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ATTACHMENT THEORY: IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
JANICE H. KENNEDY
Georgia Southern University
CHARLES E. KENNEDY
Burke County Schools
The effective practice of school psychology requires a strong research and theoretical base, a
framework that encompasses developmental processes and outcomes, both adaptive and mal-
adaptive, which facilitates assessment and intervention and offers insight into classroom and
family dynamics. Attachment theory provides the school psychologist with just such a frame-
work. In the present article we provide a brief overview of attachment theory and describe risk
factors for development of insecure attachment. Behavioral trajectories of children and adoles-
cents according to attachment classification are discussed. Finally, student–teacher interactions
within an attachment perspective and implications for interventions are presented. © 2004 Wiley
Periodicals, Inc.
School psychologists have traditionally focused on assessment, prevention, and intervention
strategies for a myriad of factors that influence school performance. Skills that enhance the per-
formance of these tasks include a thorough knowledge of developmental processes—both adap-
tive and maladaptive. Moreover, the effective practice of school psychology requires a strong
theory and research-based perspective (Merrell, 2002). One such theory that can add to the school
psychologist’s toolbox is Bowlby’s ethological attachment theory (1969/1982), which provides an
essential framework for understanding the impact of early social/emotional relationships on
cognitive-affective structures used by the child to construct views of the world, self, and others.
Attachment theory addresses social–emotional development from the perspective of both process
and outcome and has identified a variety of markers predictive of later academic performance,
social competence, and psychopathology. Subsequently, the theory offers school psychologists a
theoretically and empirically based framework from which to approach hypothesis generation
relevant to assessment and individualized intervention planning. Attachment theory provides an
awareness of and new meanings derived from the child’s history and the subtleties of observed
child, parent, and teacher behaviors in the current context. In the current article, we present an
overview of attachment theory, classifications of attachment status, risk factors for development of
insecure attachment and behavioral outcomes associated with each attachment classification. Finally,
student–teacher relationships from an attachment perspective and implications for assessment and
intervention are described.
Overview of Bowlby’s Ethological Theory of Attachment
Attachment is an affectional bond between child and primary caregiver (Ainsworth, Blehar,
Waters, & Wall, 1978). Since Bowlby (1969/1982) generated an ethological theory of mother–
child attachment relations over 30 years ago, attachment theory has been instrumental in guiding
both research in emotional development and clinical intervention through the lifespan.
Attachment to the primary caregiver develops over the course of the first 18 months or so
(Bowlby, 1969/1982). Infants are born with a propensity to direct precursory attachment behav-
iors to human figures (e.g., crying, looking, clinging) to which caregivers are particularly likely to
respond. These behaviors elicit caregiving and bring the caregiver into close proximity with the
Correspondence to: Janice H. Kennedy, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Statesboro, GA 30460-
8041. E-mail: jkennedy@gasou.edu
Psychology in the Schools, Vol. 41(2), 2004 © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/pits.10153
247
infant, ensuring protection from environmental dangers and a sense of security. Over time, infants
begin to direct these responses primarily to one or a few caregivers. Around 7 to 8 months of age,
infants show attachment to caregivers by protesting their leaving and grieving for them during
their absence. As toddlers, children form a goal-corrected partnership in that they can begin to
perceive events during interactions with mother from her perspective (Bowlby, 1969/1982). For
example, toddlers may be less insistent than infants in demanding that their needs be met imme-
diately if they have developed confidence in the caregiver’s dependability in meeting their needs.
During this time, toddlers are forming an internal working model (IWM ) of the attachment rela-
tionship which informs them about their own self-worth and the dependability of others to provide
needed attention and care.
The IWM provides mental representations of self and others and is the mechanism by which
early experiences influence the quality of later attachment relationships. With development of
language and cognitive abilities these representations become more elaborate, stable, and sym-
bolic (Bretherton & Munholland, 1999). They form the basis for expectations of dependability
and responsiveness of others and affective tone within interpersonal relationships (Cicchetti, Toth,
& Lynch, 1995; Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985), both within and beyond the family. These
representations are viewed as guiding and structuring cognition, language, affect, and behavior
through the development of strategies, both adaptive and maladaptive, for coping with stress and
seeking social support (Cicchetti et al., 1995). For example, if one expects the world to be cold and
rejecting based on prior experiences, the individual may project an unfriendly demeanor to new
acquaintances’ neutral behavior. The acquaintance may respond in kind (in a manner consistent
with expectations), shaping the kinds of experiences a child has through development.
