Attachment Theory
In the current case, Tiffani is demonstrating an insecure-avoidant attachment. In this pattern, the child pulls away from the guardian or parent for not being sensitive to her needs. The child does not rely on the comfort or assistance of the parents, even when she is in distress. The caregiver’s low sensitivity makes the toddler minimize her attachment behaviors (Spruit et al., 2020). Babies form firm emotional bonds with caregivers who are sensitive to their needs. The child becomes securely attached when their caregivers remain consistent in responding sensitively to them. The caregiver’s sensitive responsiveness to the toddler’s care needs enables the young one to develop secure attachment where he seeks closeness and comfort when in distress (Gross, Stern, Brett & Cassidy, 2017). Nevertheless, Tiffani’s parents failed to give her the necessary emotional and social support. The lack of love from the mother and abuse by one of the family members are the roots of the avoidant attachment.
Tiffani pulled away from her mother because she was insensitive to her need for love. She found it uncomfortable to trust her mother for protection, and thus, she had to leave the house. Tiffani saw her pimp as the embodiment of protection. The avoidance is seen where Tiffani went with her boyfriend and left her parents and family members. In insecure-avoidance, children downplay their distress and fail to seek parental comfort (Gross et al., 2017). Besides, children shift to self-comfort because the caregiver cannot be relied upon (Letourneau, Hart & MacMaster, 2017). Tiffani feels that the boyfriend cushioned her from dangers but not her caregivers. The parents denied her the security that she wanted, forcing her to seek protection from the pimp.
In summary, Tiffani did not demonstrate a preference for her mother over other individuals who were not her relatives. This was the reason she went to live in the streets and become prostitution. The social worker professional should dig deeper into Tiffani’s childhood relationship experiences to understand attachment memories concerning the stressful situations. This would enable the professional to help Tiffani acquire self-regulatory strategies and avoid relationship problems in the future.
References
Gross, J. T., Stern, J. A., Brett, B. E., & Cassidy, J. (2017). The multifaceted nature of prosocial behavior in children: Links with attachment theory and research. Social Development, 26(4), 661-678.
Letourneau, N. L., Hart, J. M., & MacMaster, F. P. (2017). Association between non-parenting adult’s attachment patterns and brain structure and function: A systematic review of neuroimaging studies. SAGE Open Nursing, 3, 2377960816685572.
Spruit, A., Goos, L., Weenink, N., Rodenburg, R., Niemeyer, H., Stams, G. J., & Colonnesi, C. (2020). The relation between attachment and depression in children and adolescents: A multilevel meta-analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(1), 54-69.