CHAPTER 11
Attachment to Others and
Development of the Self
HECTOR MCDONNELL, Refugee Mother and Baby, Goma (oil on canvas, 1997)
,The Caregiver–Child Attachment Relationship
The Self
THEMES
NATURE AND NURTURE
THE ACTIVE CHILD
THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
RESEARCH AND CHILDREN’S WELFARE
Well into the twentieth century, many professionals working in
orphanages and similar institutions believed that children could be
raised in an environment that prioritized good physical care,
including proper nourishment and health care, over the emotional
dimensions of caregiving, and develop as expected. Yet studies of
children who lost their parents during World War II demonstrated
the opposite: no matter how hygienic and competently managed they
may be, institutions like orphanages put babies and children at high
risk because they do not provide the kind of caregiving that enables
infants to form close socioemotional bonds (Bowlby, 1953). Foster
care and adoption — the earlier, the better — came to be viewed as far
better options.
Although we no longer put children into orphanages in Canada, there
are other circumstances in which separation from parents can have
significant implications for a child’s development. These
,circumstances range from short-term separation, such as placement
in a childcare centre or with a nonparent caregiver while parents are
at work, to long-term separations, as when a parent is deployed
overseas or when an abused or neglected child is removed from the
home. How children adapt to these separations has become an
important focus of developmental science. Indeed, those early
studies of institutionalized children inspired systematic research into
how the quality of parent–child interactions affects children’s
development in families, especially their development of emotional
attachments to other people. This research, which continues today,
has led to a much deeper understanding of the ways in which the
early parent–child emotional bond likely influences children’s
interactions with others from infancy into adulthood. It has also
provided new insight into the development of children’s sense of self,
as well as of their emotions, including their feelings of self-worth.
In this chapter, we will first explore how children develop
attachments — close and enduring emotional bonds to parents or
other primary caregivers. Then we will examine the ways in which
the nature of these attachments to others seems to set the stage for
the child’s near- and long-term development. As you will see, the
attachment process appears to be biologically based, yet it unfolds in
different ways, depending on the familial and cultural context. Thus,
the themes of nature and nurture and the sociocultural context will be
important in our discussion of this topic. You will also see that
although most children in typical social circumstances develop
, attachments to their parents, the quality of these attachments differs
in important ways and has implications for each child’s social and
emotional development. The theme of individual differences will
therefore figure prominently in our discussion as well. The theme of
research and children’s welfare is also relevant to our examination of
experimental interventions designed to enhance the quality of
mother–child attachment.
attachment
an emotional bond with a specific person that is enduring across space and time
The second half of this chapter will examine a related issue — the
development of children’s sense of self, that is, their self-
understanding, self-identity, and self-esteem. Although many factors
influence these areas of development, the quality of children’s early
attachments lays the foundation for how children feel about
themselves, including their sense of security and well-being. Over
time, children’s self-understanding, self-esteem, and self-identity are
also shaped by how others perceive and treat them, by biologically
based characteristics of the child, and by children’s developing
abilities to think about and interpret their social worlds. Thus, the
themes of nature and nurture, individual differences, the sociocultural
context, and the active child will be evident in our discussion of the
development of self.
Attachment to Others and
Development of the Self
HECTOR MCDONNELL, Refugee Mother and Baby, Goma (oil on canvas, 1997)
,The Caregiver–Child Attachment Relationship
The Self
THEMES
NATURE AND NURTURE
THE ACTIVE CHILD
THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
RESEARCH AND CHILDREN’S WELFARE
Well into the twentieth century, many professionals working in
orphanages and similar institutions believed that children could be
raised in an environment that prioritized good physical care,
including proper nourishment and health care, over the emotional
dimensions of caregiving, and develop as expected. Yet studies of
children who lost their parents during World War II demonstrated
the opposite: no matter how hygienic and competently managed they
may be, institutions like orphanages put babies and children at high
risk because they do not provide the kind of caregiving that enables
infants to form close socioemotional bonds (Bowlby, 1953). Foster
care and adoption — the earlier, the better — came to be viewed as far
better options.
Although we no longer put children into orphanages in Canada, there
are other circumstances in which separation from parents can have
significant implications for a child’s development. These
,circumstances range from short-term separation, such as placement
in a childcare centre or with a nonparent caregiver while parents are
at work, to long-term separations, as when a parent is deployed
overseas or when an abused or neglected child is removed from the
home. How children adapt to these separations has become an
important focus of developmental science. Indeed, those early
studies of institutionalized children inspired systematic research into
how the quality of parent–child interactions affects children’s
development in families, especially their development of emotional
attachments to other people. This research, which continues today,
has led to a much deeper understanding of the ways in which the
early parent–child emotional bond likely influences children’s
interactions with others from infancy into adulthood. It has also
provided new insight into the development of children’s sense of self,
as well as of their emotions, including their feelings of self-worth.
In this chapter, we will first explore how children develop
attachments — close and enduring emotional bonds to parents or
other primary caregivers. Then we will examine the ways in which
the nature of these attachments to others seems to set the stage for
the child’s near- and long-term development. As you will see, the
attachment process appears to be biologically based, yet it unfolds in
different ways, depending on the familial and cultural context. Thus,
the themes of nature and nurture and the sociocultural context will be
important in our discussion of this topic. You will also see that
although most children in typical social circumstances develop
, attachments to their parents, the quality of these attachments differs
in important ways and has implications for each child’s social and
emotional development. The theme of individual differences will
therefore figure prominently in our discussion as well. The theme of
research and children’s welfare is also relevant to our examination of
experimental interventions designed to enhance the quality of
mother–child attachment.
attachment
an emotional bond with a specific person that is enduring across space and time
The second half of this chapter will examine a related issue — the
development of children’s sense of self, that is, their self-
understanding, self-identity, and self-esteem. Although many factors
influence these areas of development, the quality of children’s early
attachments lays the foundation for how children feel about
themselves, including their sense of security and well-being. Over
time, children’s self-understanding, self-esteem, and self-identity are
also shaped by how others perceive and treat them, by biologically
based characteristics of the child, and by children’s developing
abilities to think about and interpret their social worlds. Thus, the
themes of nature and nurture, individual differences, the sociocultural
context, and the active child will be evident in our discussion of the
development of self.