Ainsworth and her colleagues (e.g., Ainsworth & Bell, 1970) were first to provide empirical
evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory. Using the strange situation procedure, Ainsworth and
Bell classified infants into one of three categories: (1) secure, in which infants use the mother as a
secure base for exploration and seek contact with her after separation; (2) anxious–ambivalent
(later called “resistant”), in which infants are unable to use the mother as a secure base and are
often angry and push her away upon reunion; (3) anxious–avoidant, in which infants fail to use the
mother as a secure base for exploration and avoid the mother upon reunion or approach her only
indirectly. In more recent work (Main & Solomon, 1990) a fourth category was devised
(disorganized–disoriented) in which there is no predictable or effective pattern of eliciting care-
giving behaviors by infants when stressed.
Each of these attachment classifications, across the lifespan, may be considered on a contin-
uum of emotional regulation for managing affect, events, and relationships (Dozier, Stovall, &
Albus, 1999). This conceptualization places the anxious–avoidant style, with its overly organized
strategies for controlling and minimizing affect at one end of the continuum, and the relatively
uncontrolled, poorly managed affect of anxious–resistant styles at the opposite end. Secure attach-
ment, falling along the midpoint of the emotional continuum, reflects a balance of the two extremes
of emotional regulation. Those with disorganized–disoriented attachment classifications may present
a range of behaviors involving undercontrolled emotional reactions such as impulsive verbal and/or
physical aggression or overcontrolled responses in which emotions are difficult to express and
behavior may reflect withdrawal and difficulty handling conflict (Jacobite & Hazen, 1999). Thus,
their emotional reactions are unpredictable and typically maladaptive.
Risk Factors for Development of Insecure
and Disorganized Attachment Patterns
Early experiences with the caregiver are important in developing secure attachment relation-
ships. Although under stress the drive to achieve proximity to caregivers is universal, the method
248 Kennedy and Kennedy
used by infants to express their desire for proximity to the caregiver is dependent on caregivers’
responses to them in the past. Certain parental factors are predictive of attachment security through-
out development. Of particular importance are sensitivity and responsiveness (e.g., DeWolff &
van IJzendoorn, 1997). Ainsworth and Bell (1970) reported that caregivers of anxious–resistant
infants were unreliably responsive to infant needs, had poor timing in response to infant distress,
and often obtrusively interrupted infant play. Caregivers of anxious–avoidant infants were unrespon-
sive to infant needs and often rejected infant attempts to achieve proximity.
More recent work (e.g., Main & Hesse, 1990; Main & Solomon, 1990) has reported that
caregivers of infants with a disorganized–disoriented attachment style are often psychiatrically
distressed and/or are dealing with unresolved personal loss. These mothers appear to be either
frightened and/or are seen as frightening by their infants ( Main & Solomon, 1990). This pattern is
typically associated with a high-risk home environment, including such factors as abuse, stress,
and poverty (Main & Solomon, 1990). These infants have the greatest risk for later psychopathol-
ogy. Main et al. (1985) reported that in preschool children, the disorganized pattern of attachment
is demonstrated by either punitive-controlling or caregiving-controlling behaviors. The first type
is characterized by aggressive, hostile, and punitive behaviors; the second type by manipulative,
overly affectionate, bright, or coy behaviors in dealing with attachment figures.
During development attachment classifications remain relatively stable across time, espe-
cially if the environment remains stable (Waters, Merrick, Treboux, Crowell, &Abersheim, 2000).
