SEPARATION ANXIETY AMONG MUSLIM
CHILDREN: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY
BETWEEN AHLAMI AND EDU-CARE
BY
NAFISA MUSTAFA MOHAMED AHMED
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement
for the degree of Master of Education in Psychology
Institute of Education
International Islamic University
Malaysia
FEBRUARY 2013
ABSTRACT
The attachment styles of parenting have consistently been found to be a major risk
factor for child development. Many children especially in early childhood refuse to go
to school or to discover their surrounding in order to be with their caregivers.
Therefore, the aims of the study were to find out the types of attachment patterns and
types of separation anxiety patterns. This study also tried to find out the different
attachment styles across ethnicity and types of separation anxiety symptoms.
Qualitative methods were used in the present study which has two phases, first semistructured interview and second observational method. Both methods were adapted
and adopted from the DSM-IV and Anisworth attachment patterns (1978). The result
revealed that the attachment patterns that prevalent among the parents were secured
patterns according to some traits find as which are made this pattern different from
other patterns. Moreover, the result indicated that the separation anxiety patterns
present among the children were secure and insecure Avoidant patterns. Attachment
across ethnicity was found to be different among participants from Qatar and
Malaysia; the Qatari encouraged independence while the Malays preferred routine.
Regarding separation symptoms among children, the results show that only behavioral
symptoms existed among the children, such as crying, fear of darkness, and wet their
clothes. Also, the research discusses on attachment theory and characteristic of
attachment theory from the Islamic perspective in growing up children.
ii
‫ﺧﻼﺻﺔ ﺍﻟﺒﺤﺚ‬
‫ﺗ‪‬ﻌﺪ‪ ‬ﺃﺳﺎﻟﻴﺐ ﺗﻌﻠﻖ ﺍﻵﺑﺎﺀ ﺑﺎﻷﺑﻨﺎﺀ ﻋﺎﻣﻼ ﺭﺋﻴﺴﺎ ﻭﺧﻄﺮﺍ ﻳﺆﺛﺮ ﰲ ﳕﻮ ﺍﻷﺑﻨﺎﺀ ﻭﺗﻄﻮﺭﻫﻢ‪ .‬ﻛﻤﺎ‬
‫ﺃﻥ ﻛﺜﲑﺍ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻷﻃﻔﺎﻝ ‪-‬ﺧﺼﻮﺻﺎ ﰲ ﺳﻦ ﺍﻟﻄﻔﻮﻟﺔ ﺍﳌﺒﻜﺮﺓ‪ -‬ﻳﺮﻓﻀﻮﻥ ﺍﻟﺬﻫﺎﺏ ﻟﻠﻤﺪﺭﺳﺔ‪ ،‬ﺃﻭ‬
‫ﺍﻛﺘﺸﺎﻑ ﺍﻟﺒﻴﺌﺔ ﺍﶈﻴﻄﺔ ‪‬ﻢ ﻻ ﻟﺸﻲﺀ ﺇﻻ ﻟﻴﻜﻮﻧﻮﺍ ﻗﺮﺏ ﻭﺍﻟﺪﻳﻬﻢ‪ .‬ﻟﺬﻟﻚ ‪‬ﺪﻑ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺍﺳﺔ‬
‫ﻻﻛﺘﺸﺎﻑ ﺃﻧﻮﺍﻉ ﺍﻟﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﻭ ﺃﳕﺎﻃﻪ‪ ،‬ﻭﺍﻛﺘﺸﺎﻑ ﺃﳕﺎﻁ ﻗﻠﻖ ﺍﻻﻧﻔﺼﺎﻝ ﺍﳌﺘﻨﻮﻋﺔ‪ .‬ﻛﻤﺎ ‪‬ﺪﻑ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ‬
‫ﺇﱃ ﺍﻛﺘﺸﺎﻑ ﺃﻧﻮﺍﻉ ﺍﻟﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﺍﳌﺘﻨﻮﻋﺔ ﻋﱪ ﺍﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺎﺕ ﺍﳌﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ‪.‬ﻭﺗﺴﻌﻰ ﻛﺬﻟﻚ ﺇﱃ ﻛﺸﻒ ﺃﻋﺮﺍﺽ‬
‫ﻗﻠﻖ ﺍﻻﻧﻔﺼﺎﻝ‪ .‬ﺍﺳﺘﺨﺪﻣﺖ ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺍﺳﺔ ﺍﳌﻨﻬﺞ ﺍﻟﻮﺻﻔﻲ ﺑﺎﺳﺘﺨﺪﺍﻡ ﺃﺳﻠﻮﺏ ﺍﳌﻘﺎﺑﻠﺔ ﺷﺒﺔ ﺍﳌﻨﻈﻢ‪،‬‬
‫ﻭﺃﺳﻠﻮﺏ ﺍﳌﺮﺍﻗﺒﺔ‪ .‬ﻭﻗﺪ ﺍﻋﺘﻤﺪ ﻛﻼ ﺍﻷﺳﻠﻮﺑﲔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺪﻟﻴﻞ ﺍﻷﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﺍﻟﺮﺍﺑﻊ ﻟﺘﺸﺨﻴﺺ‬
