One of the major developmental tasks in infancy is the development of social attachments. This attachment is usually formed with the primary caregiver. In the following scenarios we will assume that the primary caregiver is the mother although attachments can and often are formed with other people who perform a large portion of the child-care activities and who show warmth and affection for the child.

As discussed in the textbook, attachment is affected by what the baby and mother do and how they respond to each other. Because of this, different types of attachments are formed based on how the mother responds to the baby and ultimately how the baby reacts to the mother. The attachments formed can be secure, avoidant, or ambivalent (resistant).

Now, refer to the life circumstances of Karen, Susan, and Mary listed below. All three women will decide to carry their pregnancies to term and raise their children themselves. However, given their different circumstances and ego systems, it is possible, though not definite, that different types of attachments will develop for the three women.

Karen – happily married, she and husband are lawyers, she is healthy, has a family physician, has planned her pregnancy.

Susan – single college student, works part time, does not have a good relationship with the father of the baby and does not know where he is, lives with her parents.

Mary – unhappily married in an abusive relationship, has 3 children, pregnancy unplanned.

Based on the information provided, what is your prediction about the type of attachment that we can expect with the mother and child? What support systems do you anticipate the woman will have? What obstacles will the child have to overcome as he/she faces the psychosocial crisis of trust versus mistrust?