Health services and children's centres need to quickly identify and offer support to parents who are failing to bond with their children in order to head off serious educational and social problems in later life, a new report by the Sutton Trust says.
The review concludes there is overwhelming evidence that the bond between parent and child from birth to the age of three becomes even more crucial to a child's development when added to poverty and other disadvantages.
"Better bonding between parents and babies could lead to more social mobility, as there is such a clear link to education, behaviour and future employment," said Conor Ryan, the trust's director of research.
While previous research has found that 40% of all children had insecure or unhappy relationships with their parents, the report finds it is a subset of that group who are likely to need targeted intervention. Research conducted internationally identifies 15% who are likely to develop more severe behavioural issues that may affect their future prospects.
"If you are a middle class child and you have an insecure attachment to your parents, that's unlikely to cause you problems in later life. It could cause you relationship problems or social and emotional problems, but it's less likely to make you drop out of school," said Sophie Moullin of Princeton University, one of the report's authors. "What attachment does, if you are disadvantaged, is to protect you more from that disadvantage. For example, for boys who have grown up in poverty, if they have a secure attachment they are two and a half times less likely to go on and develop behavioural problems at school."
The report recommends that parents at risk of failing to bond with their children should receive help in the form of programmes promoting good parenting skills, using trained therapists, group sessions and video interaction. Those most at risk should receive more intensive assistance, including home visits.
The figure of 15% who may develop more severe behavioural issues is close to that of the 14% of young people in England who are classified as Neets (not in education, employment or training).
"It's not like a necessary and sufficient condition that if you have an insecure attachment that you will definitely become Neet. What we do know, from US studies, is that when you look at those people who are poor and have a secure attachment, we can say that with some accuracy that they would be unlikely to drop out of school," said Moullin.
The study also notes that working mothers or the use of alternate care did not increase the risk of an insecure attachment. In those cases, previous research found the quality of childcare was more important.
Andrea Leadsom, the MP for South Northamptonshire who has campaigned on the dangers of weak attachments, said: "As a society we have to radically change the support we provide to new families because those babies whose earliest experiences are poor will go on to be less resilient to meet the challenges of life – more likely to suffer mental health problems and to struggle to form a strong relationship with their own babies."
The importance of bonding is based on more than 30 years of research. A child's attachment develops from a parent or caregiver's response to a child's distress, such as when a baby is hurt or upset. By the age of six months infants are able to anticipate their parents' responses and develop their own behaviour.
If a parent consistently ignores or shows annoyance at the child's behaviour, infants can react by learning to disguise their needs. Parents who respond harshly can lead infants to exaggerate their responses.
One of the programmes recommended as a national model by the Sutton Trust report is the Oxford Parent Infant Project (Oxpip), which works with parents and babies who have been referred by health visitors, GPs and social services in Oxfordshire.
The service uses trained therapists to work with families over an average of 10 sessions, costing around £800 per family.
Oxpip's approach includes filming videos of the parents and child playing, and showing clips to parents to highlight their positive responses. "Often you'll get mothers who say 'my baby never smiles at me', and you can show them a clip, which is a fleeting smile but it's a smile, and a smile they missed," said Adrian Sell, Oxpip's chief executive.
"It uses that feedback to help people think about what they were doing right, and how they can tune in better to their baby's cues and respond more effectively."
Sell says one critical point is there is no such thing as the perfect parent.
"If you aspire to be perfect, you'll fail. We all make mistakes as parents, we all do things wrong. But so long as the baby understands that you are there and you are supportive and loving, even if you snap or lose your temper, you'll still love them, then that relationship still endures."