Attachment and Attachment Theory
The effect of attachment theory in human psychology is seen in every period. This theory, which develops between mother and child, shows its life-long effectiveness. It shows its effect during infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. While it manifests itself in areas such as school refusal, self-confidence and communication problems, bed wetting at night, not being able to sleep alone in children, it appears as relational problems in adulthood. Attachment problem in romantic relationships can be categorized as problems in social relationships. The better we know the origin of this theory, the better we can understand ourselves and our environment.
The definition of attachment in psychology was first made by Bowlby (1969). Attachment behavior is defined as establishing a relationship with a figure when the individual is afraid, or seeking and developing closeness to the other individual. According to Bowlby, attachment stemmed from the relationship with the individual who cares for the baby. Generally, since the caregiver is the mother, the bond that the baby establishes with the mother will affect his whole life. According to Bartholomew (1990), the basis of social relations is the attachment relations that develop between the infant and the caregiver. The refusal of the caregiver to the needs of the baby will ensure that the baby avoids intimacy in adulthood. According to Ainsworth (1989), attachment theory is formed by the interaction that develops between the baby and the caregiver.
While the baby is not specific to the caregiver in the first years of its life, over time it starts to distinguish one person from the others and develops it by differentiating the direct behavior. At the beginning of these behaviors is to bring the caregiver close with the baby's crying reflex. Thus, a specific behavior develops between the baby and the caregiver. Expectations are formed by internalizing the baby caregiver. At first, these expectations are primitive.&nbs p; The sleeping pattern turns into a regular relationship between other needs, the baby and the caregiver. The baby may sometimes not fit into this cycle, and with the development of language skills over time, a better understanding will be achieved. All these attachment behaviors are aimed at maintaining intimacy. As the child develops his self-design and what others mean to him, he will learn to leave the caregiver and as he starts walking and running, he will leave the caregiver who is safe for him and walk away to explore the environment. The caregiver has a very important place in the baby's first life experiences and spiritual structure. The most basic problem is that the caregiver does not meet the needs of the baby, neglects it or meets the needs of the baby excessively without allowing the baby to develop its developmental features.
2.1.2. Bowlby Attachment Theory
Based on the relationship between the baby and the caregiver, the baby codes mental representations about himself as a result of the bond that the baby develops with the caregiver. The way the caregiver behaves towards the baby causes the baby to internalize the self-perception of the baby. He then reveals the behaviors he observes from the caregiver and representations of others. All this internalization will affect the baby's social relations in the future. Self-perception is the degree to which an individual sees himself as a valuable individual, and the perception of others is how much he trusts and loves other people. In this period, the demands of the baby are sufficient. If it is confirmed, the baby will be an individual who is securely attached to social relations in his later years in terms of love, trust and care. If the baby does not get enough of his needs from the caregiver, he may not be able to explore the environment safely and this will affect the relationships of the individual. Bowlby argued that adults' personality probes, marriage and child rearing problems stem from this perception of self and others.
2.1.3. Attachment Theory According to the Psychoanalytic Theory
According to the psychoanalytic theory, the most important bond between the baby and the mother is breastfeeding. Because the baby spends the first two years of his life as the oral period, the activities related to the oral environment are the baby's basic pleasure. With breastfeeding, the mother gives this pleasure to the baby and the mother figure develops as an object of love for the baby.
2.1.4. Attachment Theory According to Melaine Klein Object Relations Theory
According to Melaine Klein Object Relations Theory, the baby organizes in his mind what he perceives in the outside world during the oral and anal period. The relationship between the caregiver and the baby with other people will be the basis for the developments in the mental structure of the baby and their close relationships in other parts of his life.
Research on Attachment
Ainsworth's Research on Attachment
Ainsworth stayed in Uganda between 1953-1955 and conducted a research among babies in Uganda. 25 mothers with their babies ; examined the relationship on a regular basis for seven months. The purpose of this research is to what degree the mother's response to the baby's signals. According to the results of the research, mothers who say all the baby's behaviors are perfect are defined as high-level sensitive mothers, while mothers who are insensitive to the baby's behaviors and ignore fine details are defined as low-sensitive mothers. A distinction has emerged. Three types of attachment patterns have been observed. Securely attached babies cry less and seem satisfied with the mother's discovery behavior. Insecurely attached babies cry more when they are picked up. Unattached infants do not develop a distinctly different behavior towards the mother.
Margeret Mahler's Research on Attachment
The psychological birth of the human offspring, which Margaret Mahler implemented in England It is a published research. A care center was established for this research. Mothers and their babies who volunteered to this care center examined all the features of their babies from three months to six years old, day by day.
As a result of this research, as a general judgment, it has been observed that babies move away from their mothers in the future. As a result of this separation, separation anxiety begins and as this anxiety increases, the baby goes to the mother and fills the emotional void. This stuffing is by touching, smelling and communicating with the mother. This is the result of communication ; A relational behavior model is formed in the child, and the baby handles this model in close relations with the following period. It has been stated that the concept of attachment in psychology is explained by reducing it to infancy. An adult's attachment problem may be a situation that comes from infancy. Because the first sense of attachment and trust of the individual emerged when he was a baby. It is the representation of concepts such as love and trust for the baby, the concept of caregiver, that is, the mother. In every period of his life, the individual will develop this concept by assimilating it to himself. An adult's relationship with his environment shows his thoughts on attachment. There can be clues regarding attachment at work, in a social environment, in his/her role in familial relationships, in his perspective on romantic relationships, that is, wherever the individual is.
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