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Attachment Across the Lifecourse
... Consequently, Bowlby introduced the 'Attachment Theory' and defined 'WE HAVE ALL BEEN CATEGORISED: I AM NUMBER ONE!' -A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF GREEK MOTHERS' REFLECTIONS ON ATTACHMENT IN RELATION TO HOME CHILD CARE PROVIDERS attachment behaviour as a biological function of obtaining physical and psychological closeness to the caregiver, who is termed the 'Attachment Figure', that is someone protective, and responsive towards the child's needs. Hence, attachment is defined as the affectional and caregiving bond between the child and her caregiver (Howe, 2011). Schaffer and Emerson (1964) suggested that attachment passes through different stages, starting with the Asocial Stage, where newborns recognise their main caregiver without showing selective preferences. ...
... A caregiver's personality and behaviour towards her child may vary from caring and responsible, to unavailable and distanced; these attitudes affect children's type and level of attachment as they adapt different coping strategies. Ainsworth (1969) attempted to measure attachment by conducting the 'strange situation' experiment, in which the mother-child separations and reunions and the children's reactions respectively indicated different attachment types: i) the 'secure', where children appear emotionally stable, as they have received responsive and sensitive care (Howe, 2011); ii) the 'avoidant', in which children deemphasize their attachment needs to cope with the dismissing attitude of their caregivers' (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016); iii) the 'ambivalent', in which children seek their parents' attention and increase their demands urgency, despite their parent's unresponsive caregiving style (Howe, 2011); and iv) the 'disorganised', in which children display attachment behaviours only when they experience stress and fear (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016). ...
... A caregiver's personality and behaviour towards her child may vary from caring and responsible, to unavailable and distanced; these attitudes affect children's type and level of attachment as they adapt different coping strategies. Ainsworth (1969) attempted to measure attachment by conducting the 'strange situation' experiment, in which the mother-child separations and reunions and the children's reactions respectively indicated different attachment types: i) the 'secure', where children appear emotionally stable, as they have received responsive and sensitive care (Howe, 2011); ii) the 'avoidant', in which children deemphasize their attachment needs to cope with the dismissing attitude of their caregivers' (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016); iii) the 'ambivalent', in which children seek their parents' attention and increase their demands urgency, despite their parent's unresponsive caregiving style (Howe, 2011); and iv) the 'disorganised', in which children display attachment behaviours only when they experience stress and fear (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016). ...
Στην Πρωτοβάθμια Εκπαίδευση (Π.Ε.) συναντάται πληθώρα εικαστικώντεχνών, όπως ζωγραφική, γλυπτική, ψηφιδωτό, πλαστικές τέχνες και κα-τασκευές, θέατρο και λογοτεχνία, που όλα μπορούν να προσελκύσουντο ενδιαφέρον των παιδιών, δίνοντάς τους την ευκαιρία διασκέδασης,ψυχαγωγίας και αυτοέκφρασης. Στα μαθήματα της Αισθητικής Αγωγής και της Θεατρικής Αγωγής το παιδί ασχολείται τόσο με το ωραίο που εκ-φράζεται με την τέχνη, όσο και με το ωραίο που συναντάται στη φύση. Οι εικαστικές τέχνες του δίνουν τη δυνατότητα να εκφραστεί και να αναπτυχθεί ολόπλευρα, επιτυγχάνοντας με αυτό τον τρόπο το βασικό στόχο του αναλυτικού προγράμματος του Νηπιαγωγείου, όσο και του Δημοτικού. Όπως λέει και ο Νίτσε: «...ο άνθρωπος που αισθάνεται μέσα του ένα πλεόνασμα από αυτές τις κρυφές δυνάμεις που ομορφαίνουν τα πράγματα και τις μεταμορφώνουν, αλλάζοντας τα προς το καλύτερο, θα επιχειρήσει τελικά να απελευθερωθεί και ο ίδιος και να εκφραστεί μέσα από ένα έργο τέχνης». Παράλληλα, η ενασχόληση των παιδιών με τις εικαστικές τέχνες και η καλλιτεχνική δημιουργία συμβάλλουν στην πνευματική τους ανάπτυξη, στην ψυχική τους ολοκλήρωση, στην καλλιέργεια της αυτοπεποίθησής τους και στην εμπέδωση μαθημένων γνώσεων και δεξιοτήτων (Κακκίση- Παναγοπούλου, 2001).
... Consequently, Bowlby introduced the 'Attachment Theory' and defined 'WE HAVE ALL BEEN CATEGORISED: I AM NUMBER ONE!' -A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF GREEK MOTHERS' REFLECTIONS ON ATTACHMENT IN RELATION TO HOME CHILD CARE PROVIDERS attachment behaviour as a biological function of obtaining physical and psychological closeness to the caregiver, who is termed the 'Attachment Figure', that is someone protective, and responsive towards the child's needs. Hence, attachment is defined as the affectional and caregiving bond between the child and her caregiver (Howe, 2011). Schaffer and Emerson (1964) suggested that attachment passes through different stages, starting with the Asocial Stage, where newborns recognise their main caregiver without showing selective preferences. ...
... A caregiver's personality and behaviour towards her child may vary from caring and responsible, to unavailable and distanced; these attitudes affect children's type and level of attachment as they adapt different coping strategies. Ainsworth (1969) attempted to measure attachment by conducting the 'strange situation' experiment, in which the mother-child separations and reunions and the children's reactions respectively indicated different attachment types: i) the 'secure', where children appear emotionally stable, as they have received responsive and sensitive care (Howe, 2011); ii) the 'avoidant', in which children deemphasize their attachment needs to cope with the dismissing attitude of their caregivers' (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016); iii) the 'ambivalent', in which children seek their parents' attention and increase their demands urgency, despite their parent's unresponsive caregiving style (Howe, 2011); and iv) the 'disorganised', in which children display attachment behaviours only when they experience stress and fear (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016). ...
... A caregiver's personality and behaviour towards her child may vary from caring and responsible, to unavailable and distanced; these attitudes affect children's type and level of attachment as they adapt different coping strategies. Ainsworth (1969) attempted to measure attachment by conducting the 'strange situation' experiment, in which the mother-child separations and reunions and the children's reactions respectively indicated different attachment types: i) the 'secure', where children appear emotionally stable, as they have received responsive and sensitive care (Howe, 2011); ii) the 'avoidant', in which children deemphasize their attachment needs to cope with the dismissing attitude of their caregivers' (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016); iii) the 'ambivalent', in which children seek their parents' attention and increase their demands urgency, despite their parent's unresponsive caregiving style (Howe, 2011); and iv) the 'disorganised', in which children display attachment behaviours only when they experience stress and fear (Cassidy and Shaver, 2016). ...