Attachment researchers overall agree that early experiences with the primary caregiver are par-
ticularly important in forming one’s later attachment style (e.g., Ainsworth, 1989) as the primary
caregiver is assumed to serve as the prototype for future relationships. It is imperative to examine
attachment relations beyond infancy as well, especially in high-risk samples. For example, mater-
nal depression during the child’s first five years was associated with insecure attachment and both
internalizing and externalizing behavior at age 7 (Lyons-Ruth, Easterbrooks, & Cibelli, 1997).
Children’s Attachment Styles and Associated Behavioral Outcomes
Not surprisingly, insecure attachment (especially when combined with other developmental
risk factors such as low SES, chaotic home environment, and inconsistent/hostile/rejecting mater-
nal behavior) is associated with higher risk for both internalizing and externalizing behavior prob-
lems, presumably via the IWM. Although insecure attachments are not necessarily pathological
states in themselves (Goldberg, 1997), current research does suggest a strong relation between
one’s early attachment classification and later social, emotional, behavioral, and academic out-
comes (Jacobsen & Hofmann, 1997).
Children with secure attachment histories are more likely to develop internal representations
of others as supportive, helpful, and positive and to view themselves as competent and worthy of
respect (Jacobsen & Hofmann, 1997). Securely attached children relate more positively to both
peers and adults, demonstrate greater ego-resiliency, engage in more complex play, and receive
higher sociometric ratings than children classified as insecure (e.g., Howes, Matheson, & Hamil-
ton, 1994). They also have been found to exhibit more flexible and socially appropriate emotional
expression and control (Cassidy, 1994), show more focused attention and participation in class,
and earn higher grades (Jacobsen & Hofmann, 1997). Securely attached children also demonstrate
better functioning goal-corrected partnerships, characterized by more mature perspective-taking,
mutual communication of affect, and joint planning (Crittenden, 1992) than insecure or disorganized–
disoriented peers. In similar fashion secure adolescents report more satisfying interpersonal rela-
tionships and greater trust in others (Larose & Bernier, 2001). They also exhibit a more positive,
integrated view of self, are more prone to positive self-disclosure, and cope more adaptively with
stressful situations (Mikulincer & Nachshon, 1991).
Attachment and School Psychology 249
The anxious–avoidant child uses less effective strategies in stressful situations (Kobak, Cole,
Ferenz-Gillies, Fleming, & Gamble, 1993) to self-regulate negative affect. They may resist seek-
ing help from others and demonstrate less dependence upon their social network (Kobak & Sceery,
1988; Larose & Bernier, 2001). In this process they limit access to their own feelings and view
others as undependable or rejecting. Anxious–avoidant children thus fail to develop trusting rela-
tionships with others, seeing others as unable to provide emotional closeness and comfort, and
thus feeling socially and emotionally isolated. These children show more externalizing (Cassidy &
Kobak, 1988; Rosenstein & Horowitz, 1996) and aggressive, antisocial behavior (Renken, Ege-
land, Marvinney, Mangelsdorf, & Sroufe, 1989; Sroufe, Fox, & Pancake, 1983), reflected by
lying, bullying, and interpersonal insensitivity. Adolescents with an anxious–avoidant attachment
style also demonstrate distancing strategies to minimize emotional stress (Dozier, Lomax, Tyrrell,
& Lee, 2001). In clinical settings, their distrust of others, lack of comfort with interpersonal
issues, and tendencies toward nondisclosure contribute to their being less responsive to therapy
(Dozier et al., 2001).
Children with an anxious–resistant attachment style typically exhibit hyperactivation of the
attachment system when under stress (Kobak et al., 1993) as reflected in exaggerated emotional
reactions and/or behaviors. Even under conditions of minimal distress, exploration of both social
and learning environments is sacrificed for maintenance of proximity to and attention of the care-
giver. These children may lack self-confidence, become reticent in unfamiliar settings and may
become more socially isolated from peers (Jacobsen & Hofmann, 1997). Yet they tend to orient
more frequently toward adults (Sroufe, Carlson, Levy, & Egeland, 1999) than securely attached
children. Anxious–resistant children may be easily overstimulated and present as reactive, impul-
sive, restless, and easily frustrated (Sroufe et al., 1983). They show higher frequencies of inter-
nalizing problems (Warren, Houston, Egeland, & Sroufe, 1997) and are more likely to exhibit
passive withdrawal behavior (Renkin et al., 1989). Adolescents with this classification demon-
strate a greater frequency of anxiety disorders, dysthymic traits, and borderline personality disor-
der than secure or other insecure categories (Cassidy, 1994; Rosenstein & Horowitz, 1996).
