Discuss the influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships.

Question 10 Mark Scheme

Discuss the influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships. Refer to the internal working model in your answer.

[16 marks]

What is expected in the answer?

The command word “discuss” requires students to explain how early attachment may influence later relationships and then evaluate the evidence for this proposed continuity. Because the question specifies both childhood and adult relationships, a strong answer should address both, rather than concentrating exclusively on romantic relationships or childhood friendships.

The internal working model (IWM) must be explained and used as the mechanism linking early attachment with later relationships. This is explicitly required by the current specification.

Marks for this question: AO1 = 6, AO3 = 10

As this is an original 16-mark discussion question without application, an appropriate allocation is AO1 = 6 and AO3 = 10. Previous questions have separately assessed childhood and adult relationships, with both mark schemes emphasising the IWM, supporting or contradictory evidence, methodological issues and problems establishing cause and effect.  

Level	Marks	Description
4	13–16	Knowledge of how early attachment may influence childhood and adult relationships is accurate and generally well detailed. The role of the internal working model is clearly explained. Discussion is thorough and effective, using relevant research and theoretical or methodological issues. Both childhood and adult relationships are considered. The answer is clear, coherent and focused, with effective use of specialist terminology.
3	9–12	Knowledge of the influence of early attachment is evident, including some understanding of the internal working model. Both childhood and adult relationships are addressed, although one may be better developed. Discussion is mostly effective but may contain occasional inaccuracies or undeveloped points.
2	5–8	Limited knowledge is present. The response may focus mainly on either childhood or adult relationships, or describe studies without clearly explaining the role of early attachment. Discussion is only partly effective.
1	1–4	Knowledge is very limited or muddled. The internal working model may be inaccurately described or absent. There is little effective discussion of the influence of early attachment on later relationships.
0	0	No relevant content.

Indicative content

AO1: The internal working model

Credit relevant knowledge such as:

• Bowlby proposed that the infant’s first attachment produces an internal working model.

• The IWM is a mental representation or schema of relationships.

• It provides a blueprint or prototype for expectations about:

  • the self

  • other people

  • relationships.

• A secure early attachment may create expectations that:

  • other people are dependable

  • relationships are safe

  • the individual is worthy of care.

• An insecure early attachment may create less positive expectations.

• These expectations may influence:

  • friendships during childhood

  • peer relationships

  • romantic relationships

  • later parenting.

The 2024 mark scheme describes the IWM as a blueprint for later relationships and states that a secure first attachment may promote successful relationships with peers, romantic partners and one's own children.

Continuity hypothesis

Credit relevant knowledge such as:

• The continuity hypothesis proposes consistency between early attachment and later relationships.

• Securely attached infants would therefore be expected to have more successful later relationships.

• Insecure attachment may be associated with difficulties in later peer or romantic relationships.

• The IWM provides a possible mechanism for this continuity.

• Early relationship experiences may influence later expectations and behaviour in relationships.

The 2023 examiner report identifies the internal working model and continuity hypothesis as relevant concepts when explaining long-term consequences of early attachment experiences.

Influence on childhood relationships

Credit relevant knowledge such as:

• Early attachment may influence the quality of later peer relationships.

• Securely attached children may develop positive expectations about others and therefore find it easier to:

  • trust peers

  • form friendships

  • seek and provide support.

• Insecure attachment may be associated with difficulties fitting in with peers.

• Research has examined:

  • friendships

  • peer relationships

  • bullying.

The June 2021 mark scheme explicitly identifies peer relationships, friendship patterns, bullying and Myron-Wilson and Smith as relevant evidence.

Myron-Wilson and Smith

Credit relevant findings such as:

• Attachment type has been associated with involvement in bullying.

• Securely attached children are less likely to be involved in bullying.

• Insecure-avoidant children have been found to be more likely to be victims.

• Insecure-resistant children have been found to be more likely to be bullies.

• These findings can be interpreted using the IWM.

• Secure children may possess a more positive relationship template, whereas insecure children may experience greater difficulties in peer interaction.

These specific patterns are identified in the June 2021 mark scheme.