... Dítě je na svých rodičích závislé nejen několik prvních měsíců, ale i let. Toto období je charakteristické vyhledáváním blízkosti a poskytováním péče, základními projevy vazebného systému (attachment system) (Howe, 2011). ...
... Díky ní se dítě může pustit do explorace okolí a s vědomím dostupnosti vazebné postavy vnímá prostředí jako bezpečné (Bowlby, 1988). Pečující osoby, které poskytují dítěti bezpečnou základnu, mu umožňují být samostatné, zvídavé a experimentovat (Howe, 2011) a pomáhají mu udržovat emoční rovnováhu a budovat odolnost vůči stresu (Obegi & Berant, 2009). ...
... Jedním z klíčových tvrzení teorie vztahové vazby je, že zkušenosti z předešlých vztahů ovlivňují, jak se budou lidé chovat ve vztazích následujících (Howe, 2011). Na základě těchto zkušeností si jedinec formuje mentální reprezentace o tom, jak svět fungoval v minulosti, a jak by mohl fungovat v budoucnosti. ...
... Early social attachment experiences and resultant emotion-regulation (Ainsworth et al. 1978;Schore and McIntosh 2011;Weinfield et al. 1999) affect both healthy development and maladaptation (Luthar 2003;Nachmias et al. 2008;Natsuaki et al. 2009). Positive early relationships have been shown to protect against vulnerability, whereas negative attachments can have either internalizing or externalizing consequences (Howe 2011;Schore 2012). ...
... Further, adults who had experienced early parentalloss exhibited greater cortisol accentuation than non-loss adults (Luecken 1998). However, the effects of early experience on life-course attachment relationships require longitudinal study (Howe 2011) and are currently under both investigation and considerable debate (e.g., Fivush and Waters 2015). This raises a research question as to how attachment relations are associated with adolescent stress responses and, more specifically, whether profiles of early adolescents will demonstrate an expected bifurcation in stress reactivity, with certain current attachment ideations being associated with profiles of accentuated responsivity and others with attenuated responsivity. ...
... Inevitable experiences of moderate, every-day stress are present in adolescence as in all other life phases. Through an understanding of both adaptive and disruptive developmental processes, an investigation of youth stress responses and the factors that influence those responses can provide a more comprehensive and complex adolescent development theory (Howe 2011;Schore 2012). Within the context of a theoretically based biopsychosocial conceptual model, the current studies explored individual differences in early adolescent attachment, affect and sex and bifurcated stress responses. ...
Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls’ attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents.
... One relational psychological process hypothesized to be relevant to substance misuse is insecure attachment (Flores, 2004). Attachment refers to a deep emotional bond between an individual and their primary attachment figure, for example between a child and parent, based on the need for security, safety, and protection (Howe, 2011). A primary function of the attachment system is to regulate affect (Padykula & Conklin, 2010;Schore & Schore, 2008). ...
... This may result from a number of factors compromising the security, attunement, and consistency of the relationship between an infant and primary caregiver. Complex trauma, involving repeated exposure to multiple forms of relational traumatic stressors, is known to compromise attachment security and increase the likelihood of insecure or disorganized attachment styles developing (Courtois, 2004;Herman, 1992;Howe, 2011;Padykula & Conklin, 2010). Substance misuse exacerbates self-dysregulation and may lead to further relational discord, and to more substance use to cope (Padykula & Conklin, 2010). ...
... These relationships appeared to involve complex dynamics related to insecure attachment and complex trauma. It is well documented that experiences of childhood complex trauma may lead to the development of an insecure or disorganised attachment style and relationship difficulties involving mistrust, fear of abandonment and rejection, and victimization from and/or of others (Courtois, 2004;Herman, 1992;Howe, 2011). Participants' intimate partner relationships appeared dynamically interconnected with ongoing substance misuse, offending, shame, and further family disconnection. ...
Dysfunctional relationships are highlighted as a potential mediator between women's substance misuse and offending, but few studies have explored how. This qualitative study explored the role of interpersonal relationships to substance misuse and offending in women, and underlying psychological processes involved. Seven women offenders in community treatment for heroin dependence were interviewed. Data were analyzed using social constructivist grounded theory. A provisional model was constructed of the interconnection between family disconnection, dysfunctional intimate partner relationships, loss of children, and substance misuse and drug-related offending, within the context of complex trauma, insecure attachment, and shame. The potential significance of shame to women's substance misuse and offending has had little prior investigation. Interventions for women offenders with heroin addiction may need to consider all these relational psychological processes to adequately address recidivism risk. © 2016 International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services.
... Early interaction with caretakers forms the basis for the development of attachment styles (Howe, 2011). Attachment styles are working models of others and our 'self' (Bowlby, 1980), which become 'integrated into the personality structure and thereby provide the prototype for later social interaction' (Bartholomew, 1997;250). ...
... However, this also depends on their partner, as well as increased knowledge and insight into sexuality. Aging seems to bring up older emotional patterns in the face of stressful life changes and reduced capacity to handle challenges, like attachment styles (Howe, 2011), which also influence sexuality and intimate relationships. Hence, it is relevant to consider early experiences in understanding older adults' sexual and emotional well-being. ...
How do older adults make sense of early sexual experiences with regard to their present sexual well-being? In 2016, a qualitative study on sexual well-being was undertaken among 65- to 85-year-olds of different genders, sexual orientations, and from different social layers. Thirty-two individuals were interviewed. In a thematic analysis, five main subjects were constructed, each showing variability in experience and understanding, while at the same time showing examples of meanings given to the relationship between early emotional and sexual experiences and present sexual well-being. The study indicates that the lack of understanding of one’s own sexual history may be a consequence of lacking knowledge about sexuality and the psychological aspects of one’s well-being, both emotional and sexual, which are reciprocally dependent. The findings should increase awareness among health personnel of factors other than present sexual function for understanding sexual well-being in older adults.
... However, internal working models are also dynamic and provisional: if an attachment figure persistently behaves in ways that do not match expectations, the internal working model has to be revised. They remain open to change during the lifespan, particularly in the context of close relationships (Howe, 2011). Typically, a partner or a close friend serves as an attachment figure in adulthood, with secure adult relationships characterised by the capacity to relate to others in a mutual and reciprocal manner. ...
... Insecurely attached adults may be anxious-ambivalent, with this attachment style characterised by a focus on negative emotions and a need for more support than others are 2 able or willing to provide. Insecurely attached adults may also be anxious-avoidant, with this attachment style characterised by the suppression of attachment-related thoughts and the use of coping strategies that involve distancing rather than seeking support (Howe, 2011). ...