Disorganized attachment predicts the poorest outcome in infancy and beyond. Infants clas-
sified as disorganized–disoriented typically fail to develop an organized strategy for successfully
coping with separation distress (Main & Hesse, 1990). Studies have demonstrated a link, espe-
cially for high-risk samples, between disorganized-controlling attachment and later behavior prob-
lems in preschool and school-aged children (Lyons-Ruth, Alpern, & Repacholi, 1993; Speltz,
Greenberg, & DeKlyen, 1990). These problems orient primarily around aggressive and disruptive
behaviors and social isolation (Carlson, 1998; Lyons-Ruth et al., 1993). Jacobite and Hazen (1999)
suggest that under stress the disorganized child sees others as potential threats and might shift
between social withdrawal and defensively aggressive behavior, thus exhibiting difficulties in
responding appropriately and contingently to others. Over time these individuals are at risk for
borderline personality (Rosenstein & Horowitz, 1996) and dissociative disorders (Carlson, 1998).
Retrospective studies of childhood psychopathologies and attachment history corroborate
these findings. Among students with externalizing, disruptive behavior problems Lyons-Ruth and
colleagues (1993; 1997) reported that 71 to 87% had histories of disorganized–disoriented attach-
ment. In other samples (Greenberg, Speltz, DeKlyen, & Endivia, 1991) a large proportion (80–
84%) of clinic-referred children between ages 3 to 6 years have been classified as insecure, with
32 to 40% exhibiting the disorganized–disoriented attachment pattern. Estimates of disorganized–
disoriented attachment among maltreated children may be as high as 77% (van IJzendoorn, 1999).
Both disruptive, externalizing disorders (e.g., oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder,
and attention deficit hyperactive disorder), and internalizing disorders (e.g., depression) show
higher incidence levels in those with disorganized status (Graham & Easterbrooks, 2000; Greenberg
250 Kennedy and Kennedy
& Hickman, 1991; Lyons-Ruth et al., 1993). Victims of physical and sexual abuse, as well as
individuals with suicidal ideation, are also more likely to have a disorganized status whereas those
experiencing neglect are more frequently associated with anxious–resistant status (Adam, Sheldon-
Keller, & West, 1996; Finzi, Ram, Har-Even, Shnit & Weizman, 2001).Anxious-resistant individuals
also may demonstrate high levels of self-focused disclosure, disposing them to greater risk of
rejection and social isolation (Mikulincer & Nachshon, 1991). An anxious-avoidant attachment
history is related to greater levels of social isolation, limited self-disclosure and less social support
seeking behavior (Jacobsen & Hofmann, 1997; Larose & Bernier, 2001).
Close Emotional Relationships Beyond Child-Parent Attachment
Others have explained the development of relationships beyond the family environment that
provide emotional support and protection using an attachment model. Howes (1999) identified
three criteria for identifying attachment figures outside the parent–child relationship: (1) provision
of physical and emotional care, (2) a consistent presence in one’s life, and (3) an emotional
investment in the individual. Thus, relationships with day care providers (e.g., Howes, 1999),
psychotherapists (Dozier, Cue, & Barnett, 1994), and school teachers (Pianta & Steinberg, 1992)
may be qualitatively similar to those with the primary attachment figure. Through the opportunity
for emotional and physical proximity, the student–teacher relationship may provide for explora-
tion from a secure base and a safe haven under stress.
Development of Student–Teacher Relationships
The child’s IWM, defined by earlier experiences with primary caregivers, structure expecta-
tions concerning relationships outside the family. Pianta and Steinberg (1992) suggest that the
quality of the teacher–child relationship is linked to the quality of the parent– child relationship.
