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.
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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:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Preattachment
Attachment in the making
Clear-cut attachment
Goal-corrected partnership
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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.
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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.
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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.
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