... Attachments are the 'hub' around which a person's life revolves from cradle to grave, providing a secure base to which to return when exploring the world (Bowlby, 1969(Bowlby, , 1973(Bowlby, , 1980. By adulthood, most individuals have developed a range of attachments that contribute to their sense of a secure base -relationships that help to restore emotional balance and provide comfort in times of need (Biggart, Ward, Cook, & Schofield, 2017;Howe, 2011). Migration may disrupt these affectional bonds and resistance to these changes may emerge (Doka, 1989;Parkes, 1971;Schneller, 1981). ...
... The experience of loss and separation may result in emotional reactions of shock, protest, despair, sadness and finally reorganisation of attachments (Bowlby, 1960(Bowlby, , 1961. Loss is best understood as a process, unique for each person in which the bond with the homeland may continue to exist in some form (Field, Gao, & Paderna, 2005;Harrington et al., 2010;Howe, 2011). Garza-Guerrero (1974) suggests that to survive the impact of migration a person must generate a new identity to facilitate living in the new environment. ...
The experience of loss and grief affects migrating social workers who enter an unfamiliar child protection environment. This paper highlights themes that emerged from the narratives of 13 transnational social workers, who were educated and practised in the United Kingdom or Ireland before being recruited to Australia’s statutory child protection workforce. The recruitment of social workers from overseas is an approach used across Australia to backfill a continuous shortage of frontline child protection staff. The effectiveness of this strategy remains largely unexamined. This narrative-informed study investigated the process of professional experience as a child protection practitioner and the personal experience of migration. Two data collection points enabled exploration of the experience over time. Participants reported a loss of personal and professional belonging during the concurrent experiences of migration and adaptation to an unfamiliar practice environment. The findings suggest that in light of the complex and emotionally charged nature of child protection practice, raised awareness and better support are needed for transnational social workers who, as new migrants themselves, are experiencing a profound and life-changing event.
... However, internal working models are also dynamic and provisional: if an attachment figure persistently behaves in ways that do not match expectations, the internal working model has to be revised. They remain open to change during the lifespan, particularly in the context of close relationships (Howe, 2011). Typically, a partner or a close friend serves as an attachment figure in adulthood, with secure adult relationships characterised by the capacity to relate to others in a mutual and reciprocal manner. ...
... Insecurely attached adults may be anxious-ambivalent, with this attachment style characterised by a focus on negative emotions and a need for more support than others are able or willing to provide. Insecurely attached adults may also be anxious-avoidant, with this attachment style characterised by the suppression of attachment-related thoughts and the use of coping strategies that involve distancing rather than seeking support (Howe, 2011). Adult attachment research tends to be investigated within two distinct methodological traditions. ...
As there are only a limited number of funding sources available to postgraduate research students, crowdfunding offers a relatively new method for generating research funds during your PhD. Crowdfunding is defined as the practice of funding a project by raising money from a large number of people who each contribute a relatively small amount, typically via the internet. I have recently set up two crowdfunding pages and held two fundraisers for my research, which together have raised almost £2,000. This article includes an overview of what I have learnt since I began to use crowdfunding to support my PhD research.
... There was a genuine interest in my thoughts, something that I hadn't really had much experience in, having come from a large family. We did not have mind-minded parenting where 'children are helped to understand that they have an inner experi- ence that is unique to them and different to those of other people' (Howe, 2011). Feeling valued, included and respected was all new to me, but I felt as though I belonged some- where. ...
... It was an uncomfortable process, since my own experiences were based on punitive attachments. As a child, my needs and feel- ings of vulnerability were often met with anger or ignored, and my 'vulnerable self felt abandoned in times of need' (Howe, 2011). Here is where the challenge of therapy begins, and why it sometimes only works for short periods and patients become the 'revolving door': it doesn't account for the relatives and caregivers that are still in our lives and continue to behave in the same ways that led to our insecure attachments. ...
... The higher VASQ insecurity scores in subjects who prematurely abandoned the study can be understood in the light of attachment theory. Howe [41], Mikulincer & Shaver [42] and Mallinckrodt et al. [43] underline the possible impact of individuals' internal working models on their participation in both treatment and research interventions. Attachment insecurity is associated with having an idea of oneself as not being worthy of other people's interest, and of not being able to count on other people, who are felt to be unreliable or even ill-meaning. ...
Objective:
Randomised controlled trials evaluating perinatal home-visiting programs are frequently confronted with the problem of high attrition rates. The aim of the present study is to identify predictors of study attrition in a trial evaluating a perinatal home-visiting program in France.
Materials and methods:
CAPEDP is a French randomized trial comparing a perinatal home-visiting program using psychologists versus usual care (N = 440). The first assessment was at inclusion into the trial at the 27th week of pregnancy and the final assessment when the child reached the age of two. Attrition rates were calculated at 3 and 24 months postpartum. Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify predictors of early (between inclusion and 3 months postpartum) and later (between 3 and 24 months postpartum) attrition among social, psychological and parenting factors.
Results:
Attrition rates were 17% and 63% at 3 and 24 months respectively. At 24 months, there was significantly more attrition in the control arm (70.6%) compared to the intervention arm (55.2%). Five independent predictors of early attrition were identified: having already had an abortion; having greater attachment insecurity as measured with the Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ); having lower global severity of psychiatric symptoms as assessed with the Symptom Check-List (SCL-90) at inclusion, being neither currently employed nor studying; and declaring no tobacco consumption during pregnancy. Being randomized into the control arm, having undergone early parental loss before age 11 and having lower global severity of psychiatric symptoms (SCL-90) at 3 months postpartum were the only variables associated with later attrition.
Conclusion:
This study provides key information for identifying mothers who may require specific support to avoid study attrition in trials evaluating a home-visiting program.
... In addition, the results obtained can also be compared to the results of exploring a relatively new phenomenon in home-related psychological factors: attachment or place attachment (Khozaei et al., 2012). us, attachment, as a well-known and fairly well-studied phenomenon in psychology (Howe, 2011), is acquiring a new dimension through studying users' attitude towards places. It seems that people that nd it important in what infrastructural environment they live or would like to live also exhibit constructive place attachment through higher subjective emotional wellbeing (Florek, 2011). ...
This article explores whether potential statistically significant differences in terms of respondents’ demographic characteristics (i.e., age) can point to intergenerational differences in perceptions of the living environment. A quantitative methodology was used. Older respondents reported higher satisfaction, a stronger feeling of socioeconomic homogeneity of the neighbourhood, better neighbourly relations, and more positive opinions on the maintenance of the built environment than did younger respondents. In turn, younger respondents expressed a higher level of agreement about vandalism and physical and verbal attacks in the neighbourhood. These results were unexpected because previous studies showed significantly lower levels of agreement regarding satisfaction with the built environment and significantly higher levels of agreement about crime among older respondents than younger ones. They can be explained by the findings of many researchers, who established that the elderly generally still prefer to grow old at home – that is, in the environment they are familiar with, because they are often afraid that moving to an eldercare facility would inevitably cause them to lose their independence. Therefore, they tend to accept the environment where they live the way it is. On the other hand, the article shows that a series of statistically significant differences established indicates that the living environment, which has a strong impact on people’s satisfaction and well being, nonetheless does not offer the same quality of the built social infrastructure to all users (i.e., users with different demographic characteristics).