Further, children who experience positive, supportive relationships with their teachers (Howes &
Smith, 1995) demonstrate greater social competence with both peers and adults in school, are
more frequently ensconced in supportive social networks, have fewer behavior problems and
demonstrate higher achievement orientation and academic performance (Howes et al., 1994; Pianta,
Steinberg, & Rollins, 1995) when compared to peers with insecure relationships. Moreover, Pianta
and Steinberg reported that teachers’ mental representations of their own relationships with stu-
dents predicted students’ academic performance and adjustment in school.
The Classroom as a Dynamic System
Learning is most efficient within the context of exploration of the environment from a secure
base (Bowlby, 1969/1982). A secure base depends on the child’s IWM of caregivers as sensitive,
accessible, and responsive to their needs, allowing anxiety-free cognitive and social learning.
Like the relationship with the primary caregiver, the student–teacher relationship is a dynamic,
multifaceted, interactive system as well, evolving over time and across multiple situations (Pianta,
1999). Teachers bring to the classroom behavioral patterns that reflect feelings and expectations
concerning their interactions with children and their motivational goals/behaviors associated with
their own attachment style. For example, individuals with a dismissing (avoidant) status typically
distance themselves emotionally and may appear less sensitive and responsive to the overtures and
needs of others. Ateacher with this attachment style may subsequently be perceived by students as
less accessible and supportive.
Interaction of Teachers’ and Students’ Internal Working Models
Previous research has found that adults differ in their ability to act as a secure base for
children in their care according to their own attachment style. Secure adults are typically more
Attachment and School Psychology 251
able to evaluate realistically their own relationship histories and respond sensitively and appro-
priately to a child’s attachment needs (Crowell & Feldman, 1988) than adults with an insecure
attachment history. Dozier et al. (1994) found that clinicians with secure status responded more
appropriately to their client’s underlying needs regardless of the client’s attachment status. Insecure
clinicians were more likely to respond to the more obvious surface-level problems, to feed into the
client’s expectations of others, and to reinforce their models of relationships. It may be useful to
look for similar patterns of behavior in secure and insecure teachers in their relationships with
students.
Teachers with a dismissing (avoidant) attachment style may experience difficulty recognizing
their own lack of warmth, trust, and sensitivity in their relationships with their students. They may
have unrealistic expectations for their students’ maturity and independence as they themselves
may have learned to be overly self-reliant and distant in their own interpersonal relationships.
Teachers with a dismissing status may respond to students generally by distancing themselves,
demonstrating a lack of warmth and understanding. The teacher with a preoccupied (resistant)
style may be intermittently attuned to students’ needs and become easily involved in dealing with
specific observable behaviors without addressing underlying problems.
Teachers, regardless of their attachment status, may perceive the anxious-avoidant student as
passively aggressive, angry, withdrawn, and uncooperative and the anxious-resistant students as
overly dependent and reactive, demanding of attention, and prone to impulsivity and acting out
behavior. The disorganized student may be viewed as aggressive, reactive, unpredictable, and
difficult to manage. Because of their own relationship needs teachers may be more accepting of
students with one attachment style as compared to another. Teachers with preoccupied status,
because of their own dependency needs, may be more supportive of the anxious-resistant student
and rejecting of anxious-avoidant and disorganized students, bolstering the negative IWMs of
relationships for these children. Teachers with a dismissing attachment style (with the need to
maintain an emotional distance from others) would be expected to show less acceptance of anxious-
resistant and disorganized students (who need too much help or supervision), but also fail to
support avoidant children (who are reluctant to ask for assistance). Both dismissing and preoccu-
pied teachers would be expected to work best with children secure in attachment style. The secure
teacher, on the other hand, may recognize in the anxious-avoidant students’ withdrawal and aloof-
ness, the anxious-resistant students’ dependency and the disorganized students’ acting out behav-
ior, the need to foster positive supportive interaction, trust, and relatedness in their relationship (a
process which may contribute to the development of a more positive IWM and foster a more
cooperative relationship).
