In psychology, there are different parenting styles, which influence the form of attachment that the children develop. Authoritative parenting establishes rules and guidelines which children are expected to follow. It is characterized by parental warmth, as well as high control, making children have positive relationships in their childhood and adult life, due to the security it offers to the child. In authoritative parenting, the parent respects the child interests but suggests their own perspective. Authoritative parents respond to their children while at the same time willing to listen to any questions that the child has. In cases where the children do not reach the expectations of the parents, the parents are forgiving and nurturing rather than punishing the child (Berk, 2009). Parents impart clear standards and monitor their children’s conduct. This parenting style though assertive is not restrictive and intrusive. This type of parenting style usually results to secure attachment, which develops in the part of the infant’s brain that is responsible for emotional and social development and communication.
Permissive parenting is another parenting style. It is almost similar to authoritative parenting because it shows the warmth to infants. It is sometimes referred to as indulgent parenting because the parents do not make demands of their children giving the child extreme freedom. The parents are very responsive to the child’s emotional and physical needs. They are more responsive than demanding to need of the child. Infants who form attachment because of this parenting style need a parent in the room to encourage them to explore and play. Infants who experience this form of parenting style sometimes shows ambivalent attachment. This can is seen in that they get anxious around strangers and distressed when parents leave.
Secure attachment results because of authoritative parenting. Children with this attachment become sad when their caregivers leave and happy when their parents return. When the children are frightened, they seek comfort from caregivers or parents. When a parent initiates contact or returns after being away, it is greeted by positive behavior from the child (Shaffer, 2008). Other people can comfort securely attached children in the absences of caregivers or parents though they prefer their parents for comfort than strangers.
Secure attachment is chosen because of authoritative parenting is that this type of parenting respects the child’s interest while instilling rules. As a result, the child develops all-roundly and is can live comfortable around other people. Children who are securely attached can warmly welcome others if they try to form close relationships with them. Secure attachment also results to the development of lasting relationships.
Ambivalently attached children are very suspicious of strangers. They show distress when they are separated from their caregivers or parents. However, when their parents return, they do not seem comforted or reassured (Berk, 2009). In some instances, the child may display direct aggression to the parent or passively reject them by refusing comfort. Permissive parents allow their children to do what they want without limitations. The children in result luck rules and discipline. Hence, the children develop trust issues as they grow, as they cannot trust strangers.
Children in anxious-ambivalent attachment develop relationships because they fear they will be abandoned. This results to relationships, which do not last for a long time. Permissive parenting makes the child spoilt. It results to children who are not able to manage themselves and with no ability of tolerating frustration. Hence, permissive parenting causes ambivalent-insecure attachment as it limits the healthy development of children.
Infant temperament can also be linked to the maternal caretaking style in the development of insecure and secure attachment relationships. Temperament can affect behavior in attachment classification and strange behavior. This is because temperamental characteristics like irritability can influence how a child can react to reunion and separation. Infants who are highly irritable like the case of those who experience permissive parenting style experience extreme distress when they are separated from parents (Berk 2009). They are likely to seek contact and proximity upon the return of caregiver even though they would not calm down. Hence, infants with this kind temperament are likely to have insecure attachment.
Maternal behavior, which influences security in attachment, can also have an influence on the development of temperament. The bond between infant and the mother can alter how a child expresses their temperament. Temperament can also affect behavior in awkward or strange situations for the child but have no influence on security of attachment. Temperamentally irritable children may end up crying and fussing when they are separated in a strange situation. However, whether they are insecure or secure cannot be affected by temperamental predisposition.
The theory of attachment by Bowlby assumes universality of attachment. It is assumed that attachment is the same across all cultures because it is innate. It is important for children to get sensitive and responsive parenting even though this is achieved different varying with different cultures. This is because the type of parenting that the children get can affect their attachment, which has an influence on child’s relationship. The type of attachment in childhood also affects their adult relationships.
Societal values and norms can have different impacts on behaviors and beliefs of individuals. In relation to this, cultural difference can have an effect on how different mothers from different cultures treat their infants and the attachment relationships that are formed, as a result. People of different cultures have different behaviors (Shaffer, 2008). For instance, in Germany, children are taught independence from an early age. This could be a reason why avoidant attachment is commonly seen in German infants. The relationship between mothers and their children also vary depending on the culture. This could affect the type of culture attachment classifications. Germany can be used in the example where infants with secure attachment behavior can be viewed as spoilt resulting to the parent discouraging such behavior.
Secure attachment is the most common form of attachment across all cultures. Resistant attachment is most common in Japan while avoidant attachment is common is common in the western part of Europe (Shaffer, 2008). This can be used to show that different cultures can influence the attachment style. This is because different cultures have different caregiving style making culture a factor, which influences the type of attachment.
In conclusion, different parenting styles have different effects on the attachment to expect in infants as can be seen from the essay. Culture can also be seen to have an effect on the type of attachment developed in children. This is because different cultures want to instill different values in their children. Hence, when trying to analyze attachment in children, all the above factors should be considered.
References
Berk L. (2009). Development through the Lifespan (5th Edition). Pearson; 5 eedition.
Shaffer D. (2008). Social and Personality Development. Cengage Learning; 6 edition
.
