The limits of the attachment network

Abstract

From the beginning, theories of attachment and caregiving have given rise to questions about minimum and maximum numbers of attachment figures. The child's tendency to direct attachment behavior to a specific figure rather than to whoever is nearby has led to the idea of monotropy, suggesting that a child would thrive best with one special attachment figure. From an evolutionary perspective kinship caregiving networks are more plausible as they would increase the chances of survival, and in hunter-gatherer and agricultural communities paternal care and kinship networks providing care for young children were indeed common. A recent development in cultural evolution is the invention of organized day care and children's homes and institutions. Although the attachment network may increase in size with the child's cognitive development, research on institutionalized care demonstrates that high numbers of caregivers preclude secure attachments. The limiting factor to attachment networks may however not be the number of caregivers, but the opportunities for the child to learn contingencies in social relationships that have an attachment component.