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At the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Rainer Leyh, Christine Heinisch, Johanna Behringer, Iris Reiner, and Gottfried Spangler have taken a neurophysiological approach to studying maternal attachment in new mothers. Their approach includes a psychoanalytic perspective as well: the researchers examine how mothers' experiences shape their personalities and in turn their ability to understand their children's needs.
John Bowbly's attachment theory proposes that children begin to exhibit attachment behavior when confronted with changes in their environment, be it new people, new locations, or new objects. Van Rosmalen, van der Horst, and van der Veer (2016) state that “human infants need a consistent nurturing relationship with one or more sensitive caregivers to develop into healthy individuals” (p. 22). Children will develop different types of attachment patterns based on the sensitivity of their caretaker, usually the mother.
Mary Ainsworth further advanced attachment theory. She identified the different types of attachment a child can develop (Ainsworth et al. 1978). If the mother is able to meet her child's needs, the child will show either secure or insecure attachment. Children exhibiting secure attachment trust that their mother will respond to their needs; a mother will be available to them, and they will explore their environment if a new one is presented. By contrast, insecure children will either be clingy or will not seek out their mother. Often this occurs because the mother does not adequately respond to the child's needs. An insecure child will at times out of fear not explore the environment or will seek to explore it independently. A securely attached parent will be able to meet the child's needs and the child will feel safe knowing this. Insecurely attached parents will either be unavailable to tend to their child's needs or will meet them inadequately.
The researchers' main focus was on how maternal attachment can affect the mother's perception of an