The following research paper includes both primary, and a variety of secondary sources in regards to parenting child bonding and attachment, as well as its affect on future relationships. Child abuse is a prevalent issue in today’s society therefore it is crucial to know the impact it has on a growing child, in an effort to create more awareness on the situation. This topic was chosen because child parent bonding is a vital part in the development of a child, and therefore awareness must be raised in order to conquer this world issue of abuse and neglect. This paper will examine various sources with the intent of gaining a better understanding of this matter. Therefore, this paper looks at the parental influence and impact on behaviour and success directly affecting a child.
Hypothesis
Parent and child bonding and attachment is a critical factor in the development of a child’s character, specifically impacting their future ability to have healthy relationships.
Primary Information
The information were designed to create a deeper understanding of the vital role parents play in the development and future success of a child. Since this research paper analyzes the relationship between children and parents, all age groups were examined through various resources. The information collected in these resources will be utilized in the following research paper to further prove the influence of parent child bonding.
Secondary Information
After conducting thorough research, it is palpable that negative childhood bonding and attachment with parents hinders a child’s development and overall ability to succeed in future relationships. The various sources collected all prove this to be true, and display the power various parenting techniques and treatment of children have on the influence of who they become. Immediately after a child is born, the relationship between parents and their child begins. The child relies solely on their parents from the very start, as they are unable to do
anything for themselves. How the parent responds to this task has a huge impact on their child. The extent of a parents significance to a child within their first year of life was explained in a magazine article called The Working Mother: “Many childhood development experts have believed that if the critical bonding between baby and mother does not happen within the first 12 months, the child will be emotionally scarred for life…this initial attachment forms a blueprint that sets a tone for all future relationships and even determines the child’s success in the world.” (The Working Mother 38). As explained, the initial treatment of a child within the first year of parenting has a vast impact on who the child will become. If the bond is strong, the child is inclined to succeed in future relations, however if not, failure will result. The article goes on to disclose that monkeys, our closest animal relative, was experimented on to further prove the veracity of this information: “These experts have pointed to research done on motherless monkeys and children left in English orphanages in the wartime 1940s to show the dire consequences to children who don’t form this early attachment. It has been seen that this first year was the only time you could have a significant impact on the intellectual and social development of children” (The Working Mother 38). This experiment again illustrates how crucial the beginning months are in the development of a child for both their social and intellectual development, inevitably influencing their ability to have positive future relations.
On another note, child abuse and neglect increases a child’s likelihood of developing addiction to drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism for the trauma they have endured at home. A reading from Family Violence A Canadian Introduction 2nd Edition states that: “A qualitative study of thirty-eight adults who had been alienated or abused by a parent as children indicated that they suffered from a number of negative outcomes…drug and alcohol problems were reported by about one-third of the subjects,” (Duffy and Momirov, 70). Evidently, this statistic
shows the effect on a child’s character as children with calamitous childhoods are inclined to substance abuse and developing addictions. They were not raised in a loving environment with idealistic parents, and therefore are compelled to turn to substances as an escape from their painful reality. The absence of nurturance in the bond between these parents and their children sets them up for failure in combating urges with drugs and alcohol use, and actually makes them fall into its control. In addition to this, the book goes on to say: “Female victims alienated from their fathers had difficulties with adult romantic relationships…divorce was a common occurrence, at a rate higher than national average,” (Duffy and Momirov, 70). Again, the estrangement between a parent and child’s bond harms a child’s character by setting them up to fail in their own personal relationships when they grow up. It can be inferred that this is because they were never given a positive representation of how a healthy relationship and household should be, therefore when they are put to the test to develop their own, they fail to do so from a lack of understanding. Both of these high statistics of children in either hostile or neglectful relationships show that the child’s character and future relationships are extremely hindered as a result of the way they were treated by their parents.
