The Relationship between Quality of Attachment and Behavior Problems in Preschool in a High-Risk Sample

Abstract

Bowlby (1969/1982b, 1973, 1980) has eloquently described how an infant's relationship with the primary caregiver lays the groundwork for later social-emotional development. The patterning of the early attachment relationship the foundation on which later representational models of self and attachment figure are constructed. Such models strongly influence the ways in which a child relates to others, approaches the environment, and resolves critical issues in later stages of development. In Bowlby's words, a who has formed a secure attachment is likely to possess a representational model of attachment figure(s) as being available, responsive, and helpful and a complementary model of himself as at least a potentially lovable and valuable person (Bowlby, 1980, p. 242). The securely attached child, with positive expectations of self and others, more likely to approach the world with confidence and, when faced with potentially alarming situations, likely to tackle them effectively or to seek help in doing so (Bowlby, 1973, p. 208). In contrast, infants whose emotional needs have not been consistently or adequately met come to view the world as comfortless and unpredictable; and they respond either by shrinking from or doing battle with it (Bowlby, 1973, p. 208). Bowlby proposes that disturbances of the attachment

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Affiliated Institutions

• University of Minnesota System US

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