Chapter 5 Attachment Theory by Michelle Mohr Carney and Phen M. Young

1. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Theories for Social Work Practice Bruce A. Thyer, Catherine N. Dulmus, and Karen M. Sowers, Editors Chapter 5 Attachment Theory by Michelle Mohr Carney and Phen M. Young Attachment theory was initially crafted by John Bowlby (a psychiatrist) and Mary Ainsworth (a psychologist), and draws on concepts from psychology, ethology, cybernetics, and psychoanalytic theory. Both writers emphasized the role of early child-parent bonding, particularly the mother-child bond, as of seminal importance to child development. This early mother-child attachment bond is believed to be the foundation for all subsequent adult attachment relationships. Bowlby was more of a theoretician, where Ainsworth also made significant empirical research foundations related to mother-child attachment relationships. Bowlby recruited a social worker, James Robertson, to study via naturalistic observation institutionalized children who had been separated from their parents.

2. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Theories for Social Work Practice Bruce A. Thyer, Catherine N. Dulmus, and Karen M. Sowers, Editors Chapter 5 Attachment Theory by Michelle Mohr Carney and Phen M. Young Bowlby postulated that in order to grow up mentally healthy, “the infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment.” The quality of this enduring early relationship was said to predict the quality of relationships one would experience the rest of one’s life. Bowlby theorized that secure attachment developed over 4 stages: Preattachment Attachment in the making Clear-cut attachment Goal-corrected partnership

3. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Theories for Social Work Practice Bruce A. Thyer, Catherine N. Dulmus, and Karen M. Sowers, Editors Chapter 5 Attachment Theory by Michelle Mohr Carney and Phen M. Young Ainsworth coined terms such as the “securely attached child”, the “ambivalent child”, and the “avoidant child”, to classify children’s levels of attachment to their mothers. While being securely attached as a child is no guarantee that one will develop healthy adult relationships, this early experience is seen as a necessary condition for strong, secure, subsequent bonds in older years. One’s attachment style may be transmitted intergenerationally, as one parent acts towards their child in a manner similar to the way the parent was raised, resulting in similarly high or low attachment capacities in his or her own child.

4. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Theories for Social Work Practice Bruce A. Thyer, Catherine N. Dulmus, and Karen M. Sowers, Editors Chapter 5 Attachment Theory by Michelle Mohr Carney and Phen M. Young Assessment of Attachment Attachment can be systematically assessed in children through naturalistic observation. Observations in the home are more “natural” than in office, school, or waiting room environments. All opportunities to observe child-mother interactions can provide clues as to the security or insecurity of their attachment bond. Attachment in adults is done via structured and semi-structured interviews, or by using any of a number of structured self-report measures. The Adult Attachment Interview is an example of the former, and the Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale are examples of the latter.

5. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Theories for Social Work Practice Bruce A. Thyer, Catherine N. Dulmus, and Karen M. Sowers, Editors Chapter 5 Attachment Theory by Michelle Mohr Carney and Phen M. Young Uses of Attachment Theory in Social Work Intervention Attachment theory can inform social work practice in a wide array of areas, such as child abuse and neglect, parent training, prevention, foster care and adoption, domestic violence, and forensics. Some psychotherapists use attachment theory in their work with adolescents and adults as well. Social workers interested in macro-level practice apply principles of attachment theory to try and explain large-scale societal phenomena, such as alienation and sense of disenfranchisement, with government services being a surrogate for the parental role. The more people mistrust their government, or experience unreliable relationships with it, the less attached and secure they are in their daily lives.