Working With Children With Insecure Attachment
Insecure attachment styles in themselves are not pathological states and do not show a one-
to-one correspondence to specific diagnostic classification as reflected in the Diagnostic and Sta-
tistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American PsychiatricAssociation, 1994). Individuals
with identical DSM-IV classifications, such as depression, may vary in their attachment styles,
presumably as a result of different IWMs of self and others. For example, Barber and Muenz
(1996) reported that depression involving internalizing self-blame is associated with a preoccu-
pied, anxious-resistant classification, while depression characterized by externalizing behavior
with interpersonal hostility is related to an anxious-avoidant style. They found that individuals
with these two attachment styles respond positively to different treatment strategies, supporting
the contention that each attachment style reflects different needs and represents different mecha-
nisms for emotional regulation, thus requiring different intervention strategies (Dozier et al., 1994).
252 Kennedy and Kennedy
School-based attachment-oriented interventions have rarely been addressed in the literature.
Effective clinic-based treatment strategies for use with parent–child pairs have been frequently
reported (e.g., Leiberman, 1992; Leiberman & Pawl, 1990; Speltz, 1990) and have implications
for school-based intervention. Specifically, strategies used by Leiberman (1992) in the treatment
of insecure infant–mother dyads are relevant to intervention within the school setting. Her primary
points may be restated for application to teacher–student relationships as follows: teachers must
understand their own internal working models as well as those of their students, and the students’
observable behaviors must be recognized as a reflection of their inner experiences and relationship
history.
The school psychologist may address these points using contextually based, insight-oriented
consultative strategies designed to facilitate teachers’ understanding of their own styles of relat-
ing, feelings, and attitudes toward students and their interactional goals as well as the behaviors,
feelings, and needs of the students themselves (Pianta, 1999). Helping teachers recognize the
impact of negative emotions on classroom behavior, the benefits of positive student–teacher inter-
actions and the need to view children’s behavior as the cumulative result of their relationship
histories may enhance teachers’ sensitivity to student needs as well as increase the understanding
of contextually based behavior.
The school psychologist’s use of traditional behavioral interventions with students combined
with attachment-oriented strategies may provide the best long-term outcomes. For example, Speltz
(1990) used traditional behavior modification strategies to eliminate high frequency disruptive
behavior in the classroom while simultaneously addressing attachment issues with the parents,
child, and teachers. Common problems such as social skills deficits and a range of internalizing
and externalizing behaviors affect academic performance, as well as factors such as child neglect,
abuse, and the presence of an alcoholic or mentally ill parent. Interventions found to be effective
with these problems may be significantly enhanced by inclusion of attachment-specific strategies.
Within an attachment perspective effective intervention requires assessment of the IWMs of
the student and teacher as well as the current context. Knowledge of relationship histories and risk
factors enhances understanding of the interplay between these three elements within the class-
room. Attachment-oriented strategies thus are individualized to address identified needs. The school
psychologist guides teachers through this process, helping them to define and understand attachment-
relevant variables and tailor strategies that are compatible with student needs and their own capa-
bilities and settings (see Figure 1).
Relation of Attachment to School-Problem Prevention and Intervention
Three central themes related to prevention and intervention are apparent, each of which
contains separate yet overlapping threads relevant to school success and secure relationships.
First, researchers and clinicians have consistently cited the need for effective early assessment of
and intervention for home-based risk factors and child-specific patterns of behavior that signal risk
for later school-related difficulties (Birch & Ladd, 1998). Treatments that reduce home-based risks
and enhance the quality of the infant/child–mother attachment relationship are associated with the
child’s later adjustment to school and quality of the teacher-student relationship.
