A study of attachment styles among children aged from 8 to 14 years in Nairobi,Kenya

Abstract

Contrary to common perceptions, there is growing evidence that parents continue to play a key role in influencing their adolescent’s development, regardless of decreasing amount of time spent together. Attachment security, despite built-in capacity for stability, is a dynamic concept that continues one’s development and re-adjustment to new personal developmental levels and external conditions through the whole life-span. Recent researches suggest that development of attachment representations during the middle childhood and later in adolescence is more strongly influenced by ongoing family experiences than by the early childhood relationships with primary caregiver. Globally there is a consensus amongst child development researchers that there is a large gap in the theorization and assessment of middle childhood and early adolescence. Statement of the problem. More than 50% of Kenyans are young people under 18. One of the known protective factors for different types of psychopathology in youth is attachment security, which is today recognized as a universal phenomenon. Objectives. The study specifically tries to (1) Describe attachment styles and their presentation amongst 8 to 14 years old Kenyan children based in Nairobi. (2) Categorize study population into secure and insecure attachment depending on findings. (3) Demonstrate the applicability of Child Attachment Interview for designated age group (8 to 14) for the Kenyan urban child population based in Nairobi. Purpose of the study. As one of the few studies on this important topic, this study aims to offer in-depth understanding of child‘s experience of parenting in Kenya examined through the lens of contemporary attachment theory. Significance. Secure attachment in childhood and adolescence is associated with less engagement in high risk behaviors (such as delinquent behavior, teenager’s pregnancy, suicide, and substances misuse), fewer mental health problems, and enhanced social skills and coping strategies. Methodology. The study design is qualitative; 19 participants aged 8 to 14 who met the inclusion criteria. Content analysis of obtained narratives was focused on revealing culturallyspecific themes relevant to attachment and assessment of cross-cultural sensitivity of tool. Resultsare presented in the form of tables, diagrams, and bar-charts. Results. Child Attachment Interview (CAI) Protocol can be used with Kenyan urban population for designated age group of 8 to 14 years old. Children from Low SES are able to give narratives rich enough for coding. Out of 19 children who were interviewed, 16 (84%) were securely attached to their mothers and 17 (88%) were securely attached to their fathers. Conclusion. Apart from demonstrating applicability of the measure and obtaining valuable information about attachment security distribution in late childhood and early adolescence; the tool also allowed to see various aspects of parenting through child’s eyes