CMU Psychology Department

Penname: INeedSleep

I think there is definitely a strong cause-and-effect relationship between the first relationship the child forms with his or her caregiver and the later development of other relationships. The child has to base all knowledge and expectations of relationships off of his or her previous experience and in the early years the only thing the child has to draw conclusions form is the relationship he or she has with their caregiver. This will most certainly affect early relationships; if the child had a distant relationship with the caregiver, they will expect the same, and if the child had a warm and open relationship with the caregiver, they will expect the same. Therefore I do believe that the well-being of a child's later relationships is strongly affected by his first, with his caregiver.

However, that is not to say that the type of attachment a child has will permanently warp the way he or she view the world. As time goes on other factors will come into play, and their effects will either counter, augment, or reinforce the worldview the child developed as an infant. Although the early molding of the caregiver relationship is powerful, it will eventually be overcome by the myriad other influences in a child's life as they grow older: the experiences of new relationships, major events in his or her life, and changes in the environment. Therefore although attachment style and relationship health is a cause and effect relationship, this relationship becomes insignificant over time.