... Hkrati je mogoče zbrane rezultate primerjati tudi z rezultati proučevanj razmeroma novega pojava na področju psiholoških dejavnikov, vezanih na nepremičnino, in sicer navezanosti na nepremičnino (Khozaei idr., 2012). Navezanost, ki je v psihologiji že znan in dokaj raziskan pojav (Howe, 2011), tako dobiva skozi poti raziskovanja odnosa uporabnikov do nepremičnin novo razsežnost. Zdi se namreč, da osebe, ki jim je pomembno, v kakšnem infrastrukturnem okolju živijo ali bi želele živeti, izražajo konstruktivno navezanost na nepremičnino tudi z višjim subjektivno čustvenim blagostanjem (Florek, 2011). ...
Zanimalo nas je, ali lahko morebitne statistično značilne razlike glede na demografske značilnosti udeležencev kažejo na medgeneracijsko različna dojemanja bivalnega okolja. Za proučevanje smo uporabili metodologijo, ki sloni na kvantitativni metodi. Starejši udeleženci raziskave so poročali o večjem zadovoljstvu, večjem občutku druž- beno-ekonomske homogenosti soseske, boljših sosedskih odnosih in boljših občutkih glede vzdrževanja grajenega okolja kot mlajši udeleženci. Zanimivo pa je, da mlajši udeleženci raziskave izražajo višjo stopnjo strinjanja glede vandalizma ter fizičnih in besednih napadov v soseski. Rezultati raziskave so bili v nasprotju s pričakovanji, saj predhodne študije pri starejših prebivalcih v primerjavi z mlajšimi ugotavljajo precej nižje stopnje strinjanja glede zadovoljstva z grajenim okoljem in pomembno višje stopnje glede kriminalitete. Rezultate si razlagamo z ugoto- vitvami številnih raziskovalcev, skladno s katerimi starejši ljudje še vedno na splošno raje ostarijo v svojem domu, v znanem okolju, saj se pogosto bojijo, da bi zanje prehod v kolektivno ali institucionalno življenjsko okolje neizogib- no pomenil izgubo neodvisnosti, kar posledično pomeni, da okolje sprejemajo tako, kot je. V raziskavi ugotavljamo še, da vrsta izkazanih statistično značilnih razlik kaže na to, da bivalno okolje, ki ima velik učinek na zadovoljstvo in dobro počutje, vendarle ne nudi enake kakovosti gra- jene socialne infrastrukture prav vsem uporabnikom, ki se ločijo po demografskih razlikah.
... Four links trust with attachment, suggesting her colleague feels secure in his attachment to others, as well as being trusting of other people. The connection between trust and attachment, it is suggested, comes from what Bowlby called 'the internal working model' where one makes sense of the world to manage interactions with others(Howe, 2011), which in turn informs whether there is trust available(Naravaez, 2017).SimilarlyFredrickson and Siegel (2017) state 'positivity resonance' ...
The study uses qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews, appreciative inquiry questions and thematic analysis to explore how compassion and trust can be fostered within society. As Western society is becoming more and more selfish and individualistic this study is concerned with how we could create a more inclusive and thoughtful society. There is an argument that positive psychology is itself contributing to the individualistic society where naval gazing and a focus on the self are having a detrimental impact on society as a whole. It becomes the responsibility of positive psychology professionals to progress to a more socially focused field, by including psychosocial well-being in the research. The study responds to this by exploring how positive psychology can be more focused on social issues by taking the perspective of a social constructionist, and through borrowing ideas from Lisa Feldman-Barrett and Tim Lomas. Both posit developing and introducing new language concepts to increase our emotional intelligence through concepts that are more inclusive and caring. The author of the study has done this by combining trust and compassion to create 'compassionate trust': trust that is underpinned by compassion. The analysis constructed the following themes: Trust is fundamental but nuanced; Compassionate trust has a cost; Socio-cultural system a barrier; Think global, act local; and Raise awareness: Teach and emulate right values. These represent the narratives of the participants where despite difficulties in the current socioeconomic system, there is hope for a better future through e.g. raising awareness and using education to develop more inclusive, compassionate and trusting values.
... Sensitivity in attachment theory is defined as the caregiver's capacity to reflect on the mind of the young person, tuning in to their thoughts and feelings, seeing the world from their point of view and making links to their behaviour, but caregivers also need to be able to reflect on their own thoughts, feelings and behaviour (Howe, 2011;Schofield & Beek, 2018). Important here is the foster carer's flexibility and willingness to tune into how this particular LGBTQ young person thinks and feels and to identify how best to support them. ...
The experiences and needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) young people in care have been overlooked in England, in both policy and research. This paper reports on findings from the first study of LGBTQ young people in care in England and focuses on the nature of foster carers' experiences and perspectives on caring for LGBTQ young people. Qualitative interviews regarding the fostering role in caring for LGBTQ young people were conducted with a sample of foster carers (n = 26) and analysed thematically. Foster carers described the importance of offering LGBTQ young people not only the nurturing relationships that all children in care need but also availability, sensitivity and acceptance to help young people manage stigma and other challenges associated with minority sexual orientation and gender identity. The Secure Base caregiving model provided a framework for analysing the different dimensions of these relationships. Understanding caregiving roles and relationships for LGBTQ young people in care has important implications for recruiting, training, matching and supporting foster carers to care for LGBTQ young people effectively.
... A more appropriate way of reframing the language of 'attention-seeking' is instead to use the terms 'attachment-seeking' or 'attachment-needing'. Many children and young people who experience negative problems during this crucial and critical period, when their brains are still forming, may have an impaired attachment quality, which then tends to be borne out in all future relationships and affects the capacity for emotional and self-regulation (Howe, 2011). ...
Children and young people are increasingly experiencing mental health problems, including self-harm and suicidal behaviour. Maddie Burton explores the triggers of these two conditions and explains what practice nurses can do for their patients
Children and young people’s mental health continues to be a cause for concern at a time of reduced mental health service provision. Worryingly, suicide and self-harm rates continue to rise. An estimated two hundred children and young people lose their lives annually through completed suicide. Half of that number will have a previous self-harm history. Practice nurses are often favoured by young people as being less stigmatising; therefore they can potentially provide opportunities for early help through being vigilant, informed, hearing the young person’s story and then knowing how to support and appropriately respond and signpost. This article explores both the differences between self-harm and suicidal behaviour, and how they are connected.
