Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers

Pehr Granqvist; L. Alan Sroufe; Mary Dozier; Erik Hesse; Miriam Steele; Marinus van Ijzendoorn; Judith Solomon; Carlo Schuengel; Pasco Fearon; Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg; Howard Steele; Jude Cassidy; Elizabeth Carlson; Sheri Madigan; Deborah Jacobvitz; Sarah Foster; Kazuko Behrens; Anne Rifkin-Graboi; Naomi Gribneau; Gottfried Spangler; Mary J. Ward; Mary True; Susan Spieker; Sophie Reijman; Samantha Reisz; Anne Tharner; Frances Nkara; Ruth Goldwyn; June Sroufe; David Pederson; Deanne Pederson; Robert Weigand; Daniel Siegel; Nino Dazzi; Kristin Bernard; Peter Fonagy; Everett Waters; Sheree Toth; Dante Cicchetti; Charles H. Zeanah; Karlen Lyons-Ruth; Mary Main; Robbie Duschinsky

doi:10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040

Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers

Pehr Granqvist, L. Alan Sroufe, Mary Dozier, Erik Hesse, Miriam Steele, Marinus van Ijzendoorn, Judith Solomon, Carlo Schuengel, Pasco Fearon, Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg, Howard Steele, Jude Cassidy, Elizabeth Carlson, Sheri Madigan, Deborah Jacobvitz, Sarah Foster, Kazuko Behrens, Anne Rifkin-Graboi, Naomi Gribneau, Gottfried SpanglerMary J. Ward, Mary True, Susan Spieker, Sophie Reijman, Samantha Reisz, Anne Tharner, Frances Nkara, Ruth Goldwyn, June Sroufe, David Pederson, Deanne Pederson, Robert Weigand, Daniel Siegel, Nino Dazzi, Kristin Bernard, Peter Fonagy, Everett Waters, Sheree Toth, Dante Cicchetti, Charles H. Zeanah, Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Mary Main, Robbie Duschinsky

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

186 Scopus citations

Abstract

Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static “trait” of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	534-558
Number of pages	25
Journal	Attachment and Human Development
Volume	19
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040
State	Published - Nov 2 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Disorganized attachment
attachment disorder
attachment-based interventions
infancy
maltreatment

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5600694

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Granqvist, P., Sroufe, L. A., Dozier, M., Hesse, E., Steele, M., van Ijzendoorn, M., Solomon, J., Schuengel, C., Fearon, P., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M., Steele, H., Cassidy, J., Carlson, E., Madigan, S., Jacobvitz, D., Foster, S., Behrens, K., Rifkin-Graboi, A., Gribneau, N., ... Duschinsky, R. (2017). Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers. Attachment and Human Development, 19(6), 534-558. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040

Granqvist, P, Sroufe, LA, Dozier, M, Hesse, E, Steele, M, van Ijzendoorn, M, Solomon, J, Schuengel, C, Fearon, P, Bakermans-Kranenburg, M, Steele, H, Cassidy, J, Carlson, E, Madigan, S, Jacobvitz, D, Foster, S, Behrens, K, Rifkin-Graboi, A, Gribneau, N, Spangler, G, Ward, MJ, True, M, Spieker, S, Reijman, S, Reisz, S, Tharner, A, Nkara, F, Goldwyn, R, Sroufe, J, Pederson, D, Pederson, D, Weigand, R, Siegel, D, Dazzi, N, Bernard, K, Fonagy, P, Waters, E, Toth, S, Cicchetti, D, Zeanah, CH, Lyons-Ruth, K, Main, M & Duschinsky, R 2017, 'Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers', Attachment and Human Development, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 534-558. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040

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abstract = "Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static “trait” of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions.",

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AU - Solomon, Judith

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AU - Fearon, Pasco

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AU - Carlson, Elizabeth

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Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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