Home visits for infants and toddlers
1. As part of a large research study, you have been asked to conduct home visits for infants and toddlers who may be at risk for insecure attachment. What clues would you look for to distinguish among avoidant, resistant, and disorganized/disoriented attachment (Please remember what the rules are, for using any aspect of the strange situation, as this is a highly standardized method that can only be used in a clinical setting that is unfamiliar to the child)? What caregiving behaviors might signal a threat to attachment security? How about infant characteristics? What questions would you ask to identify important contextual influences on the infant–parent relationship (for example, recent divorce, financial difficulties)? (6 points)
Sample Solution
A primary caregiver represents a secure base from which an infant can confidently explore and to which they will naturally return to as a source of comfort and protection. There are four general attachment patterns: a secure pattern; an insecure-avoidant pattern; a resistant attachment pattern; and a disorganized attachment pattern. Children in avoidant attachment relationships seem not to care whether a caregiver is present or absent. In the presence of the caregiver, avoidant children will explore their environment without interest in the caregiver`s whereabouts. Resistant attachment relationships are characterized by exaggerated expressions of attachment needs. Infants with disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships either lack an organized pattern to their behavior or have strategies that repeatedly break down.