‫ﺍﻷﻣﺮﺍﺽ ﺍﻟﻨﻔﺴﻴﺔ )‪ (1995‬ﻭﻋﻠﻰ ﺃﳕﺎﻁ ﺍﻟﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﺍﳌﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ ﻷﻧﻴﺜﻮﺭﺙ )‪ .(1978‬ﻛﺸﻔﺖ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺍﺳﺔ ﺃﻥ ﺃﳕﺎﻁ ﺍﻟﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﺍﳌﻨﺘﺸﺮﺓ ﺑﲔ ﺍﻟﻮﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ )ﺍﻷﻣﻬﺎﺕ( ﻫﻲ ﺍﻟﻨﻤﻂ ﺍﻵﻣﻦ ﺗﺒﻌﺎ ﻟﺒﻌﺾ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺼﻔﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﱵ ﺟﻌﻠﺖ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍﻟﻨﻤﻂ ﳐﺘﻠﻔﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺍﻷﳕﺎﻁ ﺍﻷﺧﺮﻯ‪ .‬ﻋﻼﻭﺓ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺫﻟﻚ ﺣﺪﺩﺕ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻨﺘﻴﺠﺔ ﺃﻥ ﺃﳕﺎﻁ ﻗﻠﻖ ﺍﻻﻧﻔﺼﺎﻝ ﺍﳌﻨﺘﺸﺮﺓ ﺑﲔ ﺍﻷﻃﻔﺎﻝ ﻫﻲ ﺍﻟﻨﻤﻂ ﺍﻵﻣﻦ‪ ،‬ﻭﺍﻟﻨﻤﻂ ﻏﲑ ﺍﻵﻣﻦ‬
‫ﻛﻨﻤﻂ ﺍﻧﻄﻮﺍﺋﻲ‪ .‬ﻛﻤﺎ ﺃﻭﺿﺤﺖ ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺍﺳﺔ ﺃﻥ ﺗﻌﻠﻖ ﺍﻵﺑﺎﺀ ﺑﺎﻷﺑﻨﺎﺀ ﻋﱪ ﺍﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺎﺕ ﺍﳌﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ ﺳﺠ‪‬ﻞ‬
‫ﺍﺧﺘﻼﻓﺎ ﺑﲔ ﺍﳌﺸﺎﺭﻛﲔ ﻣﻦ ﻗﻄﺮ ﻭﻣﺎﻟﻴﺰﻳﺎ؛ ﻓﻀﻼ ﻋﻦ ﺫﻟﻚ ﻭﺟﺪﺕ ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺍﺳﺔ ﺃﻥ ﺍﻟﻘﻄﺮﻳﲔ‬
‫ﻳﺸﺠﻌﻮﻥ ﺍﻻﺳﺘﻘﻼﻟﻴﺔ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺍﻷﺑﻨﺎﺀ ﰲ ﺣﲔ ﺃﻥ ﺍﳌﺎﻟﻴﺰﻳﲔ ﻳﺸﺠﻌﻮﻥ ﺍﻟﺮﻭﺗﲔ‪ .‬ﺃﻣﺎ ﲞﺼﻮﺹ‬
‫ﺃﻋﺮﺍﺽ ﻗﻠﻖ ﺍﻻﻧﻔﺼﺎﻝ ﺑﲔ ﺍﻷﻃﻔﺎﻝ ﻓﻘﺪ ﺃﻇﻬﺮﺕ ﺍﻟﺪﺭﺍﺳﺔ ﺃﻥ ﻫﻨﺎﻙ ﺃﻋﺮﺍﺿﺎ ﺳﻠﻮﻛﻴﺔ ﺗﻨﺘﺸﺮ‬
‫ﺑﻴﻨﻬﻢ ﻛﺎﻟﺒﻜﺎﺀ ﻭﺍﳋﻮﻑ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻈﻼﻡ ﻭﺗﺒﻮﻝ ﺍﻷﻃﻔﺎﻝ ﰲ ﻣﻼﺑﺴﻬﻢ‪ .‬ﻛﻤﺎ ﻧﺎﻗﺶ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍﻟﺒﺤﺚ‬
‫ﻧﻈﺮﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼﻝ ﺍﳌﻨﻈﻮﺭ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻲ ﰲ ﺗﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺍﻷﺑﻨﺎﺀ‪.‬‬
‫‪iii‬‬
APPROVAL PAGE
I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion; it conforms
to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and
quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Education in Administration.
.....................................................
Nik Ahmad Hisham
Supervisor
I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable
standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
dissertation for the degree of Master of Education in Administration.
.....................................................
Nik Suryani Nik Abd. Rahman
Examiner
This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Psychology and Counseling and
is accepted as fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Education in
Administration.
.....................................................
Haniza Rais
Head, Department of Psychology
and Counseling
This dissertation was submitted to the Institute of Education and is accepted as a
fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Education in Administration.
.....................................................
Rosnani Hashim
Dean, Institute of Education
iv
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where
otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently
submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.
Nafisa Mustafa Mohamed Ahmed
Signature ……………………………………
v
Date ……………………..
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION
OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH
Copyright © 2013 by International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved.
A STUDY ON FOLLOWERSHIP ATTRIBUTES AMONG
SUPERVISORS OF SELECTED SCHOOLS IN MALDIVES
I hereby affirm that The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) holds all
rights in the copyright of this work, and henceforth any reproduction or use in any
form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of IIUM.
No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Affirmed by Nafisa Mustafa Mohamed Ahmed.
…………………………….
Signature
………………………
Date
vi
To my wonderful parents Fatimah Mohamed Said and Mustafa Mohamed,
My beloved sisters and brothers,
and my beloved nieces
Tala and Renad
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Prof. D. NIK
AHMED HISHAM, for his support and guidance throughout this research. From him I
have gained valuable knowledge, insights, and research experience which have been
extremely rewarding. His time and patience throughout this process has been truly
appreciated.
I would also like to thank the examiner Dr. Nik Suryani Nik Abd Rahman, for
her words of wisdom and beneficial feedback which have contributed to the successful
completion of this research.
Special thanks also go to the Principals, administrative staff, teachers, and
children of Ahlami and Edu-care nursery were very helpful and cooperative when the
study was being conducted.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my family for
motivating me, believing in me, and inspiring me to accomplish my studies. To my
friend Mousa Matovu, for his patience and support, and for that I am truly grateful.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ............................................................................................................... ii
Abstract in Arabic................................................................................................ iii
Approval Page ..................................................................................................... iv
Declaration Page.................................................................................................. v
Declaration of Copyright ..................................................................................... vi
Dedication ........................................................................................................... vii
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. viii
List of Table ........................................................................................................ xii
List of Figures ..................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................
