Secure Environment in Supporting Psychological and Emotional Well-Being - Essay Example

Introduction to Psychology and Human Development The Importance of a Stable and Secure Environment in Supporting Psychological and Emotional Well-being There are many theories that suggest secure environment is a psychological term used to describe two individuals in a relationship and how that relationship makes the two individuals feel close and secure with each other (Noller & Feeney, 2013, p. 253). Freud’s theory suggests that the psychodynamic approach states that a person’s childhood experiences helps in determining what they will become in the future. Other theorists developed on his idea and further evaluated the significance of the relationship between a mother and the child, which later will affect their future lives (Kassin, Fein & Markus, 2013, p.177). Within this essay, I will assess the importance of a stable and secure environment in supporting psychological and emotional well-being of a person. According to Ashford & LeCroy (2009) researchers developed on the ideas of Freud and Lorenz and worked on to explain the relationship and understanding between children and their parents. They established that the offspring of different species including human beings exhibit substantial fretfulness when they were detached from their mothers. Also, they discovered that if the bond between the parent and the child was disrupted by bereavement, separation or emotional deprivation then this would affect their psychological well-being in their future lives (Kassin, Fein & Markus, 2013, p.187). In addition, psychologists suggested the significance of a child development and how this could affect their life. During developmental stages, a child must be “securely attached” to another human being. The research established that if the child does not have this attachment this may affect them psychologically, emotionally, socially and mentally in day-to-day life (Noller & Feeney, 2013, p. 268). This means that according to Ashford & LeCroy (2009) secure attachment of great importance in the development of a child and determining well-being in their future lives. The psychologist Mary Ainsworth (1913 - 1999) provided the most well-known research that has contributed towards the explanations of how a person differences in the attachment (Ainsworth, 2008). This researcher established that it is really easy to recognize when you are attached to someone because it affects your feelings when the two of you are separated (Kassin, Fein & Markus, 2013, p.195). She claimed that mature person can be able to describe the feelings they have towards other human beings, but this is different for most researches carried out on infants and young children psychological attachments with their environment. Ainsworth had to devise ways of researching attachment styles, using the observational method (Ainsworth, 2008). She observed that the “strange situation” was to identify the types of attachment and if they were Secure. She observed the inconsolable situations such as when the mother leaves and the child start crying, but when the mother returns to the child, the child calms down quickly after reunion. Also, she observed at the “Anxious and avoidant: uncaring to mother,” and noticed there was a possibility that the child may or may not wail when mother leaves (Sigelman & Rider, 2011, p. 234). She discovered that there was a possibility for the child might turn away from the mother or the caregiver after reunion. Ainsworth focused into “Anxious and resistant,” and she established that the child would stay near mother and seem anxious before going away; grief-stricken when mother leaves, and even though the mother has returned but the child has not comforted by her return (Ainsworth, 2008). In addition, Ainsworth concluded four different patterns of infants in relations to the attachment (Noller & Feeney, 2013, p. 284). Also, she studied the difference in a secure and insecure attachment and the effect the process from the parent or primary caregiver has on the child’s development. She believed that the secure attachment tends to be linked to individuals who are more forceful towards other. This psychologist researcher perceived that they will have a higher self-esteem and that they would value more positive qualities about themselves (Sigelman & Rider, 2011, p. 238). This means that they are informed of their imperfections, friendliness, sociability, assertiveness, tolerance to frustration and so on. When she compared those with a secure environment to those with insecure environment, they observed that those who have insecure attachments tended to focus more on the negative sides of life. Mary Ainsworth strongly felt that for an infant, it is really important to achieve a secure attachment from a primary caregiver in its life as it helps to have a smooth life and that is what a child must have (Ainsworth, 2008). This was meant to help that infant to grow and feel a sense of security, the feeling of safety at the same time being close to their parent or the main caregiver. However, studies have established that just because an individual has not attained secure relationship with their parent does not imply they cannot have stable and secure relationships in their future lives (Noller & Feeney, 2013, p. 2945). For example, they can establish a stable and secure attachments and understanding with friends, siblings, relatives, other extended family members, partners and even co-workers. The routine practices and rituals the family or society in general engages in impacts the lives of people and their emotional well-being significantly. There are several transitional stages in the lives of human beings as they grow from childhood to adults (Kassin, Fein & Markus, 2013, p.193). The family members and the environment shape the lives of people by influencing their psychological orientations. For example, at adolescence phase of human development the individuals undergo psychological, emotional and physical changes in lives. In addition to these changes, individuals are exposed to new and diverse social environment that impacts