The Influence of Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationships, Including
the Role of an Internal Working Model
In this final subsection, we will be revisiting Bowlby’s work on the internal working model and the
continuity hypothesis. We already know that key concepts include template for future relationships
and basic trust/mistrust. A similar concept is put forward by Erik Erikson who calls the first
relationship a prototype.
The major importance of attachment is its role in the ability to form relationships with people other
than your primary attachment figure. In this subsection, we look again at Bowlby’s idea of internal
working models and research into the link between attachment type and the quality of later
relationships.
Internal Working Model
Earlier in this topic we discussed the formation of the internal working model. John Bowlby
suggested that 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.
The quality of a baby’s first attachment is crucial because this template will powerfully
affect the nature of their future relationships. A baby whose first experience is of a loving
relationship with a reliable attachment figure will tend to assume this is how relationships
are meant to be. They will then seek out functional relationships and behave functionally
within them, i.e., without being too uninvolved or emotionally close (which would in fact
typify insecure-avoidant attachment) or being controlling and argumentative (insecure-
resistant attachment).
A child with bad experiences of their first attachment will bring these bad experiences to
bear on later relationships. This may mean they struggle to form relationships in the first
place, or they may not behave appropriately within relationships, displaying insecure-
avoidant or insecure-resistant behaviour towards friends and partners.
Relationships in Childhood
Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood:
Kerns (1994)
Found that securely attached babies tend to go on to form the best quality childhood
friendships, whereas insecurely attached babies later have friendship difficulties.
, Lieberman (1977)
Found that children classified as ‘secure’ go on to be more socially skilled in their
friendships than both insecurely attached types of children.
Hartup et al. (1993)
Argues that children with a secure attachment type are more popular at nursery and
engage more in social interactions with other children.
Youngblade and Belsky (1992)
Found that 3–5-year-old securely attached children were more curious, competent,
empathetic, resilient and self-confident, got along better with other children and were
more likely to form close friendships.
(in particular, bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type):
Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998)
Assessed the attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in
196 children aged 7-11 from London. Secure children were very unlikely to be involved
in bullying. Insecure-avoidant children were the most likely to be victims and insecure-
resistant children were most likely to be bullies.
Relationships in Adulthood
Internal working models affect two major adult experiences – romantic relationships and
parent relationships with your own children:
Hazan and Shaver (1987)
Conducted a classic study of the association between attachment and adult relationships.
They analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local newspaper (Rocky
Mountain News). The quiz had three sections. The first assessed the respondents’ current
or most important relationship. The second part assessed general love experiences
such as the number of partners. The third section assessed attachment type by asking
respondents to choose which of the three statements best described their feelings. They
found that 56% of respondents were identified as securely attached, with 25% insecure-
avoidant and 19% insecure-resistant. Those reporting secure attachments were the
most likely to have good and longer-lasting romantic experiences (they were less likely
to have been divorced). The avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of
intimacy. These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in
romantic relationships.
the Role of an Internal Working Model
In this final subsection, we will be revisiting Bowlby’s work on the internal working model and the
continuity hypothesis. We already know that key concepts include template for future relationships
and basic trust/mistrust. A similar concept is put forward by Erik Erikson who calls the first
relationship a prototype.
The major importance of attachment is its role in the ability to form relationships with people other
than your primary attachment figure. In this subsection, we look again at Bowlby’s idea of internal
working models and research into the link between attachment type and the quality of later
relationships.
Internal Working Model
Earlier in this topic we discussed the formation of the internal working model. John Bowlby
suggested that 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.
The quality of a baby’s first attachment is crucial because this template will powerfully
affect the nature of their future relationships. A baby whose first experience is of a loving
relationship with a reliable attachment figure will tend to assume this is how relationships
are meant to be. They will then seek out functional relationships and behave functionally
within them, i.e., without being too uninvolved or emotionally close (which would in fact
typify insecure-avoidant attachment) or being controlling and argumentative (insecure-
resistant attachment).
A child with bad experiences of their first attachment will bring these bad experiences to
bear on later relationships. This may mean they struggle to form relationships in the first
place, or they may not behave appropriately within relationships, displaying insecure-
avoidant or insecure-resistant behaviour towards friends and partners.
Relationships in Childhood
Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood:
Kerns (1994)
Found that securely attached babies tend to go on to form the best quality childhood
friendships, whereas insecurely attached babies later have friendship difficulties.
, Lieberman (1977)
Found that children classified as ‘secure’ go on to be more socially skilled in their
friendships than both insecurely attached types of children.
Hartup et al. (1993)
Argues that children with a secure attachment type are more popular at nursery and
engage more in social interactions with other children.
Youngblade and Belsky (1992)
Found that 3–5-year-old securely attached children were more curious, competent,
empathetic, resilient and self-confident, got along better with other children and were
more likely to form close friendships.
(in particular, bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type):
Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998)
Assessed the attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in
196 children aged 7-11 from London. Secure children were very unlikely to be involved
in bullying. Insecure-avoidant children were the most likely to be victims and insecure-
resistant children were most likely to be bullies.
Relationships in Adulthood
Internal working models affect two major adult experiences – romantic relationships and
parent relationships with your own children:
Hazan and Shaver (1987)
Conducted a classic study of the association between attachment and adult relationships.
They analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local newspaper (Rocky
Mountain News). The quiz had three sections. The first assessed the respondents’ current
or most important relationship. The second part assessed general love experiences
such as the number of partners. The third section assessed attachment type by asking
respondents to choose which of the three statements best described their feelings. They
found that 56% of respondents were identified as securely attached, with 25% insecure-
avoidant and 19% insecure-resistant. Those reporting secure attachments were the
most likely to have good and longer-lasting romantic experiences (they were less likely
to have been divorced). The avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of
intimacy. These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in
romantic relationships.
