Attachment Theory and Attachment Disorder

Attachment Theory and Attachment Disorder

Attachment Theory and Attachment Disorder

Attachment Theory:

In the late 1940s, the London nurseries host many babies separated from their parents because of global conflict. Interest in the emotional development of the child develops. At the Tavistock Clinic in London, the pediatrician and psychoanalyst John Bowlby (1907-1990) led a seminar on "Monitoring of infant emotional development." (Stanovich, 1993)

J. Bowlby then developed his theory. For him, 'attachment' is one of the primary needs: just as he must eat to grow, the baby also needs to develop and explore the world, to find security and comfort through a special link with the adult.

J. Bowlby also based on his observations of young children and families, while utilizing the contributions of ethology and cognitive psychology. He argues that babies develop different coping strategies depending on how it cares for. A secure attachment (the word comes from the English) has resulted in better emotional regulation, and minimizes subsequent behavior problems in adolescents and children. (Harper, 1991)

The attachment theory has become central in the development of child psychiatry and has undergone numerous extensions. Yet, she met much criticism. In the 1970s in particular, he was accused of giving a central role to the mother, and thus to confine women in a pattern very conformist. In fact, J. Bowlby did not point the specific role of the mother but in society in the post-war period, it was she who was primarily concerned with the child. Subsequent work showed that the father or anyone else could take care of the baby and secure.

Attachment theory and psychoanalysis

Bowlby's intention was to develop a variant of object relations theory. At the time, both the followers of Melanie Klein and Anna Freud's criticized him because they considered his theory as non-reductionist dynamic and developmental aspects to privilege the symbolic. (Thompson, 1997)

Both psychoanalysis and attachment theory argue that maternal sensitivity plays a role in the development of the psyche. Some differences were noted by the same Bowlby. Among these, the importance he gives to the family environment-odd. Attachment theory stresses the role of environment in the origin of mental illness. We find as a cornerstone the role played by parents or caregivers. These statements are consistent with the theorizing of several authors as Winnicott and Bion on the maternal role. We find similarities with other concepts such as good-enough mother, mature dependency introjections of the good object, basic trust. (Boris, 2005)

Spitz (1965) made significant contributions on the consequences of maternal deprivation in their studies on the first year of life, based on direct observation of infants.

They also charge interest on this line grasping concepts of instinct and dual unit, developed already in the forties by Imre Hermann, a pupil of Ferenczi, which refer to the mother-child relationship and its role in psychic structure in the early stages of life. (Haugaard, 2004)

For Bowlby, the trend is linked to another primary, not a secondary drive, formed from the oral needs are met. The traditional theories argue that a child engages ...