... In contrast, in the case of children it is assumed that the intensity of a child's proximity-seeking and separation behaviour in a given context does not indicate the 'strength' of the attachment itself. Some insecure children will display very pronounced attachment behaviours, while many secure children find that there is no great need to engage in intense displays of attachment behaviour (Howe, 2011). ...
... Available at: www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/ content/publications/content_667 Howe, D. (2011). Attachment across the lifecourse. ...
Aims
This systematic review aims to explore the lived experiences of young gang members to explore the processes that mediate gang membership and offending.
Rationale
Gang membership disproportionately effects young people (Home Office, 2016). The link between gang membership and inordinately high levels of severe offending characteristics is well represented in research (Thornberry, 1998). However, the processes that mediate gang membership and offending are poorly understood (Melde & Esbensen, 2011). Young gang members are often passively conceptualised within research and need to have their voices uncovered to better elucidate the psychological processes that link gang membership to offending.
Method
A systematic review of qualitative research was carried out following the Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement for reporting (Moher et al., 2009), Six papers were identified which represented samples from both the UK and US. These were reviewed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist (2016) and were subsequently analysed using thematic synthesis.
Findings
Young gang members associated offending with its role in reinforcing a community of belonging, providing material and non-material capital and as a response to living within an oppressive context.
Conclusions
This research suggests that the internal psychological processes within a gang play an important interacting role with the external marginalised contexts they occupy. Implications of the need for policy, research and practice to better account for this are discussed.
... elicited protection from their caregivers (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters & Wall, 1978); that work provided a sound developmental base from which to understand later-developing individual differences in attachment (Crittenden & Ainsworth, 1989). More recent research has shown that attachment strategies are an important feature of psychosocial functioning across the lifespan (Baim & Morrison, 2011;Cicchetti & Valentino, 2006;Crittenden, 1995Crittenden, , 2015George, Kaplan & Main, 1996;Howe, 2005Howe, , 2011Thompson & Raikes, 2003). ...
Attachment often contributes to decision-making in child care proceedings. 1 Attachment refers to the protection and comfort that caregivers provide and these are precisely the attributes threatened in child care proceedings. Assessment of attachment can reveal family mem-bers' protective strategies, the historical experiences that have shaped the strategies, and the underlying information processing that generates self-, partner-and child-protective behaviour. Knowing the strategies, experiences and psychological processes of family members can inform both placement decisions and treatment planning. As simple as that sounds, attachment and assessment of attachment are quite controversial. There is disagreement about the meaning of attachment, how it should be assessed, who is qualified to assess it, and whether it can yield valid evidence or only expert opinion. In this chapter we offer an approach to attachment that evolved from work with maltreating families and discuss differences between this approach and other approaches. We then describe a protocol for presenting attachment evidence to courts and discuss using the evidence for treatment planning. We close with a case example in early childhood. We propose that the approach that we offer can protect children and reduce costs.
... In "The Dynamics of the Transference, " Freud (1912Freud ( /1963) explored how analysis of neurotic symptoms often gave rise to powerful ambivalence (and resistance) in the transference, and suggested that the distorted defensive behaviors in such cases often reflected the difficult compromise between the powerful ambivalent emotions and their associated motives. Typical responses to the "strange situation" described in Ainsworth and Bell (1970) and Howe (2011), may reflect such behavioral compromises between these conflicting emotional demands (Hopkins, 2016). ...
Freud's core interest in the psyche was the dynamic unconscious: that part of the psyche which is unconscious due to conflict (Freud, 1923/1961). Over the course of his career, Freud variously described conflict as an opposition to the discharge of activation (Freud, 1950), opposition to psychic activity due to the release of unpleasure (Freud, 1990/1991), opposition between the primary principle and the reality principle (Freud, 1911/1963), structural conflict between id, ego, and superego (Freud, 1923/1961), and ambivalence (Freud, 1912/1963). Besides this difficulty of the shifting description of conflict, an underlying question remained the specific shared terrain in which emotions, thoughts, intentions or wishes could come into conflict with one another (the neuronal homolog of conflict), and most especially how they may exist as quantities in opposition within that terrain. Friston's free-energy principle (FEP henceforth) connected to the work of Friston (Friston et al., 2006; Friston, 2010) has provided the potential for a powerful unifying theory in psychology, neuroscience, and related fields that has been shown to have tremendous consilience with psychoanalytic concepts (Hopkins, 2012). Hopkins (2016), drawing on a formulation by Hobson et al. (2014), suggests that conflict may be potentially quantifiable as free energy from a FEP perspective. More recently, work by Friston et al. (2017a) has framed the selection of action as a gradient descent of expected free energy under different policies of action. From this perspective, the article describes how conflict could potentially be formalized as a situation where opposing action policies have similar expected free energy, for example between actions driven by competing basic prototype emotion systems as described by Panksepp (1998). This conflict state may be avoided in the future through updating the relative precision of a particular set of prior beliefs about outcomes: this has the result of tending to favor one of the policies of action over others in future instances, a situation analogous to defense. Through acting as a constraint on the further development of the person, the defensive operation can become entrenched, and resistant to alteration. The implications that this formalization has for psychoanalysis is explored.
... These children did not fit neatly into either of the other two forms of insecure attachment, and were found to exhibit contradictory reactions toward their caretaker, including fluctuations between avoidant and resistant behavior (Waters & Valenzuela, 1999), and signs of apprehension, freezing, dissociation, and confusion (Main & Solomon, 1990). Researchers have linked disorganized attachment (DA) in children to a history of severe neglect or abuse (Howe, 2011;Main & Hesse, 1990), as well as to caretaker dysfunction such as withdrawal and inconsistency (Solomon & George, 2011) and hostile/frightening or helpless/fearful parenting (Lyons-Ruth Dutra, Schuder, & Bianchi, 2006). ...
Objective: Based on the paucity of self-report measures of disorganized attachment (DA), we developed and tested a scale examining adults’ self-reported disorganized verbalizations, cognitions, and behaviors when discussing their childhoods.
Method: The Disorganized Response Scale (DRS) was created and administered to 640 university students, and its associations with variables known to co-vary with DA, such as childhood maltreatment, insecure attachment, and psychological symptoms, were examined.
