Question

Marcella spoke of how her grandmother described her. “According to my grandmother, I was a difficult baby. I never could make up my mind. When she would hold me I would fight her and when she left me alone I would scream and cry. Grandma said that’s why my mother gave me up. Because I was too clingy and fussy and hard to deal with.”

Based on this statement please respond to the following:

What does this information tell you about the Marcella’s socioemotional development? What do her infant behaviors tell you about her attachment style? What inferences might you make about Marcella’s grandmother’s and perhaps her mother’s caregiving style?

Answer 1

Marcella's story talks about her separation from her mother because her mother could not handle her behavior. As a child, she was a difficult baby.

She would fight if her mother holds her and she used to scream and cry if she is left alone.

A child's relationship with the mother is very important in shaping the child's future in terms of social, emotional and cognitive development. The early separation from the mother can leads to maladjustment in adulthood. The children who are separated from their mother feel distressed and develop anxiety even though they are taken care of by the caregivers. The children by the age of 7 months develop preferences for a particular person in the sense of security, protection, and comfort. At this age, the child develops a fear of strangers and separation anxiety.

As Marcella was separated from her mother in her developing years when the attachment takes place, she was unable to express herself. The socio-emotional development is based on the child's experiences, her ability to handle her emotions and developing a good and positive relationship. The infant's way of showing attachment is by the way of expression and not verbal. Showing empathy to the child when she needs it is the basic need in the development of the socio-emotional stability of the child. As her mother had left her in the care of her grandmother, she could not develop the attachment with her mother. But as the child grows they develop the attachment with the person who takes care of her, but the fear of separation always remains and that makes the child aggressive.

As per Mary Ainsworth, Marcella was exhibiting insecure ambivalent or resistant as she uses to resist the attachment figure that is her mother and rejected her when there was an interaction. The child who shows resistance fails to develop an emotional bonding with the attachment figure. They are difficult to handle when in distress because they suffer from an inconsistent level of response from the attachment figure when they needed it.

According to Bowl, early childhood experiences are very important for the child's future development in behavior. In this case, Marcella's mother or grandmother's caregiving style did not provide her "Secure Base" that acts as a security, and under that care, the child can explore the surrounding. In childhood, the child expects that her needs would be looked after by the caregivers. If the child does not get enough security love and emotional support the experience remains unchanged throughout their life.

Marcella's childhood experience was not good as she could not get enough support from her primary caregiver that is her mother and looked after by her grandmother. Although the grandmother would have taken good care of her, the separation from the mother in early childhood when the attachment develops was not a good experience for her.