Second, the quality of the teacher–student relationship may be the single most important
factor for positive adaptation to school. Especially for at-risk students, teachers may be their only
positive, supportive adult model and thus they have a unique opportunity to help students foster
positive representations of themselves, others, and relationships. Inherent in this process is the
need for teachers to recognize and understand: (1) the impact of a positive teacher–student rela-
tionship on students, especially problem students (Howes, Phillipsen, & Peisner-Feinberg, 2000);
Attachment and School Psychology 253
(2) that interactions of IWM of the student and the teacher impact their relationship and classroom
behavior (Pianta, 1999); (3) that students’ behavior reflects their relationship history and strategies
for coping with stress and relatedness (Howes & Ritchie, 1999). Correspondingly, strategies which
enhance the family’s and student’s investment and connectedness to the school (Marcus & Sanders-
Reio, 2001) along with positive teacher–family relationships have been found to be positively
related to increased student achievement, positive student attitudes, and self-concept, and positive
parental and student attitudes toward the school (Greenberg & Hickman, 1991).
Third, researchers (Crittenden, 1992; Leiberman & Pawl, 1990; Speltz, 1990) suggest spe-
cific points of emphasis for direct interventions with students. These include helping the student
learn to: (1) accurately identify their internal feeling states such that they may more accurately
communicate them; (2) make appropriate attributions as to the intent of behaviors by others, (3)
communicate clearly their needs to others; (4) develop more balanced emotional regulation, avoid-
ing more rigid, overly controlled or impulsive, undercontrolled reactions to events and individu-
als; and (5) enhance their capacity for cooperation and collaborative problem solving in more
adaptive goal-corrected partnerships. Inherent within each of these threads is the emphasis on
Figure 1. Conceptualization of parental, school, and contextual factors influencing the child’s internal working model
(IWM ) and behavior.
254 Kennedy and Kennedy
development of more adaptive representations of self, others, and relationships (to see social
relationships as rewarding, feel capable of handling the demands of social relationships, and have
the relevant skills for successful interpersonal interaction and effective emotional regulation).
Toward these objectives the task of the school psychologist goes beyond assessment to include
provision of information and guidance and the facilitation of skill building in parents, teachers,
and students.
Assessment Considerations
Most current measures of attachment security alone have limited use in diagnostic determi-
nations for individual children in that they may be overly time-consuming and lack norms for
clinical application. One exception is the Students, Teachers, and Relationship Scale (Pianta et al.,
1995) that assesses teacher–student relationship dimensions paralleling child–parent attachment
relationships, and thus provides some indication of the child’s relationship with the teacher.
The attachment paradigm may be most useful in providing school psychologists with a com-
prehensive framework for gathering information that would be evaluated clinically and integrated
with other sources of information. A comprehensive attachment-oriented developmental history
and observations within multiple contexts/relationships, with consideration of the quality of the
students’ relationships with parents, teachers, and peers could provide more well-defined hypoth-
eses from which to derive more effective assessment and intervention strategies. Exploration of
current and past family dynamics, parental marital interactions and discord, changes in relation-
ships, parental psychopathology, early infant–mother interactions and separation or losses from
death, divorce, or other factors can provide information concerning disruptions in the attachment
process and the structure of the child’s IWM. While there is value derived from parental reports,
direct observations of parent–child interactions, possibly within a joint interview, can provide
invaluable information concerning the attachment relationship. Observations can provide infor-
mation concerning openness of communication, degree of conflict within the child’s family and/or
classroom, the child’s perspective-taking skills, and goal-corrected partnership behavior. Within
the classroom setting observations also provide clues to levels of reciprocal child–teacher and
child–peer cooperation, empathy and sensitivity, promoting an understanding of the child’s IWM,
context-based behavior, and relationship history. The school psychologist who is aware of
attachment-related behavior patterns, when obtaining only a few discrete samples of student behav-
ior and/or history may rapidly generate hypotheses for examination concerning the child’s IWM,
classroom behavior, and family dynamics. For example, Lyons-Ruth et al. (1993) have suggested
that an early school-age child with clinically significant hostile, aggressive behavior would be
predicted to have experienced disorganized infant attachment in concert with a hostile, intrusive
mother–infant relationship in which the mother had experienced significant psychosocial prob-
lems. Concomitant child deficits in emotional regulation, peer relations, and social competence
would be expected. Similarly, a child with suppressed, overregulated emotions, demonstrating
social and/or emotional isolation and disturbed interpersonal relationships may be predicted to
have had an anxious-avoidant infant classification.
