Attachment and Spiritual Maturity 20
that early attachment formed a framework that persisted through life. This persistence for social cohesion is controlled through affect.
The Role of Affect
This section will explore the role of affect which plays an important role in the
claim that later relationships are strongly affected by early attachment relationships.
Research findings indicate that there are continuities between early attachments and later
peer relationships, so that some reflection of attachment quality is carried forward within
the individual (Belsky & Cassidy, 1994). Ainsworth's research suggested affectional
bonds are a means for explaining how attachment is carried from childhood to adulthood.
Affective bonds are also related to the emotional control system for attachment behavior.
Ainsworth discovered developmental changes in the nature of children's
attachments to parents and others during the years beyond infancy (Ainsworth, 1989).
She noted that different affectional bonds move from infancy to attachment ofchild to
parents, to child-parent attachment during adulthood, and to other affectional bonds
throughout the life span. In describing this, she suggested affectional bonds were not the
same as relationships. These bonds are long lasting and relationships may or may not be
enduring. Affectional bonds are represented in the internal organization of the individual
person, where as relationships are dyadic. Third, a relationship grows out of the total
interaction of two individuals' history, involving much varied content. An affectional bond
she defines as a relatively long-enduring tie in which the parent is important as a unique
individual and is unable to be exchanged with any other.
The affect a relationship produces determines the nature of an affectional bond.
Affectional bonds create a desire to maintain closeness that brings pleasure and joy.
When separation occurs, it tends to cause distress and a desire for reunion. An
attachment is an affectional bond with the added experiential dimension of enough
security and comfort obtained from the relationship creating the ability to move away
from the secure base with confidence to engage other activities. Friendships, marriages, or
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