Life Cycle Development: Understanding the Impact of Attachment and Need Theory on Developmental Stages

This article explores the impact of attachment and need theory on developmental stages in life cycle development. It discusses the different stages of development and how they impact physical, social, emotional, and mental aspects of an individual. The article also examines the theories of Mary Ainsworth, John Bowlby, Peggy Emerson, and Rudolph Schaffer, and how they relate to the case study of Sophie. Additionally, the article discusses Maslow's hierarchy of needs and how it applies to Sophie's situation.

Life Cycle Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2...................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Life cycle development is a sequence of process which must be perform in several steps.
Each of the involved step going through some modifications and bring changes to an individual
in several aspects like, physical, social, emotional, and mental. Many research and studies have
been done by professionals regarding the different developmental stages of life (Boonk and et.
al., 2018). Growth is irreversible and unidirectional process in reference to life which continues
to be moving forward till the last breath of an individual. Process of development has been
studied and understood by some professionals by considering three main domains of
development i.e., Psychosocial, Physical and Cognitive development. Physical development of
an individual related with the modifications body, brain, sense, skills, wellness, and health.
Psychosocial development concerns with the development in sense of feelings, skills, emotions,
and personality that lead to develop good relationships in society. Cognitive development
encompasses language, memory, learning, attention, thinking and reasoning skills (Deneault and
et. al., 2020). Every stage of life provides an opportunity to learn, gain knowledge, develop skills
and creativity which helps an individual to make good and better decisions and create different
perception in life.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Mary Ainsworth introduced the theory of attachment and assist to develop understanding
about development with different aspects and child attachment. In given attachment theory she
suggested that children at young age form bonds primarily with their care giver. Quality of bond
they form at early years of age upholds a great significance in development and well-being of a
child. “Strange situation experiment” is one of the most famous studies conducted and given by
Ainsworth. In her studies she analysed the response of newly born and toddlers in situation of
where they have been kept under the care of a stranger and far away from their primary care
takers (Dyer, 2019). This assists her in the identification of different sorts if attachment exist
between caregiver and children as well assist her to develop understanding related to the
significance of relationship at early age and how it impacts the development of the child.
In reference to Sophie, her mother dies when she was just four-year-old. Sophie did not
have opportunity to enjoy and understand the bond between her mother and herself for long time.

She could not be able to accept Victoria at her mother's position after losing her primary
caretaker at such an early age due to which her developmental stage may supposed to be highly
impacted (García and et. al., 2020). Ainsworth's maternal sensitivity theory give suggestions that
sensitive mothers tend to reflect on moods and needs of their child. But Sophie was not fortunate
enough to experience the likeliness of security provided by a mother which seems to affect
developmental phase of her life. From given case study, Victoria suffers from fibromyalgia due
to which she always feels fatigue and weakness. Bad health condition does not allow her to seek
very much attention on Sophie and other children. She already has a busy and tight schedule
along with her disease with which she somehow managed to take care of the children.
John Bowlby introduced an evolutionary theory of attachment in which he explained
attachment as a pre-programmed biological function within children which assist them to build
trust with anyone (Hajal and Paley, 2020). According to Bowlby, since their birth a child always
feels a need to form attachment with someone which analysed to be the most important and
primary attachment in their life. In his theory he gave critical period of development of
attachment as the age of 2.5 years. He said that if a child does not able to develop attachment
during this age, then chances of attachment development reduce gradually. Bowlby's theory of
maternal deprivation suggests that lack or absence of attachment between infant and primary
care givers can cause many issues for a child in their future like in cognitive, emotional, and
social aspect. Sophie has lived the period of critical attachment with her mother only which can
be considered as a barrier in developing attachment with Victoria. Physical development of a
child highly depends on their diet and their involvement in different activities and Victoria did
not bothers to pay attention on these factors because of her illness (Keller, 2018). Even Sophie's
father did not bother to seek attention towards development of his children, he already has a tight
working schedule due to which he keep involved in his professional life throughout the day and
night. Cognitive development in Sophie can be supposed to develop only when someone feel
responsible to spend time with her, talk with her, encourage her to perform different activities
and achieve tasks on her level. But her sister Melanie is a social activist who keep involved in
promoting LGBT community, but she does not manage time for her sister Sophie and her brother
Adam who is suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Leedham and et. al., 2020). Adam
does not like to get involve with anyone, so he spends most of his time alone sitting in his room.

