There is no question that secure attachment has later positive life implications. Trusting and feeling safe with your parents is a stepping stone for future friendly and intimate relationships. He securely a child feels also determines how he or she will reach to the world and personal problems. I would not go so far to say that secure attachment is the most important factor in good child development because the cause-and-effect correlation is low. I think factors like economic status, cognitive disposition, temperament, and personality can also pull weight in child development. Some factors are inborn, so attachment can do little to change them... Also detrimental events like a parent divorce or loss of a family member/friend could greatly effect later secure feelings.
I definitely agree that the relationships one has growing up affect them for years to come. It is impossible to have a successful relationship, whether platonic or romantic, without having a stable model on which to base ones actions and behaviors. Similarly, I agree that events both traumatic and especially positive can have a lasting impression on the personality and security of an individual, as well as the way important people in their life respond to these events.
I also agree with your position on attatchment versus well-being. I was also just about to mention how traumatic events could drastically change this, such as a death in the family or divorce, the latter occuring increasingly as often. I feel that it is possible for people who exhibited insecure attachment as a child to still grow and live a successfull healthy life in the future.
penname: pickles
-- Edited by 102intro on Tuesday 7th of April 2009 05:18:30 PM
In addition to having positive influences later in life, attachment could also be negative if the parents are not leading the child in a way which promotes growth and well being. There are so many other factors which go into molding a child into an adult, and although attachment is important it is really just a small part of becoming an adult.
