Attachment theory proposes that the way a child bonds with their caregiver influences their development and future behaviors. Insecure attachment, where caregivers are inconsistent or neglectful, is linked to difficulties with relationships, self-esteem, impulse control and criminality later in life. Early intervention programs that support child development and strong parent-child bonds can help reduce the risk of future antisocial behaviors by promoting secure attachment. However, attachment is just one of many factors that influence youth offending, and nature and nurture both play complex roles.

1. Attachment, Deviance and Youth offending.

2. A way of conceptualising the propensity of human beings to make strong affectionate bonds to particular others and of explaining particular others and the many forms of personality disturbance including anxiety, anger, depression and emotional detachment to which unwilling separation and loss give rise. (Bowlby, 1970) Attachment

3. Sigmund Freud 1856 - 1939 Melanie Klein 1882-1960 Anna Freud 1895-1982 Donald Winnicott 1896-1971 John Bowlby 1907-1990 Mary Ainsworth 1913-1999 History

4. Pioneer of “attachment theory”. The way a child is treated has a powerful influence on a child’s development and later personality function. Post war influence Mother as sole care giver. Notion of Secure base and bonding Borrowed from Klein and freud Thinking routed in Psychological, evolutionary, ethological theories. John Bowlby

5. Joined Bowlby’s research team. Developed Bowlby’s theories and empirically tested them. Categorised different attachment styles Strange Situation experiment. Mary Ainsworth

6. Secure attachment In infancy a parent provides consistent emotional support as the primary caregiver. The child learns that people can be trusted and therefore see’s them in high regard and emotionally connects with people. Insecure attachment Inconsistent and emotionally detached / inappropriate parenting leads to the infant believing that the parent cannot be relied on to provide emotional support. They form a negative view of themselves and other and struggle to form relationships. The Internal Working Model

7. Classifications Attachment Pattern Child Caregiver Secure Care giver as secure base for child exploration Consistent and appropriate Avoidant Treats strangers similar to care givers. No attachment. low self esteem and negative self image Little to no response to distressed child. Ambivalent/ resistant Anxious because of inconsistent care giver. Inconsistent between appropriate and neglectful responses Dissorginised Lack of coherent attachment illustrated by contradictory behaviors Neglectful/ abusive behavior.

8. Behaviors include stealing, lack of conscience, animal cruelty and self harming. Their actions are to represent themselves as powerful. Disorganised

9. Disorganised

10. Poor development of conscience. Poor impulse control and lack of foresight. Low self-esteem. Poor interpersonal skills and relationships. Lack of emotional awareness and sensitivity. Reduced cognitive ability. General developmental problems. Fahlberg (1985)

11. “ Although not all disturbed children grow up into anti-social adults, most adults who regally commit crimes or drink excessively or exhibit seriously unacceptable social behaviour have suffered disturbed relationships during childhood.” (Howe, 1995) The Detrimental Effect of Insecure Attachment on Criminality

12. The 44 thieves study aims to determine the correlation between maternal deprivation in infancy and adolescence. 44 juvenile thieves were studied against 44 adolescents who were “emotionally disturbed” but did not steal. The study found that 14 of the thieves were “affectionless” in comparison to none in those who did not steal. The study concluded that there is a connection between the maternal deprived in infancy and criminal behaviour in adolescence. 44 Juvenile Thieves (Bowlby 1944)

13. Youth Crime

14. Argued that the lack of secure attachment is linked to later difficulties in understanding another persons point of view ie reflective capacity which is important in the development of morality They also thought that some individuals can become reattached to other through later life events and can rebuild their reflective capacity Fonagy et al.

15. Case Study

16. Case Study Aileen Wuornos

17. Keith Aileen Barry Lori Dianne Lauri Britta Aileen Wuornos Gino Gram

18. Keith Aileen Barry Lori Lauri Britta Dianne Leo Aileen Wuornos Gino Gram

19. Inconsistent care. Emotional and physical abuse from a primary attachment figures. Internal Working Model perceives others as unreliable. Secondary conditional strategies. “ I'm wicked, worthless and hated” by those who should love me leading to rejection and viewing others as untrustworthy (Shipley & Arrigo 2004). Protest, despair and detachment are reactions to separation from a primary caregiver (Bowlby 1969) Feeling of isolation in stressful situations (Fonagy et al., 1997) Internal working model rejects her own feelings and greets others with hostility as valuing will result in pain (Shipley & Arrigo 2004). Aileen Wuornos Attachment Links

20. negative forms of attachment are thought to have detrimental effect on the following : * intellectual and emotional development. * academic attainment * mental health, substance abuse. * relationships * life chances * parenting capacity (Howe,1995) Taking a step back: What does this mean to social workers?

21. known risk factors influencing likelihood deviance/ criminality: poverty violence in the home mental health/ substance abuse lack of life opportunity/ academic achievement lack of usual emotional adjustment. (Temple et al, 2007) with this in mind what do we do? Negative attachment, Deviance and Criminality

22. Attachment is the 'parent child process by which a person learns how to respond to the world and how they learn from the world' and is therefore an important tool in a social worker's arsenal (Le Riche et al, 2009) "investments in preschool have substantially higher net benefits than ... most other social programs" (Temple et al, 2007) Early Intervention

23. - american model long established and shaped UK - perry high-scope: longest running. $13 - 1 cost benefit. - chicago cpc closest to uk children center model: - PACT (parent child therapy), routed in attachment therapy. (attachment is a two way street) Early Intervention

24. sure start (1998) children centers: - working with children, parents and communities. - focus on socialisation, - health, - development and parent skills. - eventual academic attainment and life achievement. - all are linked to prevention of deviant and criminal behaviors Children’s Centers

25. every little helps individual and societal benefit lessens associated costs of crime (monetaraly and other) helps stop cycle of poverty crime deviance. helps parents consider their parenting and grow. benefiting parent and child family and community but... although sure start and children centers given statutory footing in 2009, cuts are still a reality. and not run for long enough yet to demonstrate full benefits. Solve all life's problems?

26. So what do you think?

27. Biology- genes Psychological –personality traits Family-structure& style Environment Is it all down to attachment?

28. Insecure attachments produce troubling behaviours and not criminal behaviours. Essential element of criminality is the absence of self control. High self control= consideration of long term consequences of own behaviour Low self control=no consideration such control is learned Gottsfredson & Hirsch

29. Secure attachment in infancy does not protect from adverse social outcomes. Early attachment difficulties do not automatically pose risk for subsequent development problems. Adams et al (2009)

30. Prenatal conditions or complications(learning problems) Psychiatric disorder. Personality traits. Biology-Genetics

31. Nature vs narture. Nature-genetic Nurture-parental upbringing Parents have less control over their children than their children. To “fit in” children learn new things Harris (1998) Environment

32. Individuals who socialise with people who engage in criminal behaviour are likely to engage in criminal behaviour. Crime seen as a norm. Children learn by socialisation. Bandura's social learning theory. Social and cultural factors . Sutherland (1939) Environment

33. Children learn by socialisation. Bandura’s social learning theory. Social and cultural factors . Sutherland (1939)

34. Ecological perspectives-environmental factors. Critical story about how society is structured. Criminal behaviour is influenced by the nature of the environment it occurs. Community interaction. Explain why some countries/areas have higher crimes than others. Clarke & Clarke

35. Individuals who socialise with people who engage with people who frequently engage in criminal behaviour are themselves likely to engage in criminal behaviour. As they are likely to see this as a norm rather than a deviation from the norm. Sutherland (1939)

36. Conclusion

37. Questions... Anyone?