Attachment: The Fundamental Questions

Description

The ongoing growth of attachment research has given rise to new perspectives on classic theoretical questions as well as fruitful new debates. This unique book identifies nine central questions facing the field and invites leading authorities to address them in 46 succinct chapters. Multiple perspectives are presented on what constitutes an attachment relationship, the best ways to measure attachment security, how internal working models operate, the importance of early attachment relationships for later behavior, challenges in cross-cultural research, how attachment-based interventions work, and more. The concluding chapter by the editors delineates points of convergence and divergence among the contributions and distills important implications for future theory and research. Cover Half Title Page Title Page Copyright Dedication About the Editors Contributors Contents Introduction 1. Attachment Theory in the 21st Century Topic 1: Defining Attachment and Attachment Security 2. Attachment as a Relationship Construct 3. What Kinds of Relationships Count as Attachment Relationships? 4. Attachment to Child Care Providers 5. Defining Attachment Relationships and Attachment Security from a Personality–Social Perspective on Adult Attachment 6. The Nature and Developmental Origins of Attachment Security in Adulthood 7. Casting a Wider Net: Parents, Pair Bonds, and Other Attachment Partners in Adulthood Topic 2: Measuring the Security of Attachment 8. Categorical Assessments of Attachment: On the Ontological Relevance of Group Membership 9. Categorical or Dimensional Measures of Attachment?: Insights from Factor‑Analytic and Taxometric Research 10. Representational Measures of Attachment: A Secure Base Script Perspective 11. Measuring the Security of Attachment in Adults: Narrative Assessments and Self‑Report Questionnaires 12. The Dual‑Function Model of Attachment Security Priming Topic 3: The Nature and Function of Internal Working Models 13. In the Service of Protection from Threat: Attachment and Internal Working Models 14. From Internal Working Models to Script‑like Attachment Representations 15. Parental Insightfulness and Parent–Child Emotion Dialogues: Shaping Children’s Internal Working Models 16. Internal Working Models as Developing Representations 17. A Functional Account of Multiple Internal Working Models: Flexibility in Ranking, Structure, and Content across Contents and Time Topic 4: Stability and Change in the Security of Attachment 18. The Consistency of Attachment Security across Time and Relationships 19. Stability and Change in Attachment Security 20. Beyond Stability: Toward Understanding the Development of Attachment Beyond Childhood 21. Stability and Change in Adult Romantic Relationship Attachment Styles 22. Change in Adult Attachment Insecurity from an Interdependence Theory Perspective Topic 5: The Continuing Influence of Early Attachment 23. The Legacy of Early Attachments: Past, Present, Future 24. Are Attachment Security and Disorganization Etched on the Brain? 25. Early Attachment and Later Physical Health 26. The Continuing Influence of Early Attachment Orientations Viewed from a Personality–Social Perspective on Adult Attachment 27. Early Attachment from the Perspective of Life‑History Theory Topic 6: Culture and Attachment 28. Attachment Theory: Fact or Fancy? 29. Pluralities and Commonalities in Children’s Relationships: Care of Efe Forager Infants as a Case Study 30. Attachment Theory’s Universality Claims: Asking Different Questions 31. Attachment and the Deep History of Culture Topic 7: Separation and Loss 32. Losing a Parent in Early Childhood: The Impact of Disrupted Attachment 33. Attachment, Loss, and Grief Viewed from a Personality–Social Perspective on Adult Attachment 34. The Psychological and Biological Correlates of Separation and Loss 35. Breaking the Marital Ties That Bind: Divorce from a Spousal Attachment Figure 36. Normal and Pathological Mourning: Attachment Processes in the Development of Prolonged Grief Topic 8: Attachment‑Based Interventions 37. Attachment‑Based Interventions to Promote Secure Attachment in Children 38. Mechanisms of Attachment‑Based Intervention Effects on Child Outcomes 39. Attachment‑Based Intervention Processes in Disordered Parent–Child Relationships 40. Therapeutic Mechanisms in Attachment‑Informed Psychotherapy with Adults 41. Attachment Principles as a Guide to Therapeutic Change: The Example of Emotionally Focused Therapy Topic 9: Attachment, Systems, and Services 42. Attachment and Child Care 43. Attachment and Early Childhood Education Systems in the United States 44. An Attachment Theory Approach to Parental Separation, Divorce, and Child Custody Child Protective Systems Attachment and Foster Care 47. Attachment and Early Home Visiting: Toward a More Perfect Union Concluding Commentary 48. Assembling the Puzzle: Interlocking Pieces, Missing Pieces, and the Emerging Picture Author Index Subject Index