Background of the study........................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ......................................................................... 3
Objective of the Study .............................................................................. 5
Research Questions .................................................................................. 5
Significance of the Study.......................................................................... 5
Limitations of the Study ........................................................................... 6
Definition of Terms .................................................................................. 7
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................
The theoretical framework…………………………………………………10
The nature of separation anxiety ............................................................... 12
The attachment theory .............................................................................. 12
Secure attachment and insecure attachment .............................................. 17
Causes of insecure attachment patterns ..................................................... 18
Gender differences in separation anxiety .................................................. 20
Attachment across cultures ...................................................................... 21
The conceptual framework ....................................................................... 23
CHPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................
Research Design and Methodology .......................................................... 25
Participants of the Study........................................................................... 26
Data Collection ........................................................................................ 27
Dependability and Credibility of Data ...................................................... 29
Data Collection Procedure ........................................................................ 30
Data Analysis procedure........................................................................... 30
Summary.................................................................................................. 31
ix
CHPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY .....
Introduction.............................................................................................. 33
Demographic information of the participants ............................................ 33
The different types of attachment patterns those were prevalent among
the parents (the mothers) .......................................................................... 33
The types of separation anxiety patterns present in children...................... 36
Parents with different nationality differ in their attachment style .............. 39
Types of separation anxiety symptoms presented among children of
different ages and gender .......................................................................... 49
Summary.................................................................................................. 55
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ........................................
Introduction.............................................................................................. 57
Discussion of result .................................................................................. 58
Types of attachment patterns ............................................................. 58
Types of separation anxiety patterns .................................................. 59
Different attachment styles across ethnicity ............................................ 60
Types of separation anxiety symptoms .............................................. 61
Limitation of the study ............................................................................. 62
Recommendations .................................................................................... 63
Implications for future research ................................................................ 64
Summary ................................................................................................. 64
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................. 66
APPENDIX A: Observation Protocol .................................................................. 71
APPENDIX B: Interview Question ...................................................................... 72
APPENDIX C: The Observation Data ................................................................. 74
APPENDIX D: Participant Data Transcription..................................................... 83
APPENDIX E: Consent Form .............................................................................. 94
APPENDIX F: Types of attachment styles Anisworth et al. (1978)……………….95
APPENDIX G: DSM-IV (1994) .......................................................................... 97
APPENDIX H: Research Question and Method of Data collection ...................... 98
APPENDIX I: Interview question ........................................................................ 99
APPENDIX J: The respondent responses regarding their attachment style ........... 100
APPENDIX K: Mothers responses regarding their respond and attention to their
children as attachment patterns ............................................................................ 101
APPENDIX L: The interview questions .............................................................. 102
APPENDIX M: The respondents responses regarding the patterns of separation
anxiety................................................................................................................. 103
APPENDIX N: The respondents responses regarding the patterns of separation
anxiety................................................................................................................. 104
APPENDIX O: The respondents responses regarding the patterns of separation
anxiety................................................................................................................. 105
APPENDIX P: Children reaction to the caregiver after the separation period ....... 106
x
APPENDIX Q: The mothers perception after the separation period ..................... 107
APPENDIX R: Interview question ....................................................................... 108
APPENDIX S: The mothers different attachment styles across the ethnicity ........ 109
APPENDIX T: The mothers perceptions in bed time ........................................... 110
APPENDIX V: The mothers perceptions in connecting with their children in
bed time ............................................................................................................... 112
APPENDIX U: Interview questions ..................................................................... 113
APPENDIX W: Children separation anxiety symptoms according to their age and
gender.................................................................................................................. 114
APPENDIX X: Mothers perceptions regarding the separation anxiety symptoms. 115
APPENDIX Y: Face to face observation regarding the environment exploration.. 116
APPENDIX Z: The participants perceptions regarding the fear of darkness ......... 117
APPENDIX AB: The participants perceptions regarding physical symptoms of
separation anxiety ................................................................................................ 118
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table No.
Page No.
4.1
The demographic information of the mothers
34
4.2
The mothers sibling
34
4.3
Demographic information of the children
35
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No.
Page No.
