Attachment in Infants

Note: This teacher is VERY strict. All citations must included page number or paragraph number. Everything must be perfect APA format with all optional APA recommendations satisfied. Project Overview The field of psychology is incredibly broad, covering many aspects of human behavior and development. For this research project, you are going to choose an area of psychology that you find particularly interesting. You then conduct research to learn more about your topic area. Finally, you summarize what you learned from the research by writing a report that describes the topic and its relation to the field as a whole. Requirements Your final paper must be 4-5 pages in length, not including cover page and reference page. The paper must not only describe current trends within your topic area, but you should demonstrate how your topic relates to the broad field of psychology. It should contain a strong thesis statement supported by research from at least 3 different sources. Include both in-text citations and a References page in APA. Here is my outline, please use this to write the paper: I- Introduction Developing a secure attachment between the infant and their parents is an important part of early childhood development. There are many things that can interfere with the development of a healthy attachment. Without a secure attachment, an infant may develop problems that can continue throughout their lives. Trauma, abuse, and neglect that impacted the parents can inhibit the development of a secure attachment in their infants. II- Problem: Causes of non secure attachment in infants A. Abused and/or neglected mothers 1. “Transient and subtle lapses [of reason] occurring during the discussion of traumatic experiences have been shown to be associated with infant attachment disorganization” (Berthelot et al., 2015, p. 202). 2. Untreated abuse and neglect of the mother creates a high possibility of attachment disorganization of their infants. B. Distant fathers 1. ” Historically, attachment’ was a characteristic of the infant in relation to his/her mother” (Condon et al., 2013, p. 15). 2. Recently, attachment to the father has taken on a more important role. 3. There is a lack of research with regard to attachment to the father. 4. A strong connection between the father and the fetus before they are born shows a strong correlation to secure attachment after the infant is born. C. Adolescent mothers 1. Adolescent mothers are at high risk for infants to have unsecure or disorganized attachment (Crugnola et al., 2016, p. 1) 2. Intervention programs are being developed which help to mitigate this risk 3. The main focus of these program is to turn an insecure attachment infant relationship into a secure attachment. III- Conclusion Mothers who have been impacted by abuse and neglect, fathers who are distant and uninterested in their infants, and adolescent mothers can all lead to problems with developing secure infant attachment. Many infants have to contend with one or more of these risk factors present in their parents. It may be necessary to address the underlying problem with the parents in order to help their infants develop a secure attachment. Please use these 3 references as well as up to 2 additional sources if needed: Berthelot, N., Ensink, K., Bernazzani, O., Normandin, L., Luyten, P., & Fonagy, P. (2015). Intergenerational transmission of attachment in abused and neglected mothers: the role of trauma-specific reflective functioning. Infant Mental Health Journal, 36(2), 200-212. doi:10.1002/imhj.21499 Condon, J., Corkindale, C., Boyce, P., & Gamble, E. (2013). A longitudinal study of father-to-infant attachment: antecedents and correlates. Journal Of Reproductive & Infant Psychology, 31(1), 15-30 16p. doi:10.1080/02646838.2012.757694 Crugnola, C. R., Ierardi, E., Albizzati, A., & Downing, G. (2016). Effectiveness of an Attachment-Based Intervention Program in Promoting Emotion Regulation and Attachment in Adolescent Mothers and their Infants: A Pilot Study. Frontiers In Psychology, 1-17. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00195