What Is Attachment?
Attachment is a fundamental aspect of human development, playing a crucial role in shaping our sense of self, our relationships with others, and our understanding of the world around us. The concept of attachment was first introduced by John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, who studied the effects of early attachments on young children separated from their parents during wartime.
The primary attachment bond serves multiple functions, including protection and survival. When infants feel stressed or threatened, their attachment system is activated, and they exhibit behaviors such as crying or signaling the need for their caregiver. This initial response is essential for the child’s survival, as it ensures that they receive the necessary care and attention from their caregiver.
Shaping Our Sense of Self and Others
The second function of the attachment bond is the shaping of our sense of self, our expectations of how others will respond to us, and our understanding of the world. In early attachment relationships, the behaviors of each partner influence and shape the other. Children’s attachment behaviors are intended to bring their caregivers closer, helping them to manage their distress. How the caregiver responds to the child’s attachment behaviors will significantly impact the child’s future behaviors in moments of distress.
For instance, if a baby’s initial cries elicit an immediate response and soothing, they will develop a sense of confidence in their caregiver’s response and in themselves as worthy of care. Conversely, if there is no immediate response, attachment behaviors may escalate, leading to a sense of powerlessness, unworthiness, or despair. This can have long-lasting effects on the child’s future relationships and overall well-being.
The Role of Attachment in Brain Development
A third critical function of early attachment is its role in brain development. Certain regions of the brain are more experience-dependent and experience-susceptible for their development. For example, the orbito-frontal cortex, a key area for reasoning and associational processes, has a sensitive period for growth in the 6th to 12th month, dependent on exciting, pleasurable face-to-face interactions with the caregiver.
States of positive arousal, such as those experienced during games of peek-a-boo, activate a rush of biological processes in which endorphins are released in the brain. Conversely, prolonged states of negative arousal, such as being left alone to cry when hungry, can lead to the release of stress hormones. This can have a profound impact on the child’s ability to manage future stressful moments and develop healthy emotional regulation.
Affect regulation, which is the ability to moderate emotional arousal, is present at birth but requires refinement and elaboration through interaction with a caregiver. The caregiver’s response to the baby’s affect and the baby’s central nervous system and neurotransmitter systems interact to regulate emotional arousal. When the infant is distressed, the stress response system is activated. If the caregiver responds in a timely way with soothing, arousal can diminish, and the infant can regain equilibrium in a more manageable environment.
The Importance of Early Attachments
During the first year of life, the attachment relationship is the critical context in which development takes place. A sustained positive attachment can provide the learning of empathy, the control and balance of feelings, including destructive ones, and the optimal development of cognitive capacities. Patterns of soothing or lack of soothing are internalized at the body level (hormonally) and also representationally. Infants can perceive and store memory in ways that are later lost to us.
Attachment plays a crucial role in our early years, setting the stage for our future selves. Some of us face hurdles early on in life, made more challenging if our primary attachments have been disturbed or disrupted. Some of us are lucky enough to have a more promising beginning in life, giving us more capacity to deal with later challenges. Our brains and our emotions have plasticity, the capacity to change in response to new experiences, throughout life. Whatever our beginnings have been, subsequent positive attachment experiences in adolescence or adulthood have the potential to enable new patterns and responses.