Conclusions
Bowlby (1969/1982) envisioned attachment and its related adaptive strategies (Sroufe et al.,
1999) as having implications for one’s social and emotional experiences across the lifespan. Con-
tinuity from infancy through adulthood of behavioral patterns or coping strategies associated with
one’s IWM of relationships has been supported by both longitudinal studies of children (Bohlin,
Hagekull, & Rydell, 2000; Jacobsen, Edelstein, & Hofmann, 1994) and adult clinical studies
Attachment and School Psychology 255
(Dozier et al., 1999). Any attempt to work with others from an attachment perspective must
operate from certain basic assumptions that are either explicitly stated or implied by Bowlby. As
a social being the propensity to form an attachment bond is inherent within the individual and the
quality of those attachments depends initially upon the quality of the infant–caregiver relation-
ship. Secure attachment has been associated with early caregiving characterized by sensitive,
contingently responsive, warm, and appropriately supportive parenting which fosters in the child
the capacity for open communication, balanced emotional regulation, trust, and reciprocal
goal-corrected partnerships. These initial attachments frame the underpinnings of the individual’s
IWM and influence relationships across the lifespan.
Attachment theory emphasizes the meaning of behavior rather than the form it may take
(Bowlby, 1969/1982; Crittenden, 1992), recognizing also that adaptations to each new context are
influenced by/and influence the individual’s IWM (Sroufe et al., 1999). The anxious-ambivalent
infant may exaggerate expression of distress to gain caregiver proximity; proximity to and atten-
tion of the teacher may be attained via constant questions and help-seeking behavior. In assess-
ment, the school psychologist must consider the context within which behavior is embedded
(Sroufe et al., 1999). Attachment insecurity may not lead to behavioral anomalies and dysfunction.
However, optimal development could be attained more seamlessly if sensitive and responsive
social support is provided from an early age (Waters, Posada, Crowell, & Lay, 1993).
The child’s, teacher’s, and school psychologist’s behavior is a reflection of their internal
representations within the current context. Attachment styles identified by Ainsworth et al. (1978)
and Main and Solomon (1990), along with associated coping behaviors, represent the individu-
als’ ongoing adjustments to relational/situational stressors (Sroufe et al., 1999). Both secure and
insecure teachers may profit from an awareness and deeper understanding of their own represen-
tations of student–teacher relationships and the interactional goals they hold for themselves and
their students. The school psychologist is in a unique position to offer teachers needed support
and guidance in this learning process, although the degree to which school psychologists may be
effective also depends on their own attachment style. An understanding of the nature and dy-
namics of the attachment system provides the school psychologist and teacher a richer view of
the individual’s functioning within various contexts. The secure teacher, for example, would be
expected to offer the child sensitive, responsive, and emotionally supportive care, qualitatively
similar to that of the secure parent, such that exploration/learning from a secure base may be
anticipated. Moreover, the evidence clearly suggests that early recognition of an individual’s
attachment style and related behavioral disposition may facilitate prevention of and/or inter-
vention for maladaptive behavior patterns. Attachment provides school psychologists an added
dimension of assessment, relevant to treatment, with emphasis on the quality of relationships
and risk for psychopathology. Attachment-based assessment facilitates the generation of hypoth-
eses concerning children’s social/emotional history, providing insights into their current behav-
ior within the current context and aiding the development of effective, individualized intervention
strategies.
Leiberman and Zeanah (1999) emphasize the need for interventions that are sensitive to the
unique requirements of the individual, developmentally appropriate, and that do not rely on emo-
tional pressure. Interventions that fail to meet these criteria reinforce and perpetuate the insecure
child’s mental representations and any associated maladaptive behaviors. The avoidant adolescent
who anticipates rejection and thus presents as aloof and uninvolved may be defending against the
teacher’s anticipated rebuffs. The teacher who responds with frustration and insensitive interven-
tion simply fulfills the adolescent’s expectations. Teachers who view children’s and adolescents’
behavior as a reflection of their relationship history in concert with the current context respond in
a manner that addresses underlying issues of trust, self-worth, and competency.
256 Kennedy and Kennedy
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