Bowlby, Attachment and the Potency of a ‘Received Idea’

Abstract

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that furnished a mostly coruscating account of John Bowlby’s work on child attachment and maternal deprivation. Despite the WHO critique and a range of other critical interrogations, Bowlby contributions still constitute a ‘received idea’ within the discourse of social work. If criticisms are made of Bowlby, and what has been dubbed the ‘Bowlby School’, the reference point tends to be cogent feminist critiques emerging in the final quarter of the twentieth century. This article aims to excavate critical appraisals from the 1950s and 1960s. It will also be argued that endeavours to ‘retrofit’ Bowlby for our contemporary times present problems.

Drawing a Home: Insights on Child Attachment from the Bird’s Nest Drawing Test

“…While Ainsworth et al (2014) initially proposed three basic attachment patterns in the form of secure, anxious or ambivalent, and avoidant, the term 'attachment' has been used in various studies to encompass a wide range of definitions. These definitions include emotional connection (Crouch, 2015), object relations (Cassidy et al, 2013), Internal Working Model (IWM) (Kaiser & Deaver, 2011;McCarthy & Maughan, 2010), parental involvement (Garrett, 2022), parental closeness (Choi et al, 2022), and separation anxiety (Cassidy et al, 2013). Consequently, some studies have examined attachment using alternative conceptual frameworks rather than the more commonly used secure, anxious, and avoidant classifications (Cassidy et al, 2013;Crouch, 2015) Bowlby (1978) initially argued that engaging with attachment figures who are accessible and responsive during moments of need will improve the attachment system, cultivates a relatively consistent sense of secure attachment, and strengthens the belief in the efficacy of seeking support as a strategy for regulating distress.…”

“…Furthermore, attachment can also influence decision-making and behavior in emerging adulthood. Individuals with secure attachments tend to be more confident in making decisions and have a higher sense of self-confidence in facing the challenges of life (Francis et al, 2003;Garrett, 2022;Goldner & Golan, 2016).…”