Texoma Hypnosis Center

This is excerpted from an article on a controversial case regarding placement of an african-american child with an adoptive caucasian family.  The information can prove useful.

To read the full length artiticle click here: http://education.umn.edu/ceed/publications/briefsandreports/factfind/ff1991c.htm

What are the Long-term Effects of the Attachment Relationship?

We know that the kind of attachment a child has formed by age one can predict some future behavior. Longitudinal research of a group of children for more than twelve years provides clear evidence about what these children are like at age twelve.

Interesting differences exist between children who had secure versus anxious attachments. Children with secure early attachments are more likely in later years to:

• be better problem-solvers
• form friendships and be leaders with peers - be more empathic and less aggressive
• engage their world with confidence
• have higher self-esteem
• be better at resolving conflict
• be more self-reliant and adaptable

In contrast, children with anxious attachments are more likely in later years to:

• be socially withdrawn from peers
• be overly dependent on adults, (e.g., teachers) - have lower self-confidence
• victimize or be victimized by peers
• form fewer friendships
• be less emotionally healthy

These behaviors, predicted earlier, fit theories of attachment well. Attachment theory and preliminary research also supports predictions about a person's ability to provide high or low quality parenting.

Theories of attachment related to later outcomes are, however, not cast in stone. Anxiously attached children are not doomed to fail and securely attached children are not guaranteed success. Certainly, if the quality of care is consistent (a responsive mother remains responsive or a child whose needs have been ignored continues to receive insensitive responses) the patterns will persist. However, a child's world can change; life can get better or can get worse, thereby changing the course of the child's development and ability to cope with ordinary and extraordinary stress. For example, separation from an important caregiver can influence the way a child interprets future relationships and experiences.