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Childhood and Relationships

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Discuss the influence of childhood on adult relationships (24 Marks)
The child is dependent on their primary caregiver to give them these skills and experiences. The attachment theory suggests that people develop an 'internal working model' of what they believe relationships should be like based on the relationship they had with their caregiver as an infant. John Bowlby suggested that we develop an attachment style as a result of our childhood relationships with our caregivers. Different attachment types have different effects to adult behaviour and relationships.
Firstly a disorganised/disoriented insecure attachment will have an effect on adult behaviour as an adult the individual tends to be insensitive, chaotic and despite the fact they want a secure relationship they cannot trust their partner and can also be abusive. Secondly an anxious/avoidant insecure attachment will have an effect with an individual who will often have difficulty in forming secure, trusting and intimate relationships as they find it hard to trust romantic partners. Thirdly an anxious/resistant insecure attachment will have an effect on the individuals adult relationships tend to make the person anxious as well as they often want to form close relationships but fears that their partner will not return their affections or reject them. Lastly a secure attachment will have an effects on adult relationship as the Individuals who have secure attachments with their caregivers tend to form mature and long-lasting adult relationships where they can trust their partner. From this it implies that a type of attachment that we form as a child will have an impact on how we form an adult relationship. However a flaw onto this theory are that it is a reductionist view as it is suggesting that an individuals relationship is due to their childhood and not other factors that can effect the individuals

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