no attachment to a primary caregiver
(Spitz, 1965). Findings revealed that infants with limited or no
attachment had impaired social and emotional development in
comparison to other children with healthy attachment (Sptiz, 1965).
Out of the sample of 91 children, 34 died by the end of the second
year of life.
Absence of mothering equals emotional starvation…This
leads to progressive deterioration engulfing the child‟s whole
person. Such deterioration is manifested first in an arrest of
the child‟s psychological development; then psychological
dysfunctions set in, paralleled by somatic changes. In the
next stage this leads to increased infection liability and
eventually, when the emotional deprivation continues into the
second year of life, to a spectacularly increased rate of
mortality (Spitz, 1965, p. 281).
I
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To raise a happy infant it is imperative to develop a secure and
healthy attachment.
Ainsworth‟s Strange Situation Protocol (SSP) helps to explore
various types of attachment through laboratory testing of infants
(1973). It names three different types of attachment, including secure
(healthy), insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant (Ainsworth,
Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). The test is administered with the
primary caregiver (usually the mother) in a room with a researcher
who is a stranger to the infant. The infant explores toys in the room
while the primary caregiver speaks with the researcher. After a short
time period, the caregiver walks out of the room. The researcher
then approaches the infant to console him or her if the child is upset.
Soon the primary caregiver reenters the room to be reunited with the
infant. Several variables help to determine the type of attachment,
including the reaction of the infant when the primary caregiver leaves
the room, reenters the room, and the level of comfort received from
the stranger. An infant that has secure (healthy) attachment will be
upset when the primary caregiver leaves the room and will not be
easily consoled by the stranger. However, the infant will be happy to
see the primary caregiver when he/she re-enters the room and will
calm down easily with the primary caregiver. An infant with secure
attachment uses the primary caregiver as a secure base with an
established sense of trust. An infant that has insecure-avoidant
attachment is not upset (or shows little reason of concern with the
absence), is comfortable (or not deemed distraught) with the stranger,
and is indifferent when the primary caregiver re-enters the room.
Insecure-avoidant infants easily separate and do not seek comfort
from the primary caregiver; they may even appear to be more
affectionate to strangers. Lastly, an infant with insecure-resistant
attachment (sometimes referred to insecure-ambivalent) is upset when
the primary caregiver leaves the room, slow-to-warm to the stranger,
and angry and distraught with the primary caregiver when he/she
reenters the room. Insecure-resistant infants dislike being separated
from the primary caregiver and are often anxious in unfamiliar
settings. This anxiety can greatly inhibit exploring of an environment
and early learning and socialization with others.
In 1990, a fourth type of attachment was classified as
disorganized attachment (Main & Hess). With disorganized
attachment the infant is almost confused in his/her relationship with
the primary caregiver. He or she may seek comfort and nurturing
from the caregiver but at the same time may resist because of fear or
uncertainty. Often this attachment style is founded within families of
abuse or neglect. The relationship between the infant and primary
caregiver is ambivalent in that the infant pushes towards the caregiver
but is fearful of the relationship. This unhealthy relationship is
disorganized because of the patterns of behavior. Infants who have
disorganized attachment may dislike human contact altogether or
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may display unexplainable behaviors such as a blank stare or
excessive crying when touched or comforted.
Importance of Attachment
Attachment is important to the infant developing a basic trust of
others and to future healthy relationships with others and an
understanding of the world in which they live. With an unhealthy, or
insecure or disorganized attachment, an infant will be impaired in all
domains of development, including social/emotional, cognitive, and
physical development. For example, if an infant has insecure
attachment because the primary caregiver is nonresponsive to the
infant‟s needs, then the infant will be untrusting of others
(social/emotional development) and less likely to explore and expand
on schema (cognitive/physical). Over time, these impairments and
delays may continue without proper treatment or the formation of a
healthy, secure attachment.
In addition to potential delays or impairments to development as
the infant grows into a child, the child may suffer from being poorly
perceived in the world. Secure children are viewed by their teachers
and peers as more competent and social and are therefore more liked.
The inverse is true for children with insecure or disorganized
attachment. How a child is perceived influences the early stages of
developing a healthy sense of self. Parents of infants who have
insecure or disorganized attachment with their caregivers (parents) in
infancy will have a higher chance of modeling this same attachment
style for their children. This cycle can be devastating to the family
unit and overall well-being of not only the infant but the family as
well.
Lastly, not only is attachment important for healthy development
of self for an infant in the immediate present, but research has also
shown that secure infant-caregiver attachment lends to a better selfefficacy
in forming relationships, both friendships amongst peers
and later adult romantic relations (Berlin, Cassidy, & Appleyard,
2008). In general, those who have a healthy secure attachment
formed in infancy will have better life satisfaction (Sumer & Knight,
2001).
Attachment Concerns
Health Concerns
What happens to attachment if the mother (or primary caregiver)
has trauma or health-related issues? Do they impact the development
of infant-caregiver attachment? Research has found that parents with
trauma history may pass on the symptoms or reactions of the trauma
to the infant/child through the parents‟ direct behaviors or through
symptoms that the parent may exhibit (Schwerdtfeger & NelsonGoff,
2007). This idea of passing on behaviors as a result of trauma
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inspired researchers to explore whether trauma during pregnancy
affected attachment. In this study, 41 pregnant women were
examined (Schwerdtfeger & Nelson-Goff, 2007). Trauma was
broken down into two categories: interpersonal trauma, which
included sexual abuse (n=13); childhood physical abuse (n=10); adult
victimization (n=6); adult domestic violence (n=16); or victimization
in a violent crime (n=9). The second category was noninterpersonal
traumas, which included witnessing a serious accident (n=11);
experiencing a natural disaster (n=8); witnessing a serious injury,
mutilation, or violent death (n=11); receiving news of unexpected
death of someone close to the individual (n=24); and being in serious
danger of losing one‟s life or being seriously injured (n=8).
Researchers concluded that expectant mothers who had reported
interpersonal trauma had significantly lower prenatal attachment to
their unborn babies than those mothers who had not experienced
interpersonal trauma (2007). Mothers‟ interpersonal trauma thus
could have lasting effects that significantly impact future attachments
with their children. Research has indicated that attachment starts
before birth and the prenatal period is important to attachment
(Johnson, 2008). Therefore, it is important to have social systems or
organizations in place to help families in preparing for children and
to start the healthy attachment process. Interpersonal trauma is
common amongst woman, and with social systems such as
counseling services, parent classes, and proper prenatal care (both
mental and physical), perhaps our culture could strengthen prenatal
attachment.
The role of the primary caregiver (mother) is to provide a secure
base for the infant. This secure base is the place of security and
comfort when uncertain. The secure base is easy to observe in an
infant. The infant may be playing or exploring and