Peggy Emerson and Rudolph Schaffer conducted research in which they performed a
longitudinal study on 60 infants to evaluate the number and intensity of relationship of
attachment they form with others. Observation on infants and their behaviour was continued to
analyse at every four weeks till the completion of first year of age and then taken under
observation again at age of 18 months. Four different phases of attachment have been analysed:
Indiscriminate Attachment, Pre-Attachment Stage, Multiple Attachment and Discriminate
Attachment. Stage of pre-attachment is considered as the age from birth to age of 3 months
(Malik and Marwaha, 2018). At this stage infants do not seem to show any special attachment
with their care givers. Fussing or crying of patient seeks attention of caregiver and attract them
towards infant while calm and positive response of baby keep caregivers inactive. Indiscriminate
Attachment lies within the age of 7 to 11 months in which infants shows preference and strong
attachment for a particular caregiver. The infants can show disagreed nature and exhibit struggle
when they separated from the person to which they attached and show anxiety when present
around strangers. Multiple attachment phase starts with the age of 9 months where children begin
to involve in an emotional relationship with other caregivers by crossing boundaries with the
primary ones. The secondary caregiver can be a second parent, an older sibling, a relative or
grandparents. In context to Sophie her second parent and siblings does not effort to build
attachment with her and the family does not live with their grandparents, so all over situation
does not facilitate the exposure to form Multiple attachment to Sophie with anyone after her
mother. As well Sophie's father does not hire any other professional caretaker for their children
and he himself seems to live a hectic and busy professional life due to which he failed to manage
their children and develop sense of attachment within them. Rather than showing any emotional
support and behaviour of being a parent with children, Tom often involve in argument with
Melanie which Sophie observes and such behaviour are more likely to impact the mental health
of a child (Ramesh, 2022).
Many factors can be considered to play a role in impacting or influencing the situation
and timing of attachment development which includes quality of care as well opportunity of
attachment. Children with lack of primary care figure generally does not able to develop trust
which is a primary factor to form any attachment bond; for example orphanage children. While
children who nurture and grow with proper care, situations make them dependent on others
which allow them to establish the sense of attachment and build trust. In context to Sophie, these

factors can be taken into consideration because absence of primary caregiver that is, her mother
might not access her to form attachment now with Victoria (Spratt and et. al., 2022). It may be a
factor of existing differences among them which hinder Sophie from developing emotions.
Attachment can be study by taking four patterns into consideration: Avoidant, Ambivalent,
Secure and Disorganized. Secure attachment is the most style of attachment in which children
exhibits complete dependence on their caregiver. In such children thought of separation from
parents can be enough to make them sad while assurance of reunite can be an enough reason to
make them happy. Ambivalent attachment concerns to those children who face stress due to
separation from their parents. Poor availability or absence of parents make these children unable
to develop nature of dependence on their primary care giver. Disorganised attachment can be
study by taking example of children with confusing behaviour. Such children more likely to
develop resisting nature towards their parents due to inconsistency in behaviour of providing
care by their parents (Sutton, 2019). Avoidant attachment refers to the children who does not
show any preference neither for primary care givers nor the strangers, but they develop the
tendency and behaviour of avoiding their caregivers and parents. In given case study, Sophie is
experiencing the form of Ambivalent attachment as her father Tom and secondary care giver
Victoria does not show any availability and emotional support to her so development of
independent nature for parents can be considered as obvious. Neglectful nature of Victoria and
Tom develops the nature of avoidance within Sophie. There are no chances of development of
secure attachment within Sophie.
Many studies showed the outcomes of failure in development of secure attachment in
early life. Such children are more likely to develop rude and negative behaviour in later
childhood and even till the age of adulthood. Although form of attachment an individual
experience in their adult age can be different as that of develop in early years but impact of early
attachment and tendency develop due to early relationships can be reflected in later relationships.
Children who grow and mature in environment of secure attachment are more favourable to
develop strong romantic relationships in their adulthood, good self-esteem and seems to be much
efficient in disclosing themselves to others (Thompson, 2021).
TASK 2
Theory of need describes that it is obvious to develop specific motivations and needs
within an individual based on their life experiences and cultural opinion along with time. Need

theory model is effective in creating an understanding about what can help and motivate a child
in bringing more comfortability and happiness in their life. It is essential to develop
understanding regarding Need Theory as it is helpful in creating a good and heathy environment.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological concept which defines changes in form of
motivations of human based on perception at different levels of needs (Thompson and et. al.,
2019). This theory states that humans have potential to understand and fulfil their needs. Order
of needs has been set out in a sequential order from basic level to the level of advancement. This
sequence includes physiological needs, Security and Safety needs, social needs, Esteem needs,
Self-actualisation needs. Essential survival needs refer to the physiological needs in given theory
which involves Homeostasis, Water, Food, Breathing, Shelter, Clothing and Sexual reproduction.
In reference to given case study, Sophie does not belong to a family with any shortage of
physiological needs. Hierarchical complication can be observed at second level where safety and
security supposed to be as primary.
Sophie is all safe and secure with the needs of security. Availability of all basic to
advanced resources is a proof of safety and security. In relation to Health and Wellness, from
case study Victoria suffers from Fibromyalgia and Adam (Sophie's brother) seems to suffering
from ASD. Stable financial support enables them to get treated from specialist professionals.
Third level of the order is social needs which involves the feeling of love, acceptance, and sense
of belonging. At this level, human behaviour can be determined by understanding the need of
emotional support. Social needs can be satisfied by engaging individual in relationships like
friendship, religious organisations, romantic attachment, community groups, social groups, and
family relations. Feeling of love and sense of getting accepted by people can effectively help an
individual to fight the feeling of anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Therefore, familiar
relationships that a child experience in their home plays a crucial role in developing the sense of
emotions and love within them. Sophie does not have any access to fulfil her social needs
anyhow. Her parents and siblings do not prefer to spend their time with each other as well not
even with her (Zajac and et. al., 2020). From case study it can be concluded that Melanie prefers
to spend her most of the time in her friend's group only and Adam suffering from ASD due to
which does not like to get socialise much with neither family nor have any friends rather he likes
to sit alone for hours in his room only. Sophie does not have exposure or suitable surrounding for
development of socialise skills, sense of belonging and love for anyone. In Maslow's hierarchy,