significantly on their developments. The human exposures to societal or communal orientations may result to stability or instability of the human psychological experiences. The environment and particularly family background of an individual plays a significant role in determining the adaptability and stability of the human being during the transitional stages of development (Sigelman & Rider, 2011, p. 248). If the environment and the family background are stable and secure enough to provide an individual with coping mechanism the child will be able to respond positively to customs of the society and become strongly attached to the society. However, if the person is brought up in an environment where the traditions and customs of the society poses threats in their physical lives and their psychological lives, then the person will become resistive to the environment and will feel insecure and unstable psychologically (Noller & Feeney, 2013, p. 301). The parents should vary the environment of their children as they undergo different phases of development in order to make those children develop a positive attitude towards the environment and their parents. Children are brought up in a varying environment and have different abilities to cope with the challenges posed by their environment. Depending on the nature of the environment, and coping mechanism, children may feel threatened and insecure, or they may become friendly to their environment (Sigelman & Rider, 2011, p. 263). Communication is an essential tool that can unite parents with their children. Whenever children feel threatened of face challenges in life they turn to their parents of their primary care givers for assistance. However, if children are exposed to family violence or they do not get sufficient assistance from the environment they tend to become repulsive to that environment (Kassin, Fein & Markus, 2013, p. 209). The way in which parents and the primary caregivers respond to the needs of the children when in agony affects the brain development of those children and their consequent reactions to similar situations in the future life. The development of brain at an early stage of a child determines how they respond to different issues in the society. If a child was being mistreated by the parents or the caregivers during their first years of growth this will influence their future lives a great deal (Kassin, Fein & Markus, 2013, p.221). For example, if a child experienced sexual assaults from the parents, relatives or caretakers at a tender age, such children may develop psychological problems and feel traumatized whenever they remember those episodes in their lives. However, in rare cases those children may forget what happened at their tender age and get attached to family members and the other members of the society (Sigelman & Rider, 2011, p. 272). Similarly, if a child was brought up in an environment where every issue were solved by the parents or the caretakers such children are likely to become positive to their environment. Therefore, the way in which parents and the environment responds to the issues of children, the means of sharing those issues and the solutions attained for those problems influence the brain development of the child (Noller & Feeney, 2013, p. 307). As the children develop from childhood into adulthood they may forget the issues that happened in their childhood, or they may become allergic to those issues even in their adult lives. The parents and relatives can provide their children with emotional and psychological support hence enabling them to overcome the challenges which may affect their future lives (Sigelman & Rider, 2011, p. 279). If a child is reared in a society where there is communal sharing of problems, such an environment will promote harmony and solidity in the society. In such an environment, people will have liberty minds to overcome the external challenges that affect their lives. In such a situation, the parents will assist the children to become resilient by compensating for deleterious impacts of environmental challenges on the children (Kassin, Fein & Markus, 2013, p. 234). This is implies that even though the environment may pose some challenges on the children, the parents can mitigate those challenges by providing their children with moral support in order to make them respond positively to the environmental challenges. An example of an environmental challenge could be poverty in the society. Even though the parents are poor they can influence the psychological and emotional wellbeing of their children by providing a stable and secure environment hence enabling the children to become resilient to the adversity of poverty (Sigelman & Rider, 2011, p. 286). In conclusion, it is worth noting that secure attachment plays a significant role in the initial stages of growth of an individual. However studies suggest that just because an individual did not have a secure relationship with their parents during childhood they cannot have stable and secure attachment in future life. Emotional wellbeing can be affected later in life by many other factors. For example, a person who had a stable and secure relationship in childhood may have insecure and unstable relationship with friends, parents, siblings or relatives in the future. On the other hand, a person who had insecure relationship is likely to get in a secure and stable relationship with friends, siblings, relatives, co-workers or even parents. The change in one’s nature of attachment with the environment may have a significant impact in their lives and may even affect the way they perceive their environment. Bibliography Ashford, J. & LeCroy, C. 2009. The Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Multidimensional Perspective. Cengage Learning. Pp. 132-243 Kassin, S., Fein, S. & Markus, H. 2013. Social Psychology. Cengage Learning. Pp. 164-256 Ainsworth, M. (2008). Simple psychology . USA: Saul McLeod Noller, P. & Feeney, J. A. 2013. Close Relationships: Functions, Forms and Processes. Psychology Press. Pp. 251-317 Sigelman, C. & Rider, E. 2011. Life-Span Human Development. Cengage Learning. Pp. 211- 297 Read More