Results: Factor analysis of DRS items revealed a single 15-item dimension that reflected participants’ self-reported disorganized responses when discussing their childhoods. Structural equation modelling indicating a good fit to a model in which fearful caretaking and childhood abuse and neglect were associated with the DRS. In turn, the DRS, along with anxious and avoidant attachment, was independently related to symptoms and partially mediated the relationship between child maltreatment and symptomatology. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated that the DRS accounted for significant additional variance in posttraumatic stress, externalization, somatization, and, especially, dissociation, even after demographics and both anxious and avoidant attachment were
taken into account.
Conclusions: Analyses support the construct validity of the DRS as a measure of disorganized attachment-related responses in adults. Further research is indicated to replicate these findings and to evaluate their convergence with interview measures of DA.
... In 'The Dynamics of the Transference', Freud (1912) explored how analysis of neurotic symptoms often gave rise to powerful ambivalence (and resistance) in the transference, and suggested that the distorted defensive behaviours in such cases often reflected the difficult compromise between the powerful ambivalent emotions and their associated motives. Typical responses to the 'strange situation' described in Ainsworth and Bell (1970) and Howe (2011), reflect such behavioural compromises between these conflicting emotional demands (Hopkins, 2016). ...
Freud’s core interest in the psyche was the dynamic unconscious: that part of the psyche which is unconscious due to conflict (Freud, 1923/1961). Over the course of his career, Freud variously described conflict as an opposition to the discharge of activation (1950), opposition to psychic activity due to the release of unpleasure (1900/1991), opposition between the primary principle and the reality principle (1911), structural conflict between id, ego and superego (1923/1961), and ambivalence (1912/1963). Besides this difficulty of the shifting description of conflict, an underlying question remained the specific shared terrain in which emotions, thoughts, intentions or wishes could come into conflict with one another (the neuronal homologue of conflict), and most especially how they may exist as quantities in opposition within that terrain. Friston’s free-energy principle (FEP henceforth) connected to the work of Professor Karl Friston (Friston, 2010; Friston, Kilner & Harrison, 2006) has provided the potential for a powerful unifying theory in psychology, neuroscience and related fields that has been shown to have tremendous consilience with psychoanalytic concepts (Hopkins, 2012). Hopkins (2016), drawing on a formulation by Hobson, Hong and Friston (2014), suggests that conflict may be potentially quantifiable as free energy from a FEP perspective. More recently, work by Friston, FitzGerald, Rigoli, Schwartenbeck and Pezzulo (2017) has framed the selection of action as a gradient descent of expected free energy under different policies of action. From this perspective, the article describes how conflict could potentially be formalized as a situation where opposing action policies have similar expected free energy, for example between actions driven by competing basic prototype emotion systems as described by Panksepp (1998). This conflict state may be avoided in future through updating the relative precision of a particular set of prior beliefs about outcomes: this has the result of tending to favour one of the policies of action over others in future instances, a situation analogous to defense. Through acting as a constraint on the further development of the person, the defensive operation can become entrenched, and resistant to alteration. The implications that this formalization has for psychoanalysis is explored.
... Neglect has extensive and far-reaching consequences for children's social and emotional development (as discussed in Stevenson, 2007). Children who are neglected can also experience serious and long-lasting consequences, including long-term effects on relationships (Howe, 2011) and an increased risk of mental health problems, including depression and dissociative disorders (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2009). ...
Child neglect is highly prevalent, with extensive effects on children's development and often long-lasting consequences. It is a complex issue, and the identification and assessment of neglect presents particular difficulties for professionals. The Graded Care Profile (GCP) is a tool that can help practitioners to assess neglect, but the updated version of this tool (GCP2) requires psychometric testing. We sought to test the GCP2 with qualified social work practitioners in the United Kingdom. Interrater reliability was assessed by comparing GCP2 scores between 3 pairs of practitioners following assessments of 30 children. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing GCP2 scores to scores obtained using 2 other validated measures with 15 children. Professionals were surveyed concerning face validity. There was a substantial level of interrater agreement for 2 domains and a moderate level of agreement for the other 2 domains. There were strong correlations between the GCP2 and the other tools across all domains, and face validity results were positive. In conclusion, although this was a small sample, our findings provide preliminary evidence that the GCP2 has adequate psychometric properties pending further rigorous psychometric testing. It is thus likely to be a useful tool in aiding professionals in the assessment of child neglect.
... For example, the literature on neuroscience and attachment draws attention to the first year of life as critical. During this year immense brain development occurs, and this is directly related to the infant's attachment experience (Howe, 2011). Particular significance lies in the need for secure attachment experiences with the person providing 24-hour care, usually assumed to be the primary carer, given the need to attune to the infant's highly visceral daily needs. ...
While the principle of contact between children in care and their families is enshrined in law, the precise form and frequency is at the discretion of social workers and the courts. Professionals must seek to balance the twin principles of children’s need for protection from the psychological, emotional and physical harm that may arise from having contact with parents and other family members, with the need of family members and children to have their relationships and identity promoted. Courts require clear, structured and unambiguous information about the needs of children and their parents in order to make decisions which will have potentially life-changing implications for families. In this article we explore one approach to supporting the decision making of legal and social work professionals in relation to the frequency and form of contact by reflecting upon the development by the first author of an approach to assessing the quality and benefits of contact for children in State care in Northern Ireland. We discuss the key principles that should inform decisions and good practice through reflecting on the learning gained from developing and implementing such a structured approach. We conclude that practice has been informed by promoting legal rights without sufficient consideration of the relational aspects of making contact work for each of the involved parties.
... Assessment tools that focus only on the current presentation and symptomology may fail to identify historical factors, whereas those taking a narrative approach would be better suited to unpicking the complexity of how mental health disorders develop over time, including potential issues linked to childhood wartime experiences. Bowlby's (1939) warning about the potential effect of the second world war and Howe's (2011) work exploring links between attachment, resilience and psychopathology in later life are significant for older people with anxiety who have experienced separation as a child. In clinical practice, the author met a number of older men who had little or no contact with their fathers early in life due to the second world war and who subsequently developed symptoms of anxiety postretirement, which supports the link between anxiety and childhood. ...
... As a matter of fact, attuned interaction interrupts quite frequently. Research has shown that caregivers manage in general to attune to their child only about half of the time they spent with each other, while being not synchronized the other half of the time due to tiredness, inattention, or distraction (Howe 2011). Interestingly, in this study a match between the therapist's and child's AQR modus was observed in about half of all sequences analyzed (56%). ...
This study examined whether the therapeutic relationship in music therapy with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder predicts generalized changes in social skills. Participants (4–7 years, N = 48) were assessed at baseline, 5 and 12 months. The therapeutic relationship, as observed from session videos, and the generalized change in social skills, as judged by independent blinded assessors and parents, were evaluated using standardized tools (Assessment of the Quality of Relationship; ADOS; SRS). Linear mixed effect models showed significant interaction effects between the therapeutic relationship and several outcomes at 5 and 12 months. We found the music therapeutic relationship to be an important predictor of the development of social skills, as well as communication and language specifically.
