A qualitative study of how attachment and separation affects the life course of individuals

Abstract
There are two key assumptions in attachment theory. One assumption is that individuals tend to have characteristic styles in relationships, reflected in behaviour towards others and that these styles have their origins in previous relationships as infants with their caregivers.
John Bowlby developed a concept of ‘internal working model’, explaining how infants’ relationships affect their adult attachment and studies show some validity of this theory. This qualitative thematic analysis aimed to show through semi structured interviews how experiences of attachment and separation supported the attachment theory of Bowlby and found some validity, but showed also that individuals can change and improve during their life course, emphasising the importance of life events.

Introduction
A long debated issue not only in psychology but also in society in general is about the role of parents and peers, influencing children’s development. Developmental psychology is concerned whether our experiences during childhood with our parent figures (vertical relationship, child – adult) do influence in some way the patterns in our later relationship as adults. Research suggests that children’s peer relationships have some kind of primary importance in this respect but that vertical relationships have an equally significant impact on the development of individuals. People develop in terms of ‘internal’ as well as ‘external’ factors and the study of human development suggest certain developmental pathways along which individuals are likely to travel with an increasing probability, the further down they go such a pathway. It is helpful to think of development as a transaction between individuals and their environment, influencing each other and affecting the developmental path followed.
For peer and parental relationship we also refer to attachment, relationships that are ongoing and involve emotional bonds, usually with a small number of people important and close to us, defining for many of us what we are in a very real sense. We seek proximity to them and use them to feel secure and comfortable in the world surrounding us. Problems in such close relationships can and do affect other aspects of our lives like e.g. productivity at work or performance at school and shows how much our psychological well-being is connected with our ongoing connections with others.
Based on the two key assumptions in attachment research,
· Individuals tend to have characteristic styles in relationships that are reflected in the way they behave towards others, and
· These styles have their origins in peoples’ previous relationships, most particularly in their first relationships, as infants with their caregivers
there are categorical and trait approaches to describe attachment. In the 1980’s, Mary Main put emphasis on previous and current relationships of individuals with their parents as a core feature of their attachment style and described three basic positions which they take during an interview. Her research has led to the questioning of the idea that childhood attachment styles are enduring states that will inevitably affect future relationships in designated ways.
John Bowlby, the key figure in the development of attachment theory formulated the idea of an internal working model built up by infants on the evidence that there may be some enduring bonds between parents and their children extending well into adulthood. The central idea was that human infants have a biological drive to achieve security through a mother figure, a primary attachment relationship. His view that the establishment of a healthy internal working model is essential for later mental health, future relationships and socially responsible behaviour contradicts the findings of Mary Main. She also views the definition of a ‘healthy’ internal working model as culturally defined.
This qualitative report addresses the theme of attachment and separation by analyzing extracts from a married middle-aged couple through a combination of condensation and categorization so that the material can be understood as simply as possible (Kvale, 1996) and poses the research question ‘how do Tony and Jo think their experiences of attachment and separation may have affected them, and how does this relate to Bowlby’s theory of attachment?’

Method
A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out on pre-existing, detailed transcripts of semi structured interviews with a married middle-aged couple called Jo and Tony. The interviews were conducted by three different people. First by Jane, who knows the couple for quite a long time and right afterwards by Dan, who is meeting them for the first time. Jane and Dan were interviewing them on the topic of identity and what has made them into the people they are. A third interview was conducted by Carol who was asking Jo and Tony about how they experienced the two previous interviews. This transcript was used as additional material for the analysis.
For this project the topic of ‘attachment and separation’ was chosen and the corresponding passages on the transcripts were marked by reading the transcripts of the interviews by Jane and Dan extensively and by doing so the material was condensed to three basic themes. In addition the video tape of the interview was studied several times and remarks of behaviour, body-language and other reactions and observations were noted at the corresponding place on the transcript.
The transcripts and video tape of the interview were used with the permission of the publisher. The ethical guidelines on doing research into private lives in respect of confidentiality and comfort of the interviewees were strictly followed.

Analyses
In reviewing the two interview transcripts of Jane and Dan and taking into consideration the research question three main themes were identified.

One of the first and very strong comments of both Tony and Jo is about the theme of childhood

Tony comments

I had a very disrupted childhood (line 24)

Our fathers were taken away from us because of the war (lines 90-91)

and Jo

I went to school in Leeds ‘til I was just eight and then I was evacuated. Which I found quite traumatic like everybody else (lines 45-46)

When for Jo it was the war, disrupting her quite stable life, for Tony it was the war and illness

I was taken ill when I was eleven and didn’t go to school much before I was eleven because of the war and being moved around the country (lines 24-26)

For both, this had consequences and impacts for their childhood e.g. they both went to boarding schools

Tony
… in a boarding school in Sussex (line 35)

Jo
And then I was then I went to boarding school for the next ten years (lines 46-47)

No, I remember that the when Dunkirk was there and I was at school and I was left at school, after the during the holidays. And it was the period of whether he would get home (lines 93-96)

The interviewees refer on several occasions to the theme of parental influence and values influencing their life course

Tony
It’s part of our background, it’s the Victorian work ethic (line 54)

……… Jo’s mother was brought up as a Methodist and my father was as well. And I think Methodist principles were fairly entrenched (lines 63-65)

Jo
Our parent’s influence (line 59)