Influence on adult romantic relationships

Credit relevant knowledge such as:

• The IWM may continue to influence adult romantic relationships.

• Secure early attachments may be associated with greater trust and comfort with intimacy.

• Insecure attachment may be associated with difficulties such as:

  • fear of intimacy

  • difficulties with commitment.

• Research such as Hazan and Shaver's Love Quiz has investigated associations between early attachment and adult romantic relationships.

The June 2022 mark scheme identifies insecure attachment as associated with fear of intimacy and lack of commitment and specifically accepts Hazan and Shaver's Love Quiz as relevant evidence.

Influence on parenting

Credit relevant knowledge such as:

• The IWM may also influence relationships with one's own children.

• Expectations and behaviours learned in early relationships may affect later parenting.

• This creates the possibility of intergenerational continuity in attachment.

• Adults with a positive IWM may be better able to provide consistent and responsive care.

The specimen mark scheme explicitly identifies the IWM as influencing later relationships and a person's success as a parent.

Adult Attachment Interview

Relevant knowledge may include Main et al.'s Adult Attachment Interview.

• Adults are interviewed about their attachment experiences and relationships.

• Responses can be classified into attachment-related categories.

• The procedure has been used to investigate continuity between early attachment experiences and adult attachment patterns.

• Relevant adult classifications include:

  • autonomous-secure

  • insecure-dismissing

  • insecure-preoccupied

  • unresolved.

These classifications and their use in studying continuity are identified in the specimen mark scheme.

AO3: Discussion and evaluation

Childhood relationship research supports continuity

A strength is evidence associating early attachment with later peer relationships.

Myron-Wilson and Smith's findings suggest that attachment type is related to involvement in bullying, with secure children less likely to be involved and different insecure classifications associated with different bullying experiences.

This is consistent with the IWM because a child who develops a positive model of relationships might expect others to be supportive and behave in ways that facilitate successful peer interaction.

In contrast, an insecure IWM may contribute to difficulties trusting others or managing social relationships.

The evidence therefore supports some continuity between early attachment and childhood relationships.

Adult relationship research also supports continuity

Research into adult relationships provides further support.

Hazan and Shaver's Love Quiz is recognised as relevant evidence when explaining how early attachment may affect later romantic relationships.

Associations between insecure attachment and fear of intimacy or lack of commitment are consistent with the IWM. Someone whose early relationships produced expectations that others are unreliable may carry those expectations into adult romantic relationships.

Evidence extending into adulthood is important because the IWM predicts long-term influence, not merely short-term effects on childhood friendships.

Evidence across different relationships strengthens the theory

The continuity hypothesis gains strength if similar patterns occur across:

• childhood peer relationships

• adult romantic relationships

• parenting.

Finding continuity across different relationship types is more persuasive than finding an association in only one area.

The specimen adult-relationships mark scheme explicitly identifies romantic partners and relationships with one's own children as the relevant adult outcomes.

This provides broader support for Bowlby's suggestion that the first attachment acts as a prototype for relationships generally.

Correlation does not establish causation

A major limitation is that much of the supporting research is correlational.

If secure infant attachment is associated with successful adult relationships, this does not prove that the early attachment caused the adult outcome.

Other variables could influence both, for example:

• temperament

• family environment

• later relationship experiences

• parental behaviour.

The childhood and adult mark schemes explicitly identify the problem of assuming a cause-and-effect relationship between early attachment and later relationships.  

Therefore, the evidence demonstrates continuity more convincingly than it demonstrates the IWM as the causal mechanism.

Temperament could provide an alternative explanation

A related limitation is that stable characteristics of the child might influence both early and later relationships.

For example, a naturally sociable or emotionally regulated child might:

• find it easier to form a secure attachment in infancy

• later find it easier to form friendships and romantic relationships.

If so, the association between early and later relationships might partly reflect continuity of temperament rather than continuity produced by the internal working model.

This illustrates why correlational evidence alone cannot determine the direction or mechanism of the relationship.

The IWM is difficult to measure directly

A theoretical limitation is that the internal working model is a hypothetical construct.

