Amended Criticism of Attachment Theory 2020 Second draft (original) (raw)
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Criticism of Attachment Theory
Attachment theory has a complex history, both positive and negative. This paper focuses on both. ̔ An attachment is a tie based on the need for safety, security and protection. This need is paramount in infancy and childhood, when the developing individual is immature and vulnerable. The infants instinctively attach to their carers̕ , .
Drawing on concepts from ethology, cybernetics, information processing, developmental psychology, and psychoanalysts, John Bowlby formulated the basic tenets of the theory. He thereby revolutionized our thinking about a child's tie to the mother and its disruption through separation, deprivation, and bereavement. Mary Ainsworth's innovative methodology not only made it possible to test some of Bowlby's ideas empirically hut also helped expand the theory itself and is responsible for some of the new directions it is now taking. Ainsworth contributed the concept of the attachment figure as a secure base from which an infant can explore the world. In addition, she formulated the concept of maternal sensitivity to infant signals and its role in the development of infant-mother attachment patterns.
The Clinical Implications of Attachment Theory
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 1994
The work of John Bowlby, although influential in developmental psychology and social psychiatry, has had relatively little impact within his parent discipline of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The paper traces Bowlby's relationship with the British Psychoanalytic Society, contrasting his ideas with those of Klein. Drawing on recent findings in developmental psychology stimulated by Attachment Theory, it outlines the clinical relevance of the concepts of the secure base and narrative, and reviews notions of defence and the Oedipal situation from the attachment perspective. Attachment Theory is not a new`school' of psychotherapy but addresses principles which underlie all effective therapies. An extended case study is described illustrating these points.
Attachment in Children Gökçen İLHAN ILDIZ & Emine AHMETOĞLU INTRODUCTION Attachment is an emotional process necessary for survival of a child and is synonymous with the child's search for an emotional tie to a caregiver (Hazan & Shaver, 1994). Emphasizing on the importance of attachment, Bowlby defines is as "the meaningful, private and long-lasting emotional tie between two people". Bowlby (1973) suggests that inclination to and necessity of forming attachment is necessary for survival of newborns and the functional attachment system from the developmental perspective. The most apparent behavior of a child is "the effort to attach". The baby strives to cling to the mother (Güneş, 2014). The baby needs to be attached to the mother and avoids exclusion (Scharff, 1995). "The baby thinks that mother is his/her continuation, wants to see her anytime. In her absence, he/she gets worried, begins to cry and feels alone" (Güneş, 2014). "Need for attachment is apparent in both human beings and primates and can be defined as a bio-social process to protect the newborn baby from external threats, therefore the need for forming close relationships with other human beings is a fundamental aspect of human nature" (Bowlby, 1980). First, Freud (1960) suggested that an infant's emotional attachment to mother formed the basis of his/her future relationships. Contemporary researchers recognized the importance of parent-infant attachment but suggested that following development is influenced not only by early attachment experience but also ongoing quality of parentchild attachment (Berk, 2013). It is known that insecure attachment to the caregiver may cause emotional and behavioral problems in later stages of life (Perry, 2001). To summarize, attachment includes several key roles. Therefore; 1) attachment enables long-lasting emotional ties with special ones, 2) this relationship provides security, comfort and satisfaction, 3) loss or the risk of losing the special one causes extreme suffering" (Perry, 2001). Basic Functions of Attachment Bowlby (1980) suggests the existence of an attachment system designed to safeguard the intimacy between infant and caregiver under threatening circumstances. As infants need care and protection for a long time, they are born with a desire to be close to attachment figures and a series of behaviors to keep this intimacy. The system that strengthens attachment behavior works with the basic objective of providing security and protection. Therefore, when a threat to security is perceived the system works automatically and keeps active through whole life (Shaver&Mikulincer, 2002). Attachment behavior develops persistently and is sustained strongly through whole
Attachment Theory and Research: Implications for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Research, 2011
Though attachment research today is best conceptualized as integrationist and multidisciplinary, it is important to remember that attachment theory was born out of clinical process. Bowlby [ 1-3 ] was fi rst and foremost a psychoanalyst, and he drew from clinical experiences with children and adults to conceptualize his theory. Many of his ideas developed in response to dissatisfaction with the prevailing perspectives of the time. Though Melanie Klein, his supervisor at the time, was quite infl uential in his thinking about object relations, her conceptualization of development focused almost exclusively on internal confl ict rather than external events in the child's family and environment . Contrary to Klein's perspective, during the analysis of a 3-year-old boy, Bowlby observed direct links between disturbances in the mother and pathology in the child. Such experiences in analytic treatment formed the basis for his assertion that early attachment diffi culties increase vulnerability to later psychopathology.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2011
Study of attachment in the 1970s and 1980s focused on operationalizing and validating many of the tenets of attachment theory articulated in Bowlby's landmark trilogy, Attachment and Loss (Bowlby, 1982, 1973, 1980), robustly underscoring the central role of child to parent attachment in the child's development and mental health. Attachment theory and its implications have long interested clinicians, though determining how best to translate complex theoretical constructs and research methods into the clinical arena has been challenging. Nevertheless, well-defined landmarks in early childhood attachment are clinically useful, and the emergence of interventions drawn from systematic research is promising. The purpose of this paper is to summarize salient issues from attachment theory and research and discuss how these issues inform clinical work with infants and young children. We recognize that there is a range of clinical settings in which child-parent attachment will be important. Likewise, among practitioners serving young children and their families, there is a broad range of familiarity with and expertise in attachment principles and attachmentbased treatment. We assert that all clinical services for young children and their families will be enhanced by providers' understanding of attachment theory and research. We further assert that in some clinical contexts understanding child-parent attachment is essential. We begin by reviewing developmental research on attachment to describe how attachments develop, how individual differences in selective attachments manifest, and the characteristics of clinical disorders of attachment. Next, we turn to assessment of attachment in clinical settings. Then, we describe selected specialized clinical contexts in which assessing attachments are uniquely important. Finally, we describe four interventions for young children and their families, all of which are closely derived from attachment theory, supported by rigorous evaluations, and designed to support directly the developing childparent relationship. Basics of attachment theory and research Defining attachment Bowlby defined attachment in young children as 'a strong disposition to seek proximity to and contact with a specific figure and to do so in certain situations, notably when frightened, tired or ill' (Bowlby 1969/1982, p. 371). In contemporary use, attachment refers to the infant's or young child's emotional connection to an adult caregiver-an attachment figure