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Attachment Theory: Implications
for Early Head Start

Mary Ellin Logue, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Head Start Parent Involvement National Training Contract, RMC Research Corporation, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

For more than 50 years, scholars and mental health professionals have been studying how parents and infants bond to each other. As a result, they have developed the "attachment theory." According to this theory, the quality of the relationship between a baby and its primary caregiver often affects other relationships and whether or not the baby views the world as friendly or hostile.

There are three main patterns of attachment between mother and child (in this article, the word "mother" will be used to indicate the baby's primary caregiver). Where there is secure attachment, mothers are generally warm and consistent and tend to read their child's signals accurately. Such mothers usually respond quickly to their baby's cries. The infants tend to explore, cry less, and be more willing to do what their mothers ask. As preschoolers, these children are generally the sociable, adjustable ones.

In avoidant attachment, mothers often do not respond to their baby's emotions or may even reject their baby emotionally. They may be uncomfortable with the baby's being dependence on them and may actively encourage the baby to become independent. By 12 months, such children may seek little physical contact with their mothers and can often be angry with them. They may not seem to enjoy being held, but can often become unsettled when put down. As preschoolers, they are often angry, defiant, and isolated from the other children.

In cases of ambivalent attachment, mothers may behave unpredictably or in a chaotic manner. They tend to misread their baby's signals and the baby probably cries a lot. The babies can be clingy, demanding, and upset by even brief separations. As preschoolers, these children are frequently clingy and dependent.

Other findings about attachment are:

• Warm, sensitive, responsive, and dependable mothering is a key to developing a securely attached child.
  
• A baby's attachment pattern develops during the first year and remains fairly stable into the teenage years unless something interferes. Attachment can be affected by major events, such as the illness or loss of the primary caregiver, a move, or the birth of another baby.
  
• Research findings based on assessment of parent-child attachment (Becoming Attached: Unfolding the Mystery of the Infant-Mother Bond and Its Impact on Later Development, by Robert Karen, 1994) suggest that up to one-third of American children are insecurely attached, either avoidantly or ambivalently. The figure is higher in unstable homes with high degrees of stress.
  
• Attachment patterns tend to repeat themselves through generations. A mother who is insecurely attached herself is likely to raise a child who is also insecurely attached. Intervention is usually needed to break the pattern, and even brief interventions can help mothers and children form secure attachments.

What implications does attachment theory have for Early Head Start? A major EHS focus is to develop healthy relationships between children and parents, families, and program staff. Well-trained practitioners can help parents of young children form caring and dependable relationships. In addition to offering child development guidance, EHS staff can support healthy attachments between parents and children when they also provide parents with opportunities to reflect on their own early experiences.

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