It cannot be observed directly. Researchers must infer it from:

• interviews

• behaviour

• attachment classifications

• reports of later relationships.

The June 2021 mark scheme explicitly identifies the difficulty of measuring the IWM because it is hypothetical as relevant evaluation.

As a result, evidence showing continuity does not necessarily prove that a mental relationship schema caused it.

Retrospective measures reduce validity

Some studies of adult relationships require participants to recall early childhood experiences.

These retrospective reports may be inaccurate because:

• memories of early childhood can be incomplete

• current relationships may influence how childhood is remembered

• participants may reconstruct past experiences.

The June 2021 mark scheme explicitly identifies retrospective assessment of early attachment patterns as a methodological problem.

Therefore, an apparent association between recalled childhood attachment and adult relationships may partly reflect biased memory.

Self-report may produce socially desirable responses

Research into adult romantic relationships often depends on self-report.

Participants may not report sensitive aspects of relationships accurately because they:

• want to present themselves positively

• lack insight into their own behaviour

• interpret questions differently.

The June 2021 mark scheme identifies subjectivity and social desirability as limitations of self-report measures of childhood and adult relationships.

This reduces confidence in the accuracy of some evidence supporting continuity.

The continuity hypothesis may be too deterministic

A significant theoretical criticism is determinism.

A strong interpretation of the IWM could imply that children with insecure attachments are destined to have poor relationships throughout life.

The specimen adult-relationships mark scheme explicitly identifies determinism as a relevant criticism.

However, relationships can change.

Later experiences with:

• supportive friends

• romantic partners

• adoptive parents

• therapists

could modify expectations about relationships.

The IWM may therefore influence later relationships without determining them permanently.

Evidence of recovery challenges strict continuity

Evidence that children can recover from severe early deprivation or privation and later form effective relationships challenges a rigid continuity hypothesis.

The adult-relationships mark scheme explicitly accepts evidence showing that children can recover from deprivation or privation and form effective adult relationships.

Research into Romanian adoptees also suggests that poor early development and the absence of an adequate early IWM can sometimes be overcome with good subsequent care.

This suggests that later experience can reshape relationship expectations.

The IWM may therefore be better understood as modifiable, rather than fixed permanently in infancy.

Early and later relationships may influence each other

Another issue is that continuity could operate in more than one direction.

An individual with a secure attachment may enter later relationships with positive expectations, but successful later relationships can themselves reinforce or modify those expectations.

Therefore:

early attachment may influence later relationships, but later relationships may also reshape the internal working model.

This gives a less deterministic explanation of continuity.

Adult attachment can be difficult to classify

Adult relationships are more complex than infant attachment relationships.

An adult may behave differently:

• with different partners

• at different points in life

• as a romantic partner compared with as a parent.

Although procedures such as the Adult Attachment Interview provide a systematic method of classification, reducing complex adult relationships to a small number of categories may oversimplify them.

The specimen mark scheme specifically identifies methodological issues surrounding the measurement of adult attachment type as relevant evaluation.

Example answer

Bowlby proposed that early attachment influences later relationships through an internal working model. This is a mental representation or schema formed from the infant's first attachment. It contains expectations about what relationships are like, whether other people can be trusted and whether the individual is worthy of care. The internal working model therefore acts as a blueprint for later relationships.

A child with a secure early attachment is likely to develop a positive internal working model. They may expect other people to be reliable and supportive, making it easier to develop successful friendships. In contrast, an insecure attachment may produce less positive expectations and make peer relationships more difficult.

Research into bullying supports this. Myron-Wilson and Smith found that securely attached children were less likely to be involved in bullying. Insecure-avoidant children were more likely to be victims, whereas insecure-resistant children were more likely to be bullies. This supports the internal working model because differences in early attachment appear to be associated with later patterns of social relationships.

However, this research does not prove that the early attachment caused the later bullying behaviour. A third variable could influence both. For example, temperament could affect how easily an infant forms a secure attachment and also affect later relationships with peers. This means the evidence supports an association, but not necessarily a causal role for the internal working model.