... elicited protection from their caregivers (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters & Wall, 1978); that work provided a sound developmental base from which to understand later-developing individual differences in attachment (Crittenden & Ainsworth, 1989). More recent research has shown that attachment strategies are an important feature of psychosocial functioning across the lifespan (Baim & Morrison, 2011;Cicchetti & Valentino, 2006;Crittenden, 1995Crittenden, , 2015George, Kaplan & Main, 1996;Howe, 2005Howe, , 2011Thompson & Raikes, 2003). ...
Attachment often contributes to decision-making in child care proceedings. Assessment of attachment can reveal family members' protective strategies, the historical experiences that have shaped the strategies, and the underlying information processing that generates self-, partner- and child-protective behaviour. This chapter offers an approach to attachment that evolved from work with maltreating families and discusses differences between this approach and other approaches. The Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) offers a model of attachment across the lifespan that addresses the developmental processes and clinical applications described by Bowlby and Ainsworth. The chapter then describes an empirically based protocol developed by the International Association for the Study of Attachment (IASA) for presenting attachment evidence to courts, and discusses using the evidence for treatment planning. The chapter closes with a case example in early childhood, proposing that the approach offered can protect children and reduce costs.
... As discussed in detail in Hopkins (2015), we can apparently see these regulatory functions in action in the "strange situation" procedure used to assess attachment from the end of the first year. This is conducted in a novel room (the strange situation: for further information see Howe, 2011) in which ageappropriate toys are provided to encourage exploration and play, and hence to activate the systems that Panksepp describes as SEEKING and PLAY. It turns on observation of the infants' reactions to short episodes (reduced in serious distress) in which (despite their angry protests) their mothers leave them alone or with a stranger. ...
Predictive coding (PC) is a neurocognitive concept, according to which the brain does not process the whole qualia of external information, but only residual mismatches occurring between incoming information and an individual, inner model of the world. At the time of issue initiation, I expected an essential focus on mismatch signals in the brain, especially those captured by neurophysiologic oscillations. This was because one most plausible approach to the PC concept is to identify and validate mismatch signals in the brain. Announcing the topic revealed a much deeper consideration of intelligible minds of researchers. It turned out that what was of fundamental interest was which brain mechanisms support the formation, maintenance and consolidation of the inner model determining PC. Is PC a dynamic construct continuously modulated by external environmental or internal mental information? The reader will be delighted to get acquainted with the current views and understanding of eminent scholars in the field. It will be challenging to discover the
realm of sleep where both physiological, energy preserving and mental qualia principles build
on the inner models to shape and transform the self. And where neurophysiologic oscillations
may both transmit external information and translate inner models from state to state to preserve the self-continuity and compactness.
... The language used to mediate such relations is more likely to be internalized to a higher degree. This also links with the developmental psychology view that attachments developed in young adulthood are crucial to individual psy- chological development, as the new attachment figures become the main source of recognition, strength, enjoyment, love, and comfort (Bowlby 1969;Burman 2008;Howe 2011). If these attachments are developed exclusively in L2, this moves the nature of L2 use from potentially more functional, into the personal sphere of individual attachment. ...
This paper investigates the perception of ‘being yourself’ when speaking in the second language (L2) in the context of mobility-migration. Participants consist of 149 highly educated sequential Polish-English bilinguals who relocated to the UK at the average age of 23, and underwent processes of acculturation. The independent variables in this study include acculturation level, social network profile, language of attachment in adulthood, language dominance, length of residence, predicted future domicile, gender, and age of L2 acquisition (AoA). The study employs both emic and etic approaches. The findings reveal strong links between the perception of being yourself in L2 and acculturation level, social network profile, language dominance, predicted future domicile, and language of attachment. The results show that sociocultural and psychological integration into the new society and culture are strongly linked to the perception of being yourself in L2. This study adds acculturation and attachment perspectives to current research on the perception of feeling different when using languages learnt later in life.
... As discussed in detail in Hopkins (2015), we can apparently see these regulatory functions in action in the "strange situation" procedure used to assess attachment from the end of the first year. This is conducted in a novel room (the strange situation: for further information see Howe, 2011) in which ageappropriate toys are provided to encourage exploration and play, and hence to activate the systems that Panksepp describes as SEEKING and PLAY. It turns on observation of the infants' reactions to short episodes (reduced in serious distress) in which (despite their angry protests) their mothers leave them alone or with a stranger. ...
The main concepts of the free energy (FE) neuroscience developed by Karl Friston and colleagues parallel those of Freud's Project for a Scientific Psychology. In Hobson et al. (2014) these include an innate virtual reality generator that produces the fictive prior beliefs that Freud described as the primary process. This enables Friston's account to encompass a unified treatment—a complexity theory—of the role of virtual reality in both dreaming and mental disorder. In both accounts the brain operates to minimize FE aroused by sensory impingements—including interoceptive impingements that report compliance with biological imperatives—and constructs a representation/model of the causes of impingement that enables this minimization. In Friston's account (variational) FE equals complexity minus accuracy, and is minimized by increasing accuracy and decreasing complexity. Roughly the brain (or model) increases accuracy together with complexity in waking. This is mediated by consciousness-creating active inference—by which it explains sensory impingements in terms of perceptual experiences of their causes. In sleep it reduces complexity by processes that include both synaptic pruning and consciousness/virtual reality/dreaming in REM. The consciousness-creating active inference that effects complexity-reduction in REM dreaming must operate on FE-arousing data distinct from sensory impingement. The most relevant source is remembered arousals of emotion, both recent and remote, as processed in SWS and REM on “active systems” accounts of memory consolidation/reconsolidation. Freud describes these remembered arousals as condensed in the dreamwork for use in the conscious contents of dreams, and similar condensation can be seen in symptoms. Complexity partly reflects emotional conflict and trauma. This indicates that dreams and symptoms are both produced to reduce complexity in the form of potentially adverse (traumatic or conflicting) arousals of amygdala-related emotions. Mental disorder is thus caused by computational complexity together with mechanisms like synaptic pruning that have evolved for complexity-reduction; and important features of disorder can be understood in these terms. Details of the consilience among Freudian, systems consolidation, and complexity-reduction accounts appear clearly in the analysis of a single fragment of a dream, indicating also how complexity reduction proceeds by a process resembling Bayesian model selection.