Furthermore, parent and child bonding and attachment plays a crucial role in the development of a child’s character, specifically impacting their future ability to have healthy relationships. This is explained precisely through the book Opposing Viewpoints on Domestic Violence, as they explain the drastic effects on a child’s mentality and behaviour: “Children who undergo or are exposed to violence in the home often engage in delinquent behaviour…and suffer from depression or severe anxiety,” (Haugen 51). As illustrated in the quote, a child who goes through abuse growing up is likely to involve themselves in criminal behaviour, putting them at risk to be attained. Delinquent behaviour has various consequences, a major one being a strain on relationships as these people are not very likely to have healthy connections with others, due to their preoccupation with crime. This quotation also shows that children subjected to harmful treatment by parents are set up to develop mental illnesses. After surviving and bearing such a traumatic experience, that of being alienated or neglected, they are left damaged and faced with other battles ahead of them. They are left fragmented internally. The abuse and alienation was not just an external force, but rather an internal one as well. Abuse and alienation leaves an imprint on these children, and leaves them with permanent damage in their character due to criminal behaviour and mental illness. This will cause them to consequently struggle with developing future relationships.
Another exemplification of the impact a child’s bond with their parent has on their development and future relationship is explained through the intergenerational cycle of violence learned in the Families in Canada course. The intergenerational cycle of violence states that individuals who have experienced violence or abuse as a child are more likely to become either victims or perpetrators of violence in their intimate relationships. This concept is further clarified in the internet source on Child Abuse from Encyclopedia Britannica, which states: “Psychiatric and pediatric studies have shown that a large proportion of parents who abuse their children were themselves physically or emotionally mistreated during their childhood. Typically over disciplined and deprived of parental love in their infancy, these parents repeat the pattern with their own children.” (Jenkins). Both the Families in Canada course and this internet source inform that abuse is a chain reaction within families, proving that how you treat your child will likely parallel to how they treat their children. Therefore, inflicting abuse on children prevents that individual from forging durable relationships in their own lives, consequently affecting their development and future success.
Various sources value the idea that the way a child is raised affects their future relationships by shaping the type of person they become. The child’s personality and ability to effectively connect with others is determined through the parental styles they endure. This notion is advanced through the database Britannica School on Human Behaviour: “Those children who appear to be the most mature and competent tend to have parents who were more affectionate, more supportive, more conscientious, and more committed to their role as parents. This parental type is termed authoritative…A second class of children consists of those who are moderately self-reliant but somewhat withdrawn. The parents of these children tended to use less rational control and relied more heavily on coercive discipline. This parental type is termed authoritarian.” (Human Behaviour) This is significant because it is a direct comparison of two parental styles and the effects they have on a child’s growth. The authoritative style, which is the
more benevolent and nurturing approach to parenting, causes a child to be more compatible and foster stronger relationships. On the other hand, authoritarian style, which is where neglect and abuse transpire, induce a detached child, which is a barrier to them forming relationships with others, evidently causing them challenges in their development. As elucidated in this quote, the two parental styles severely influence a child’s personality, in which determines their ability to have healthy relationships.
In conclusion, all five sources have revealed that early childhood bonding, specifically that between a parent and child, directly impact their growth as an individual and consequently influence their future relationships.
Conclusion
To summarize, the primary research and secondary research sources both prove the original hypothesis to be accurate and proper. The overall findings presented in this research paper are that parent child bonding plays a vital role in the development of a child’s character and their ability to succeed in future relationships. The primary research data was collected by both parents and children so that an accurate understanding from both sides of this relationship was provided. It is validated that this relationship between parents and children is the primary influence on their growth. It is evident that child-parent bonding affects character development and the future relationships of the child under most circumstances. Every source that was found and utilized in this research paper confirmed the same general ideas about how technology plays a big part in people’s everyday lives. Furthermore, the five presented secondary sources when elucidated, also embody that negative childhood bonding and attachment has various repercussions on the development of one’s character, specifically playing a vital role in
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the child’s future relationships. Therefore, from all the provided sources, one can conclude that the hypothesis proved to be true; that parent and child bonding and attachment is a critical factor in the development of a child’s character, specifically impacting their future ability to have healthy relationships.
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