Attachment and Psychopathology
Leslie Atkinson (Editor), Kenneth J. ZuckerBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
This up-to-date volume effectively links attachment theory and method to clinical understanding, exploring recent advances that have significantly enhanced our ability to explain and predict psychopathology. Contributing authors, comprising leading international experts, present research into a relatively recently discovered form of attachment--the disorganized pattern--as well as new technologies for classifying attachment security beyond infancy, and apply these innovations to pioneering studies of atypical populations. Exploring attachment processes in diverse samples including divorced mothers, chronically ill infants, Romanian adoptees, children of women with anxiety disorders, and individuals with a variety of psychiatric disorders, chapters provide invaluable clinical insights and highlight areas of theoretical innovation and controversy.The book contains black-and-white illustrations.
Synopsis
This up-to-date volume applies attachment theory and methods to extend our understanding and prediction of psychopathology. Studies of such populations as divorced mothers, chronically ill infants, Romanian adoptees, children of mothers with anxiety disorders, and boys with gender identity disorder reveal a variety of clinical implications and highlight issues for attachment theory. Chapters utilize research into a recently discovered form of attachment the disorganized pattern as well as new technologies for classifying attachment security beyond infancy.
Peter B. Zeldow
Unlike other books on the subject of attachment, the focus in this book is on the clinical correlates and consequences of various attachment patterns. For example, various chapters consider attachment in relation to divorce, gender identity, crime, and childhood behavior problems. This book consists of ten chapters, written primarily by British and American contributors. The purpose is to return the study of attachment, "a mainstay of developmental psychology," back to its "roots in the study of psychopathology." The editors encouraged contributors to share their data on true clinical samples, to use nontraditional data analytic techniques where appropriate, and to use new conceptual frameworks. I was unable to find an explicit statement from the editor concerning the audience for this book. It would appear to be written primarily for other attachment researchers, but should be of some interest to psychopathology researchers as well. The editors and authors are credible authorities. More than half of the chapters have helpful figures and/or tables, and all the chapters are well referenced. The contributions to this book are, by and large, quite thoughtful, although there is a tendency for each author to go over the same introductory terrain (i.e., Bowlby and Ainsworth) to varying degrees. Some chapters are more speculative, and others more empirical. The prose is a bit dense at times. Still, it is refreshing to see such a broad array of clinical topics discussed so intelligently from an attachment perspective.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"This book brings attachment theory and research full circle. What began as a theory to explain pathological functioning, yet stimulated tremendous understanding of normal development, returns to illuminate a variety of clinical problems and concerns. In consequence, theorists, researchers, and practitioners alike will find this volume to be an important resource. What has always been a great strength of attachment theory is its ability to bridge the gap between normal and disturbed psychological development. This volume underscores this contribution in multiple ways, highlighting continuity and discontinuity in development, the impact and limits of early relationship experiences in the family, and the ways in which cognition and emotion shape psychological functioning. It will prove to be an important resource for anyone with interests in developmental psychopathology." --Jay Belsky, Distinguished Professor of Human Development, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University"Attachment and Psychopathology is a stimulating and up-to-date volume on what has become a major topic. It would be hard to imagine a more appropriate group of chapter authors for a book with this title. The authors contribute a wide variety of insights, ranging from incisive reviews of theoretical and empirical advances to new empirical data and clinical case material. Researchers, clinicians, and graduate students should all find the book very useful." --John E. Bates, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Indiana University
"This volume truly represents the state of the art in linking attachment theory, research, and clinical practice. The chapters demonstrate the relevance of attachment research to problems that include divorce, conduct disorder, criminal behavior, parenting, and sexuality. Atkinson and Zucker provide a valuable overview of the field that provides readers with a clear understanding of both the scope and limits of the attachment paradigm. One has to be impressed with the growing sophistication of attachment researchers as they test theory against difficult clinical problems." --Roger Koback, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology, University of Delaware
The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter
"An excellent collection of chapters by some very distinguished clinicians dealing with problems of bonding, attachment, and failures of attachment."--The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior LetterFrom The Critics
Reviewer: Peter B. Zeldow, PhD(Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)Description: Unlike other books on the subject of attachment, the focus in this book is on the clinical correlates and consequences of various attachment patterns. For example, various chapters consider attachment in relation to divorce, gender identity, crime, and childhood behavior problems. This book consists of ten chapters, written primarily by British and American contributors.
Purpose: The purpose is to return the study of attachment, "a mainstay of developmental psychology," back to its "roots in the study of psychopathology." The editors encouraged contributors to share their data on true clinical samples, to use nontraditional data analytic techniques where appropriate, and to use new conceptual frameworks.
Audience: I was unable to find an explicit statement from the editor concerning the audience for this book. It would appear to be written primarily for other attachment researchers, but should be of some interest to psychopathology researchers as well. The editors and authors are credible authorities.
Features: More than half of the chapters have helpful figures and/or tables, and all the chapters are well referenced.
Assessment: The contributions to this book are, by and large, quite thoughtful, although there is a tendency for each author to go over the same introductory terrain (i.e., Bowlby and Ainsworth) to varying degrees. Some chapters are more speculative, and others more empirical. The prose is a bit dense at times. Still, it is refreshing to see such a broad array of clinical topics discussed so intelligently from an attachment perspective.
Peter B. Zeldow
Unlike other books on the subject of attachment, the focus in this book is on the clinical correlates and consequences of various attachment patterns. For example, various chapters consider attachment in relation to divorce, gender identity, crime, and childhood behavior problems. This book consists of ten chapters, written primarily by British and American contributors. The purpose is to return the study of attachment, "a mainstay of developmental psychology," back to its "roots in the study of psychopathology." The editors encouraged contributors to share their data on true clinical samples, to use nontraditional data analytic techniques where appropriate, and to use new conceptual frameworks. I was unable to find an explicit statement from the editor concerning the audience for this book. It would appear to be written primarily for other attachment researchers, but should be of some interest to psychopathology researchers as well. The editors and authors are credible authorities. More than half of the chapters have helpful figures and/or tables, and all the chapters are well referenced. The contributions to this book are, by and large, quite thoughtful, although there is a tendency for each author to go over the same introductory terrain (i.e., Bowlby and Ainsworth) to varying degrees. Some chapters are more speculative, and others more empirical. The prose is a bit dense at times. Still, it is refreshing to see such a broad array of clinical topics discussed so intelligently from an attachment perspective.Booknews
Ten papers cover general considerations, risk and prediction, and clinical findings. Topics include patterns of attachment and sexual behavior<-->risk of dysfunction versus opportunity for creative integration; attachment networks in postdivorce families; intergenerational transmission of attachment; attachment and childhood behavior problems in normal, at-risk, and clinical samples; morality, disruptive behavior, borderline personality disorder, crime, and their relationship to security of attachment; and a mother-child case study. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.3 Stars from Doody