2.1
The Dynamics of attachment and separation
11
2.2
Conceptual framework
23
4.1
The common attachment
36
4.2
Types of separation anxiety patterns most common
among children
40
4.3
Attachment styles across ethnicity
46
4.4
The types of separation anxiety symptoms
50
xiii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It is undeniable that a child-parent relationship plays an important role in child
development. This can be seen in the following story written by Dr. Sherry Warner
(http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com):
Sarah, a 17-month old, recently began attending our program at the
Child Development Center. When I first met Sarah I could sense her
reluctance to attend our program. She clung to her parents and ignored
the other children playing. I thought Sarah would “warm up” once she
had a chance to meet all of the children. Sarah has been in our
program for more than a month now. Each day she screams and cries
when her parents drop her off in the morning and appears sad
throughout the day. She constantly asks for her mother and refuses to
join in group play. Her mother is very concerned about her daughter’s
behavior and is considering removing her child from our program and
child care in general. What can I do to reassure Sarah’s parents that
this is just a passing stage of development? How can I make Sarah’s
separation from her parents easier?
The previous story illustrates the intense emotions of a child when separated
from her caregivers. These emotions are demonstrated in her screaming, crying, show
of sadness, and sense of isolation. Bowlby (1958) cites Freud (1920) who noticed
through his observations that an infant aged 18 months refused to be left alone and
fear of losing his caregiver. Bowlby (1979: 129) says that:
Whilst especially evident during early childhood, attachment behavior
is held to characterize human beings from the cradle to the grave
Moreover, Bowlby (1973), contends that in the working model of the world
that anyone constructs, a key feature is his notion of who his caregivers are, where
they may found, and predict how they may be respond to their different needs. A child
with responsible caregivers can develop a secure relationship and be in harmonious
1
interactions with those close to him. In contrast, a child who has an insecure
attachment to his caregivers will increase the risk of separation anxiety, especially
during school time.
Pursell (2001), mentioned that separation anxiety is considered normal,
healthy and basic human nature as stated by many researchers and clinicians.
Separation anxiety is when a child feels anxious or scared and unhappy when
separated from his caregivers. For example, some children get upset at bedtime when
their parents leave their bedrooms. In addition, the children may follow their parents
or caregivers in order to keep them close.
Separation anxiety is considered normal during early childhood but at age 2, it
should stop because at this age children spend more time with their peers in
kindergarten or school. Furthermore, Mohamed (2001), defines separation anxiety as
excessive anxiety or insecurity when the child is separated from the caregivers or
loved ones and is most common in young children.
A child who suffers from
separation anxiety always shows different behavioural and physical symptoms such as
stomachache, headache, insomnia, vomiting, crying, and clinging shortly before going
to nursery, kindergarten or school.
Therefore, children with irrational fear at the nursery, kindergarten or school
may complain about excessive distress, nightmares, feeling something bad will harm
his/her caregivers, Irrational fear from animals, somatic symptoms, isolation and loss
of concentration and sever tantrums when forced to go to school (Ward, 2010). The
above mentioned symptoms are normally common in children who experience
separation anxiety. At least three of these symptoms will occur over a period of time
and end within two or three weeks (Mohamed, 2001).
2
Normally, these features of separation anxiety are common in children who
come from close families (DSM-I, 1994). In (1956) school phobia was largely used in
separation anxiety studies to highlight the problem of fear of going to school in order
to keep the attachment with the loved ones (Pursell, 2001). She also mentioned in her
study that until 1970, separation anxiety was not clearly differentiated from school
phobia nor did it belong to a different type of behavioural pattern (Pursell, 2001).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
As mentioned before, both mother and child have natural needs to get in touch with
each other. If the attachment between the child and the caregiver (mostly mothers) is
broken or delayed till after 12 months, this will cause a “critical period” that may later
disturb the child’s personality (Bowlby, 1951). Interruption of contact during the
critical period may lead to a long-term consequence of separation such as social,
emotional, behavioural, and intellectual problems. According to Bretherton (2005),
children who could not rely on an available and sensitive attachment figure that
provide care and love would come to see the world as unreliable and unpredictable,
leading them to either leave from it or fight it.
