Your friend Beth has a 9-month-old baby and she is considering returning to work full-time. She has heard that infants who are in daycare full-time have a slightly higher risk of forming an insecure attachment

Question

She told you that she is willing to take that risk because attachment only lasts a few years and doesn't affect other behaviors. What can you tell Beth about the relation between attachment and later social behavior?
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A good answer will be similar to the following:
Attachment does last longer than a few years and a secure attachment is related to better social relationships later in life. There is much evidence that children who form secure attachments as infants have better social relationships with peers later in life. For example, children with secure attachment relationships have higher quality friendships and fewer conflicts with friends than children with insecure attachments as infants. Also, school-age children are less likely to have behavior problems if they have a secure attachment relationship. In addition, research has shown no overall effects of child-care experience on mother-infant attachment. A secure mother-infant attachment is just as likely, regardless of the quality of child care, the amount of time the child spends in child care, the age when the child care begins, how frequently the parents change child care or the type of child care. What matters most for a secure mother-infant attachment relationship is sensitive and responsive mothering.