Early attachment may also influence adult romantic relationships. Hazan and Shaver investigated this using the Love Quiz and found an association between attachment experiences and later romantic relationships. Insecure attachment has been associated with difficulties such as fear of intimacy and lack of commitment. This is consistent with the idea that expectations developed during early attachment are carried forward into adult relationships.

Evidence linking early attachment with both childhood friendships and adult romantic relationships supports the continuity hypothesis. The fact that similar patterns can appear at different stages of life suggests that early attachment may have a long-term influence rather than affecting only infant behaviour.

However, much of this research relies on self-report. Adults may be asked to describe their relationships and sometimes their childhood experiences. These answers can be affected by social desirability or inaccurate memory. Someone who is currently unhappy in a relationship may also remember their childhood more negatively. This reduces the validity of evidence claiming continuity from infancy to adulthood.

A further problem is that the internal working model itself cannot be observed directly. It is a hypothetical mental construct that researchers infer from behaviour or interviews. Even if early and later relationships are correlated, this does not prove that an internal working model is the process linking them.

The theory may also be too deterministic. It could imply that an insecurely attached infant will inevitably develop poor relationships. However, later experiences can be positive and may alter expectations. Research showing that children can recover following severe early deprivation suggests that poor early experience does not necessarily prevent successful relationships later in life.

Early attachment may also affect parenting. If the internal working model acts as a prototype for relationships, adults may use their own early experiences when responding to their children. This could produce continuity across generations. However, adults can learn different parenting behaviours, so early attachment does not have to determine the way they care for their own children.

Overall, there is evidence that early attachment is associated with both childhood and adult relationships, which supports the continuity hypothesis and the idea of an internal working model. However, much of the evidence is correlational and relies on self-report, so it cannot demonstrate that the early attachment causes later relationship patterns. The most reasonable conclusion is that early attachment can influence later relationships, but the internal working model can also be modified by later experiences.

Indicative mark: 16/16

Examiner-style commentary

This would be a strong Level 4 response because it covers both parts of the question. Childhood relationships are addressed through peer relationships and bullying, while adult relationships are addressed through romantic relationships and parenting.

The AO1 is focused around one clear mechanism, the internal working model:

• early attachment creates a mental representation or blueprint;

• the blueprint influences expectations of later relationships;

• this predicts continuity into friendships, romantic relationships and parenting.

This closely matches the 2024 description of the IWM as a mental representation that can influence peers, romantic partners and relationships with one's own children.

The research is then used selectively rather than being retold at length:

• Myron-Wilson and Smith support continuity into childhood peer relationships;

• Hazan and Shaver support continuity into adult romantic relationships;

• evidence of recovery challenges a rigid, deterministic interpretation.

The AO3 also follows the official guidance closely. Both the childhood and adult mark schemes identify:

• determinism

• difficulties establishing cause and effect

• self-report problems

• retrospective assessment

• difficulty measuring the hypothetical IWM

as relevant discussion points.  

A particularly useful examiner warning comes from the June 2022 report. Some students incorrectly suggested that a child with poor early experiences would not develop an internal working model at all. The correct point is that they would develop an IWM based on those experiences, which may contain negative expectations about later relationships. Hazan and Shaver was also identified as effective elaboration when clearly connected to later relationships.

How a weaker answer could be improved

A weaker response might write a detailed paragraph about the IWM and Hazan and Shaver but say almost nothing about childhood relationships. Because this question explicitly asks about both childhood and adulthood, that would restrict the quality of the answer.

A better structure is:

IWM → childhood evidence → evaluation → adult evidence → evaluation → overall judgement.

For example:

secure attachment creates positive expectations of relationships → secure children are less involved in bullying → supports continuity into childhood → but correlational evidence cannot establish that the IWM caused the behaviour.

Then:

the same relationship blueprint may influence romantic relationships → insecure attachment is associated with fear of intimacy or commitment → supports continuity into adulthood → but retrospective self-report and later life experiences weaken causal conclusions.

The key is not simply to show that early and later relationships are associated, but to evaluate whether the evidence really demonstrates that early attachment, through the internal working model, is responsible for that continuity.