Anna Marlowe

CHILD390R

January 20, 2023

(In Response to Questions 3 & 4)

Secure Attachment

The attachment between a child and their caregiver has an extreme impact whether it is

positive, negative, or disorganized. It is important for families and communities as a whole to

understand the importance of attachment in relationships. If we understand attachment, it can be

used as a guideline to better a relationship and provide needed support for someone. It can

deeply influence a person’s life in many aspects from birth to adulthood. There are advantages to

this attachment being secure. A secure attachment is a healthy and unconditional attachment

where the caregiver is both responsive and consistent. When the child has moments of stress or

fear and can return to a safe person, a secure base forms for their attachment and is strengthened

with each bonding moment (National, 2015). There are advantages that come from security, and

the experiences one can have in this type of relationship can build up to independence,

confidence, and resilience.

Advantages of Secure Attachments

In order to show just how impactful a secure attachment is, one can look at the results of

the opposite. There have been many studies done to observe the outcomes of insecure

attachments. An example of these outcomes is the link between insecure attachments and anxiety

in childhood (Colonnesi et al., 2011). In general, insecurely attached children have been found to

have less of an ability to maintain relationships and have less developed social skills, which in

turn lead to other issues that make them vulnerable to anxiety and depression. After reviewing
this information, one can start to see how a secure attachment compared to that insecure

attachment would be so positive in a child’s life.

Foundation for Relationships

There are many advantages that come from secure attachments. From birth, how a baby is

treated and responded to forms their expectation for how they will be treated in the future. When

those needs are consistently responded to, the attachment is strengthened. This attachment isn’t

just one sided, however. They learn how to treat other people from this relationship. As the child

grows and develops, the relationship is strengthened, and it influences how the child responds to

their environment. It creates a foundation for their future relationships and gives them the

positive mindset to continue exploring their world with confidence. “Simply stated, young

children develop and function well when provided care in safe, interesting, and intimate settings

where they establish and sustain secure and trusting relationships with knowledgeable caregivers

who are responsive to their needs and interests” (Lally & Mangione, 2017). It is crucial to how

their brains develop early on, and that is shown throughout their lives as they make impactful

choices, such as who they associate with, their spouse, choosing a career, etc. The foundation is

set for their relationships in the future, even their relationship with themselves.

Resilience and Gratitude

Another advantage that has been found, or positive outcome of these secure attachments,

is gratitude. This trait of gratitude has been connected to resilience in adolescence after a

childhood of being securely attached. They are more resilient and less likely to develop

depression or anxiety as they get older (Scott et al., 2021). Gratitude is often connected to

happiness or gladness because people tend to feel grateful for the things that make them feel joy.

This joy leads to a resilient mindset because of the optimism it creates in a person. Then, along
with their resilience to tough conditions, gratitude for the happy factors is reflected in how they

carry themselves and maintain their relationships with peers and significant others.

Autonomy and Confidence

Securely attached children are all around more explorative as they have a secure base to

leave and return to. When they have positive experiences with others from early on, they are able

to go throughout life with the confidence to make their own choices and try new things/meet new

people. They can go back to that comforting base that their caregiver provides. Even as they get

older, the relationship they have with their caregiver/parent is typically positive (Warmuth et al.,

2022). Having this positive and secure base of a relationship from a young age, they are much

more likely to continue forming and creating strong relationships that are secure. They learn very

important social skills and other life skills that help them to be more successful. They can resolve

social problems, interact with others, keep relationships, and make big decisions. Those who

don’t have secure relationships may not be as capable of these more independent tasks. Securely

attached children and adults have the advantage of a secure base or “harbor” to return to

physically or mentally that grants them confidence and in turn, independence.

 References

Colonnesi, C., Draijer, E. M., Jan J. M. Stams, G., Van der Bruggen, C. O., Bögels, S. M., &

Noom, M. J. (2011). The Relation Between Insecure Attachment and Child Anxiety: A Meta-

Analytic Review. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 40(4), 630-645.

10.1080/15374416.2011.581623

Lally, J., & Mangione, P. (2017). Caring Relationships. YC Young Children, 72(2), 17-24.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/90004118

National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (UK). Children's Attachment: Attachment in

Children and Young People Who Are Adopted from Care, in Care or at High Risk of Going into

Care. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2015 Nov. (NICE

Guideline, No. 26.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK338143/

Scott, V., Verhees, M., De Raedt, R., Bijttebier, P., Vasey, M. W., Van de Walle, M., Waters, T. E.

A., & Bosmans, G. (2021). Gratitude: A Resilience Factor for More Securely Attached Children.

Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(2), 416-430. 10.1007/s10826-020-01853-8

Warmuth, K. A., Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2022). A Prospective Longitudinal Study of

Mother–Child Attachment and Externalizing Trajectories in Boys and Girls. Child Psychiatry

and Human Development, 53(4), 611-622. 10.1007/s10578-021-01158-x