Another variable that might influence the independent variable (secure attachment) and the dependent variable (well-being later in life) is the quality of early relationships and environments. The secure attachment most likely sprouts from a positive relationship with caring, attention-giving parents. In this case, the child's well-being later in life is due to his parents care and attention, and the learning and adapting of their positive habits. So secure attachment and well-being later in life in this case would both be due to the high quality of the parents,in which case you can't state that secure-attachment was the cause of later well-being, but rather that secure attachment and later well-being are both effects of attentive and loving parenting in a good environment. Children will want to emulate the parents that make them feel loved and special, and so therefore will gain positive character traits. These children will have positive relationships throughout their lives because their first relationship model was positive and therefore desirable.
I definitely agree with this post. Rather than thinking of secure attachment as the cause of well-being later in life, one must think of having caring, attention-giving parents as the cause of both secure attachment and well-being later in life. I also agree with the statement that having a positive first relationship model causes subsequent positive relationships.
That's definitely a good point. It's hard to differentiate whether secure attachment leads to well being later in life or if it's just a child imitating a good person. I feel that both are related. Secure attachment is necessary in order for the child to feel safe, loved, and wanted, and for the child to want to imitate the adult.