Esteem needs is the fourth level which defines the need of appreciation and respect in an
individual's life. After getting satisfied from below three levels, esteem is the factor that relates
to motivating behaviour of a person. Along with increase in age and expectations, human
naturally become fonder of achieving a recognition, identity, appreciation, and faith in life.
Ned of accomplishments and expectations of getting recognition continue to increase to a
certain level. In context to Sophie in case study, she is of age 11 which demonstrates that she is
mature enough to know what is feels like to be valued and loved. At age of 11 she cannot be
expected to make any contribution for the society in any sense. Sense of contribution comes with
the participation in activities, sports, profession, etc. but at her stage it is accessible to her to
make efforts and stand a chance to develop recognition at academic level. She can participate in
activities and develop hobbies which can be helpful for her to fulfil self-esteem and developing
confidence in her skills and abilities. Self-actualisation refers with the personal growth, self-
awareness and minimal concerned with opinion of others. Lack of resources to meet the basic
life needs may reflect light on other factors life safety, security, trust, love, and freedom. Such
losses can lead to create emotional space. Early years’ experience of a child is a very important
factor which decides their mind set that they develop for the rest of their life (Zhang and et. al.,
2019).
These experiences include sudden change in surrounding, people, sexual abuse, mental
trauma, neglectful nature of parents and loss of a close member from family, divorce of parents
can be some of the worst experience which can be taken into consideration. These are the
extreme traumatic events that can impact health of a child mentally or physically. In given case
study, Sophie is developing in a safe and secure surrounding physically but mentally and
emotionally she might experience some stressful environment because of the arguing nature of
her father and sister Melanie, her father used to drink, and Victoria and her father fights a lot
which can develop a bit insecure feeling within Sophie. It has been observed that children who
does not get proper love and care from their parents, it is common to see nature of disapproval
and lack of appreciation in such children. They generally do not show any interest in personal,
social as well as professional relationships.
Experience and developmental growth of Sophie may get impacted with time due to
unavailability of elder siblings and parents at the time of need. Sophie is not closed to her family
which does not make her comfortable to share discriminative experience she experiences at her

school. Unavailability of emotional support may impact the development of emotional
attachment within her. Characteristic of racism may impact her experience for life, and she may
develop a thought that Victoria does not seems to like her father because of his black skin colour.
A wrong thought and understanding at this stage can lead to develop a sense of discrimination
(Turney and Goodsell, 2018). Personal experiences at ethnicity can lead her knowledge to a
wrong direction. Establishment of inappropriate relationships with educators and peers can
develop poor behaviour and sense of act in Sophie. Tom and Victoria belong to different
background, ethnicity and culture and absence of any attachment between both, arguing
behaviour on many things like children, drinking alcohol, maintaining schedules may adversely
affect mental health of Sophie. Disabled children are more vulnerable to develop the tendency of
emotional, social, and behavioural challenges. In case study Sophie is physically fine but her
brother Adam can impact her emotional and social development. Adam's tendency to sit and
spend time alone may develop a thought within her that all disabled children might always use to
live like that only. She will remain unable to develop understanding about right way to treat and
deal with physically challenged individuals. Sophie avoids going to school often which might
lead to undeveloped emotional and social skills within her. Sophie lives in the environment
where she is more likely to develop negative thoughts about sexual orientation. Her sister
Melanie is a lesbian and Sophie witness often her father and sister argue regarding the topic
which shows bias nature of her father for sexual orientation of her daughter.
It is important to have proper emotional support of parents for their children in this phase
of life and Sophie really needs it. Her parents and elder siblings must understand the importance
of involving children with them for the sake of child’s cognitive development. A caring and
loving gesture is essential for her moral, needs, developmental stage, academic performance,
values, etc. otherwise absence of these factors can leave her with lack of development of
emotional, cognitive, and social skills for the rest of her life. Even at adult age such children are
more likely to get involved in habit of substance use.
CONCLUSION
From this report, importance of emotional, social, physical, and cognitive development can
be concluded in the developmental stage of child. This report reflects the understanding
regarding the theory of attachment and theory of needs. Attachment theory explains various
factors and perspectives regarding the development. Through this theory, significance of

attachment at appropriate age, support of parents and siblings, maintenance of good home
environment as well at the academies can be demonstrated. It assists to develop understanding
about different stages of development in the process of life cycle. At each step, an individual
goes through many physical, social, mental, and emotional changes. Theory of needs increase
understanding about the affect of various needs and how these needs changes with different
stages of life.
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