In addition, Ward (2010) conducted a study that investigated separation
anxiety symptoms dimensions in a sample of elementary schools in the US. She found
that separation anxiety is widespread among children according to child – parents
report. (Mcdermotte, 2005) elaborated that a child age twelve months to two years is
facing a very stressful stage of separation anxiety, because he/she fails to keep his/her
parents image in his mind. As a result, he/she keeps asking about his/her parents all
the time during separation period. Sometimes the child feels anxious and become
hostile especially when separated from his caregiver (Mcdermotte, 2005).
3
This is to prove that separation anxiety among children need to be assessed. I
have been interested in investigating separation anxiety since working as a clinical
psychologist. The reason being I have seen a lot of parents complain about their
children when they come to the clinic. Because they refuse to go to nursery or
kindergarten and they always complain of physical symptoms such as, headache,
stomachache, vomiting, especially in school time. This make me keep to investigate
more about this problems in order to have better understanding about them and to help
parents raise their children in a better way.
The quest of this study is to study the problems of many children especially in
early childhood when they refuse to go to kindergarten or to explore around to
discover their surroundings, because they are afraid to be away from their parents.
Children who do not want to separate from their caregiver may complain of physical
symptoms such as, stomachaches, headaches, vomiting, and behavioral symptoms
such as nightmares.
However, these symptoms can be very stressful for both the parents as well as
the children. Therefore, parents and teachers need to be familiar with separation
anxiety symptoms in order to know how to deal with them. This research will
undertake a study of separation anxiety among children in their kindergarten. The
sample will include Muslim children from Qatar and Malaysia. The study will
investigate the symptoms (physical and behavioural) of separation anxiety in relation
to the type of attachment in both boys and girls aged one year to three years old. The
study will also explore the different types of attachment style across ethnicity.
4
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to examine the symptoms of separation anxiety in
relation to parents’ attachment style. These other objectives include:
1.
To explore the different types of attachment patterns that are prevalent
among parents i.e mothers.
2.
To discover the different types of separation anxiety symptoms i.e
behavioural and physical presented among children with different ages
and gender.
3.
To discover how parents of different nationalities are different in their
attachment styles.
4.
To highlight the different types of separation anxiety patterns that are
presented among the children.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.
What are the different types of attachment patterns prevalent among
parents i.e specifically mothers?
2.
What are the different types of separation anxiety patterns present among
children?
3.
Are parents of different nationalities different in their attachment styles?
4.
What types of separation anxiety symptoms are present among children?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Current
literature still treat separation anxiety and school refusal as the same.
Therefore, there is a need to differentiate school phobia from separation anxiety.
5
According to previous studies available there are few studies that have
been conducted on separation anxiety and its symptoms among twins
and, of those available, extremely few focused on separation anxiety
(Pursell, 2001: 6).
This study on separation anxiety is important because it will shed light on the
problems of children who refuse to discover their environments or go to kindergartens
in order to stay with their caregivers. Moreover, it will also show parents attachment
style across ethnicity in relating to separation anxiety symptoms. The study will also
show how parents and teachers can benefit from the findings of this study because it
will provide information on how to deal with children who suffer from separation
anxiety, why they dislike going to kindergartens or why some children continuously
cry at bed time.
In addition, this study will help counselors who also have an important role;
applying positive values and encouraging children to be more adjusted. The study can
be used as reference on separation anxiety and in the field of child development.
There is no research on the separation anxiety in Qatar and Malaysia to the researcher.
The primary purpose of the present study is to gather descriptive information about
separation anxiety among Muslim children (aged 1-3 years) in Qatar and Malaysia in
relation to attachment styles.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
There are some limitations in this study:
1.
This study is limited to children aged 1-3 years only at Edu-care nursery in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and children from Ahlami nursery in Doha,
Qatar. Moreover, only children from this age group will be selected as the
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samples in this study. Therefore, the findings of the study may not cover
all children of all states in Malaysia and Qatar.
2.
