To Sum Up
Research in child development leaves little doubt that a child's healthy development is based, in large part, on a secure relationship with psychological parents. In two longitudinal studies of high-risk children (Sroufe, 1992; Smith & Werner, 1992), a secure attachment with caregivers was the most important protective factor in their ability to remain competent and confident, despite a number of risk factors. University of Minnesota researcher Sroufe and his colleagues found:
- The kinds of attachments children have formed with their primary caregivers at one year of age predict teacher ratings, behavior problems, and quality of relationships with peers in preschool. Early attachments also predict the social competency of ten and eleven-year-olds themselves in summer camp settings.
- Children gain a great deal from interactions with peers over the years. Infants who experience warm, responsive caregiving are, later in life, more empathetic with peers. When they are responded to early in life, they learn something basic about what it means to be connected with other people.
- Both the quality of care and security of attachment affect children's later capacity for empathy, emotional regulation, and behavioral control (Kestenbaum, Farber, & Sroufe, 1989).
- Early caregiving that is sensitive and emotionally responsive can indeed buffer the effects of high-risk environments (including maternal stress). This is especially true for boys. It can promote positive change for children who have experienced poverty and abuse, and can interrupt the transmission of abusive patterns from one generation to the next.
- Children with insecure attachment histories explore more poorly, perform worse on tasks involving mastery and cognitive performance, and do more poorly on interactive tasks requiring the child to use an adult as a resource, than do children with secure attachment histories (Sroufe, 1989).
Other researchers have found strong links between a child's attachment history and competence in school:
- Van IJzendoorn and DeRuiter (1993) summarize research that demonstrates a clear link between attachment security and emergent literacy, peer relations, and problem solving in school situations.
- In a 1988 study by Bus and van IJzendoorn, children who were classified with avoidant attachments were far less competent in engaging in emergent literacy skills and activities than peers with secure attachments.
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This document's URL is: © 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
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