And mention the impact of these on their lives

Tony
And yes I think that has, that makes us to a certain extent the sort of people we are (lines 65-66)

I have to say that I think that one’s parents’ experiences and aspirations certainly entered into it as well (lines 81-82)

The participants refer also to the theme of parent – children relationship and influence. Much reference is to their childhood and from Jo’s side there is some gendered component

Jo
Whereas our children, you know one family we knew there was a separation and our children got quite frightened didn’t they? Where we going to do the same thing (lines 96-99)

…, if you want to nurture and encourage your children, then some one or other has got to stay, perhaps hold back a little to give as much as you can to your children (lines 145-148)

No. but don’t you think that it’s the base that you create as being the stability because children like stability. And it’s the stable base that you make around them that matters more and who you bring into that stability (lines 153-156)

Tony
I, I think that that life has moved on or changes have taken place so rapidly that our children are not going to be awfully influenced by our lifestyle in our early in our early years (lines 150-152)

Discussion
The aim of this research was to see how the experiences of attachment and separation influence the life course of individuals and how this relates to the theory, namely to Bowlby’s theory of attachment. It should be noted that this is a personal interpretation of the available material and may differ from other researchers.
Although there is not a whole lot of material to draw on and much is left to interpretation concerning the relation of the two interviewees, Jo and Tony, towards their parents, there is emphasis on the difficult childhood they had because of the war and in Tony’s case an illness, which separated them from the family for most of their childhood (lines 24, 45–46, 90–91, 93-96). The apparent lack of a firm primary attachment relationship would explain in Bowlby’s attachment theory the difficulties and almost resistance of Jo and Tony, to establish a shared identity. Bowlby’s view was that the particular working model a child had formed, has a major effect on how children approach subsequent relationships with other people. Jo and Tony, through their difficult and traumatic separation form the family during childhood may have developed to an insecure, anxious and avoidant type of infant attachment classification, posing problems in later life to form close relationships and shared identities (lines 110–118) also displayed by the seating position and non verbal interaction between the two interviewees. Bowlby’s emphasis on the continuing influence of early attachment was not proven in longitudinal research where it was found that infant attachment type was not a good predictor of adult attachment type. Instead it was found that life events had a significant influence.
The comment of Jo (lines 96–99) about the reaction of their children regarding separation does suggest some influence of adult attachment on infant attachment type. However, the influence of the above mentioned adult attachment type on infant attachment type was found low by research, around 35 to 40%.
The confidence and comfort Jo and Tony display both verbally and by observing their gesture and behaviour suggests, that they were able to move on after a difficult childhood supporting the concept of autonomous adult attachment called ‘earned security’ (Main and Goldwyn, 1984) and questioning the idea that childhood attachment styles are enduring, inevitably affecting relationships in designated ways as Bowlby views it.
The fact of the difficult childhood of the interviewees during times of war, their separation form the family for a big part of their childhood, the known facts of problems in building a shared identity, separation difficulties of the own children and some major parental influence gives some validity to the concept of internal working model and attachment styles. However, it is only part of the picture. Life events such as the illness of Tony have an equal or greater effect and people do change during their life course.

Reflexive analysis
Qualitative research interviews are a very important way to get views and experienced of individuals on research themes by ‘seeking buried treasures’ through the right questions asked or embarking on a journey of mutual discovery, influencing and changing along the way (Kvale, 1996). It is by such means, we capture best the multi facetted, interactive and complex situations of everyday life and lifespan, and compare them to existing theories, resulting in new knowledge and theories. However, it also has its difficulties. These findings and conclusions are usually culturally specific and can’t be generalized as a whole. Nevertheless, by the principle of probability we can draw a path, which an individual might travel during the life course like we see by the early separation of Jo and Tony form their families. By having access to the audio and video material of the interview, it wasn’t such a big handicap, having to use pre-existing material. With the script only, it would have been more difficult because there were some interesting clues by non verbal action from Jo and Tony, adding to the understanding and interpretation of the verbal comments e.g. on several occasions, Jo was on the verge of answering a question first but refrained from doing so, making Tony’s comments look like unchallenged and in agreement if only the script were viewed. The third interview by Carol Tindall showed clearly, that a personal relationship between interviewer and interviewee is not necessarily an advantage and doesn’t add to the depth of an interview. Future research should focus more of its analysis on the influence of life events, to further analyse the impact on life courses and existing knowledge and theories of attachment.
(2170 words)

References
Ainsworth, M.S., Blehar, M.C., Waters, E. and Wall, S. (1978) Patterns of Attachment: A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation, Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum, in Cooper, T. and Roth, I., (eds), (2003), Challenging Psychological Issues, Milton Keynes, Open University.

Hamilton, C.E. (1994) ‘Continuity and discontinuity of attachment from infancy through adolescence’, Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Science, vol. 55, (2-A), p.217, in Cooper, T. and Roth, I., (eds), (2003), Challenging Psychological Issues, Milton Keynes, Open University.

Wood, C., Littleton, K., Oates, J., (2003) Lifespan development, in Cooper, T. and Roth, I., (eds), (2003), Challenging Psychological Issues, Milton Keynes, Open University.

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Banister, P. (2003) Methods Booklets 5, Qualitative Project, Milton Keynes, Open University.

Kvale, S. (1996) Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.

On Methodist principles: www.godrules.net/library/wesley