This study is limited to investigating separation anxiety and its symptoms
in relation to
attachment types and attachment styles across ethnicity.
Other variables such as peer groups, teachers at their nursery, family
climate, and relative’s influences that may affect children attachment will
not be considered.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS:
Separation Anxiety Operational definition
1) This is extreme anxiety and fear of being separated from a caregiver or
from a target attachment. It can also be separation from the home. It can
cause impairment in individual performance or in other important areas of
development such as social, emotional, and behavioral (Ward, 2010).
2) It is the fear of being away from a caregiver or the attachment figure. It is
considered normal in very young children but sometimes it can develop
into panic attack or phobia especially when the child experiences death in
the family or is under stress (Harvard Medical School, 2004).
Separation anxiety conceptual definition
In this study the separation anxiety means the child excessively worries and anxious
when separated from his attachment figure (the mother). Accordingly, the child can
develop behavioural and physical symptoms and refuse to go to school or discover his
surroundings.
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The Nursery
Through a series of observation of children at Edu-Care in Malaysia and Ahlami
Nursery in Qatar, it was found that both nurseries were spacious and well-equipped;
they contained places for babies and toddlers. Inside both nurseries they were many
facilities for teaching and entertaining children such as colours, paint, and many other
materials.
Ahlami Nursery
Ahlami Nursery also had many activities such as role plays performed by children,
memorizing Quran and singing religious songs. They also perform exercises in the
morning.
Edu-care Nursery
At Edu-Care Nursery they taught children by using sounds like singing or using music
instruments. They also had a beautiful garden with two pools – a swimming pool and
an area for sand playing.
Attachment operational definition
It is a strong and close emotional tie between two people (John, 2007).
Attachment conceptual definition
Newborn or young children of both genders especially during early childhood cannot
survive without a caregiver to provide food and protection. They will not thrive
without other types of support as well. Therefore, in this study the attachment means
the warm emotional relationship between the child and his mother during the early age
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and how that attachment can be affected by the culture. The study also tried to find out
how the child attached to his caregiver and how he/she response to their caregivers
especially after a separation according to their age and gender.
DSM-IV
The American psychiatric association number 4. Diagnostic and statistical manual of
mental disorder. (Please refer to appendix F).
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to provide review of related literature and a summary of
the major findings from previous studies on separation anxiety among children.
Therefore, this chapter is subdivided into the following sections: (1) the theoretical
framework, (2) the nature of separation anxiety, (3) the attachment theory, (4) secure
attachment and insecure attachment and Islamic perspectives on parent-child
relationship, (5) causes for insecure attachment patterns, (6) gender differences in
separation anxiety, (7) attachment across cultures, (8) the conceptual framework.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This study has adopted the attachment theory by Bowlby (1969) as the theoretical
framework. Attachment theory is summarized as the dynamic and affection
relationship between humans necessary for emotional and social developments
(Ainsworth, 1973). The theory of attachment was originally developed by John
Bowlby (1907 - 1990), a British psychoanalyst who tried to understand the intense
grief experienced by infants who had been separated from their caregiver.
Bowlby (1969) observed that separated infants would demonstrate unusual
behavior for instance, crying, clinging, feeling anxious and continually seeking
proximity to prevent separation from their parents or to reunion proximity to a missing
parent. He uses the term ‘attachment’ to show the unique relationship between the
child and the caregiver and to differentiate the attachment relationship from other
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relational bonds. According to Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1977) cited in Parkes, et al.
(1991: 66) The attachment patterns between children and their caregiver were
described through four stages as: Safe haven when the child feels threatened or afraid
he/she returns to his caregiver for comfort and soothing, Seeking Proximity when the
child will try to stay behind his parents in order to be under their protection, and
Secure base effect when the existence of the caregiver can provide care, protection
and security for the child. Furthermore, this security can be developed over a period of
time. Finally, there is Separation protest when continuous attachment with the
caregiver can increase the child’s complaints and activate the child efforts to stop such
separation.
Figure 2.1: the Dynamic of Attachment and Separation
(http://www.12accede.org/connxion.html)
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