______________________FAMILY VIOLENCE AND ATTACHMENT
Introduction
The concept of attachment is a paramount aspect of parent–child interaction. It plays a significant role in determining the best interests of children of separation and divorce. This essay will critically analyse the social sciences and debates on the attachment theory and overnight care of young children where violence is present and whether the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) appropriately addresses the issues when applied.
Attachment Theory and Development
‘Attachment theory is a concept that concerns itself with a child’s early relationships and how it affects their development and capacity for form later relationships.’ Attachment was originally defined in the 1940s by British …show more content…
New research on brain development suggests that exposure to extreme trauma will change the organisation of the brain, resulting in difficulties in dealing with stresses later in life. Changes in the brain structure in children, who are exposed to violence, find themselves in a persisting ‘fight-or-flight’ state. By adolescence, the child is unable to escape the persistent state and what was originally an adaptive mechanism to situational stress, becomes a natural response that results in the child to become ‘overactive and hypersensitive’. In dangerous home situations, it is possible for a young child to not develop a sense of trust or security at all. In a devoted chapter of the Family Court Review, researchers Liberman and Zeanah, in conversation with McIntosh, state that “there is ‘no question’ that when a child witnesses family violence, the protective shield that the parent represents for the child is severely damaged, ‘if not …show more content…
How much time with one parent is needed for a baby to become or to remain behaviourally secure in that attachment? How much time away from a parent, at what points in early childhood, and in what circumstances, is stressful and disruptive to that attachment and to related developmental goals? How should the amount of time spent with each parent be considered in the context of attachment with one or both parents who have seriously compromised mental
Introduction
The concept of attachment is a paramount aspect of parent–child interaction. It plays a significant role in determining the best interests of children of separation and divorce. This essay will critically analyse the social sciences and debates on the attachment theory and overnight care of young children where violence is present and whether the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) appropriately addresses the issues when applied.
Attachment Theory and Development
‘Attachment theory is a concept that concerns itself with a child’s early relationships and how it affects their development and capacity for form later relationships.’ Attachment was originally defined in the 1940s by British …show more content…
New research on brain development suggests that exposure to extreme trauma will change the organisation of the brain, resulting in difficulties in dealing with stresses later in life. Changes in the brain structure in children, who are exposed to violence, find themselves in a persisting ‘fight-or-flight’ state. By adolescence, the child is unable to escape the persistent state and what was originally an adaptive mechanism to situational stress, becomes a natural response that results in the child to become ‘overactive and hypersensitive’. In dangerous home situations, it is possible for a young child to not develop a sense of trust or security at all. In a devoted chapter of the Family Court Review, researchers Liberman and Zeanah, in conversation with McIntosh, state that “there is ‘no question’ that when a child witnesses family violence, the protective shield that the parent represents for the child is severely damaged, ‘if not …show more content…
How much time with one parent is needed for a baby to become or to remain behaviourally secure in that attachment? How much time away from a parent, at what points in early childhood, and in what circumstances, is stressful and disruptive to that attachment and to related developmental goals? How should the amount of time spent with each parent be considered in the context of attachment with one or both parents who have seriously compromised mental