Attachment and development: A prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood

Abstract

There is much to digest in a 30 year longitudinal study of the developing person (Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005a). The following paper summarizes some key points regarding the place of infant attachment in the developmental course. It is argued that understanding the role of attachment entails grasping the organizational nature of the attachment construct and embracing a non-linear transactional model. Using such concepts, attachment history was shown in the Minnesota study to be clearly related to the growth of self-reliance, the capacity for emotional regulation, and the emergence and course of social competence, among other things. Moreover, specific patterns of attachment had implications for both normal development and pathology. Even more important than such linkages, however, study of the place of early attachment in later adaptation reveals much about developmental processes underlying both continuity and change. Findings are over-viewed concerning the complex links between attachment and ultimate outcomes and the preservation of early patterns even during times of change. In all, these findings have implications both for future research and for clinical application.

Epigenetic mechanisms and the transgenerational effects of maternal care

“…Secure infants also have improved emotional regulation, express more positive emotion and exhibit appropriate persistence and flexibility in response to stress. Infant disorganized attachment has been associated with the highest risk of developing later psychopathology [88], including dissociative disorders [89], aggressive behavior [90], conduct disorder and self-abuse [15]. Thus, aspects of the mother-infant interaction which have been demonstrated to be transmitted intergenerationally in humans and primates have profound effects on infant development and thus can mediate the inheritance by offspring of increased risk or resilience to physical or emotional disorder.…”

A short-term longitudinal study of correlates and sequelae of attachment security in autism

“…Children with secure classifications have been rated as more socially competent, empathic, and popular with their peers in preschool and early childhood than children with insecure classifications (Belsky & Fearon, 2002; Grossmann & Grossmann, 1991; Shulman, Elicker, & Sroufe, 1994; Sroufe, 1983, 2005; Thompson, 2008). Increased empathic responsiveness on the part of children with secure attachment histories relative to those with anxious and avoidant histories has been documented even during infancy (Main & Weston, 1981), as well as preschool teacher ratings (e.g.…”

Attachment disorders in family and social context

“…Important work by Sroufe (2005) and colleagues (Weinfield, Sroufe, Egeland, & Carlson, 1999) established its construct validity for the assessment of the quality of parent-child attachment in young children. Main and colleagues' (Main & Hesse, 1990;Main & Solomon, 1990) description of disorganized attachment extended the value of SSP classifications to clinical populations of young children, enhancing the interest of clinicians.…”

“…Still, it must be said that work to date has suggested more strongly that early disturbances of attachment are associated with increased risks for psychiatric disorders rather than that we have established links between specific patterns of attachment and specific types of disorders. Second, it seems increasingly clear that taken alone, classifications of attachment have limited predictive power whereas when considered with other variables, they appear to be important, if not vital, considerations (Sroufe, 2005).…”