It is likely that you have often been told that relationships are important for an infant’s development.
The work of John Bowlby (1968) regarding attachment theory is well known and often talked about. Attachment theory suggests that the early relationship that an infant develops with their primary caregiver will set the scene for all relationships to come. In very general terms, if the primary caregiver is a sensitive and responsive ‘secure base’ for the baby, then they will grow up with a secure attachment, and will believe that they are worthy of love. If the primary caregiver is unable to provide such sensitive responses then the child may grow up with an insecure attachment, either believing that they are better off looking after themselves, leading to them internalising their negative feelings, appearing closed off and independent (insecure avoidant) or that they desperately need others’ help, leading them to openly vocalise their need for others, leading them to appear clingy or needy (insecure anxious). Children can also develop a disorganised attachment style, if they have grown up in an environment of fear or neglect.
What many people may not realise is that only around 50-60% of the population grows up with a secure attachment.
That means many of us are going about our lives with an insecure attachment. And it is not the end of the world… That is because many other environmental factors are also at play in predicting and developing our mental health pathways. Even with an insecure attachment, there may be other protective factors that keep our mental health from spiralling. On the other hand, even with a secure attachment, many of us may develop mental health problems in our future. That is because other risk factors may cause us problems throughout our lives.
Attachment is a dyadic process. This means that both the mother and the baby can have an influence on how the attachment bond develops. However, there are many other dyadic processes that researchers have identified that contribute to the ways in which mothers and babies relate to and interact with each other. Some of these include:
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Attunement.
This is when mothers identify a baby’s feelings by naming them and the baby comes to realise that the mother has noticed how they are feeling.
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Matching.
This is when a mother and her baby do the same behaviours at the same time.
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Mirroring.
This is when mothers copy a baby’s behaviours but make them more exaggerated so the baby can see what they look like.
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Synchrony.
This is when mother and baby influence each other to act and react to each other’s feelings and behaviours.
All of these processes (and more) are important to the development of a healthy relationship and to a secure attachment. And while all of them are critical to infant development, this project will focus on dyadic synchrony, which has been well defined in scientific literature with many researchers exploring how and why it works.