... Someone deprived of early nurturant touch is likely to experience significant ongoing psychological and physical health issues, whereas children with significant sensory impairments can, with appropriate nurturant touch, grow up with good physical and mental health ( Linden, 2015). Positive attachment behaviours bond individuals and involve affectionate touch between siblings, parents and people outside the nuclear family ( Takeuchi et al., 2010;Howe, 2011;Jung and Fouts, 2011). Children in deprived orphanage situations often experience multiple physical, psychological, social and neurological difficulties ( Maclean, 2003), although separating out the effects of touch deficit or abusive touch from other factors is complex. ...
This article overviews multidisciplinary knowledge on touch and explores its relevance for social work. It evaluates the limited literature from social work and related practice-based disciplines which suggests how potentially harmful and risk-averse many current ‘professional’ touch practices are. Alternative biological and psychological literature is analysed, elucidating the importance of regular positive touch for good physical and mental health, the adverse consequences of abusive touch or touch deficit and the corresponding potential for restorative touch practices. Social-psychological, clinical and consumer research is also drawn on, demonstrating links between touch, persuasion and aversion, and registering clear gender, age, sexuality, power and cross-national differences. The analysis is then extended through an examination of sociological and philosophical literature which guards against viewing the mind and body as unrelated entities, evaluates work-based touch within organisational contexts, and highlights the profound influence of history, culture and social class. This synthesis of diverse multidisciplinary literature therefore illuminates the potential consequences of social workers adopting an uninformed, defensive and avoidant or control-orientated stance towards touch whilst simultaneously constructing new insights to help social workers acquire more nuanced understandings and practise more knowledgeably and empathically.
... As a matter of fact, attuned interaction interrupts quite frequently. Research has shown that caregivers manage in general to attune to their child only about half of the time they spent with each other, while being not synchronized the other half of the time due to tiredness, inattention, or distraction (Howe 2011). Interestingly, in this study a match between the therapist's and child's AQR modus was observed in about half of all sequences analyzed (56%). ...
Background: Shaping sensory perceptions, regulating affective dynamics, or joining attention are abilities that enable human beings to relate. Children with autism can face challenges in all of these areas. However, their bodily and emotional expressions form and inform relational abilities. By creating music that is embodied and attuned to the child’s relational resources, therapists might effectively influence the child’s social skills on a generalized level.Methods: A predictor study including music therapy sessions of 46 children with autism has been conducted. Relational qualities were assessed using the AQR instrument. Generalized interaction skills were measured using the ADOS and the SRS questionnaire. Associations between the therapeutic relationship and generalized outcomes have been analyzed using a linear mixed effect model.Results: Results from the pilot cohort will be presented as well as preliminary results from the follow-up project.Conclusions: Conclusions might contrast the behavioristic paradigm in autism treatment by emphasizing the bodily and emotional performance as a relational resource of children with autism. Results might recommend reconsidering cost-intensive training concepts.
... Children with insecure attachments tend to resist affection from parental figures through controlling and defiant behaviour while others become withdrawn. Symptoms also include hyperactivity, sleep problems, bed-wetting and overeating or hoarding food (Howe 2011;Fahlberg 2012). These behaviours often stem from entrenched attachment difficulties with birth parents or from experiences of separation and loss, common among looked-after children. ...
Contact plans for children in adoption and long-term foster care are decided on a case-by-case basis, as directed by the paramountcy principle in the Children Act (1989). The idea that birth family contact helps children resolve issues around attachment, separation and loss, and identity is prevalent in social work practice. However, evidence revealing the detrimental impact of contact has been used to support increasingly restrictive legislation. The current review aims to provide policy-makers and social workers with a resource to guide decisions in permanency planning by evaluating this evidence and reported outcomes for children. The research question and exclusion/inclusion criteria were formulated and used to develop a search strategy. Of the 412 potential titles returned, 11 were of sufficient quality to include in the thematic synthesis. Results were mixed and significantly influenced by moderator variables such as the pre-existing relationship between children and their birth families. Outcomes were particularly positive when there was a collaborative approach between birth families and adoptive parents or foster carers. Outcomes tended to be poorest for children who had ongoing contact with maltreating birth parents. The review findings support current policy and previous research in recommending a more reflexive approach to assessing and planning contact.
... The 'disorganised/disoriented' (D) classification has been applied to around 12 % of infants in middle-class and non-clinical samples. Yet, since disorganised/disoriented behaviour is identified in upwards of 32 % of infants known to be neglected (Valenzuela 1990), and 48 % of infants known to be experiencing physical maltreatment from their caregiver (van IJzendoorn et al. 1999), this attachment classification has attracted attention from clinical and social welfare practitioners (Howe 2010;Shemmings & Shemmings 2014). ...
Sociologists and feminist scholars have, over many decades, characterised attachment as a social construction that functions to support political and gender conservatism. We accept that attachment theory has seen use to these ends and consider recent deployments of attachment theory as justification for a minimal State within conservative political discourse in the UK since 2009. However, we contest that attachment is reducible to its discursive construction. We consider Judith Butler’s depiction of the infant attached to an abusive caregiver as a foundation and parallel to the position of the adult citizen subjected to punitive cultural norms and political institutions. We develop and qualify Butler’s account, drawing on the insights offered by the work of Lauren Berlant. We also return to Foucault’s Psychiatric Power lectures, in which familial relations are situated as an island of sovereign power within the sea of modern disciplinary institutions. These reflections help advance analysis of three important issues: the social and political implications of attachment research; the relationship between disciplinary and sovereign power in the affective dynamic of subjection; and the political and ethical status of professional activity within the psy disciplines.
Critical realism, as expounded by Bhaskar, is a philosophy of social science that has been applied in social work scholarship addressing such areas as research methodology, practice interventions and programme evaluation. Most of these applications are based on the early rendition of the philosophy, with little attention given to Bhaskar’s later, more mature, development of dialectical critical realism. This article addresses this gap, describing how dialectic critical realism builds on the early iteration of the philosophy to account for emancipatory change in the social world. The contribution of dialectical critical realism to anti-oppressive social work is then considered through the articulation of six, interlinked steps of transformative change. Finally, the preceding meta-theoretical steps are applied to a fictitious case example involving a young person leaving care. The aim here is to show how the steps can be integrated within social work practice to stimulate positive change, human emancipation and well-being.
Aim. The cross-cultural comparison of the relationships between intelligence and other components of intellectual-personal potential (Big Five traits and tolerance of uncertainty) in Russian and American students. Methodology. The ICAR (International Cognitive Ability Resource) test was used, as well as Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), and Bunder’s Questionnaire. The intercorrelations between these measures in two student samples - Russian (n = 364) and American (n = 209) were compared. Results. Tolerance of uncertainty showed positive correlations with openness to experience in both student samples; in the American sample it correlates positively with fluid intelligence. Intolerance of uncertainty showed negative correlation with openness to experience and positive correlation with conscientiousness in the Russian sample. In the American sample intolerance of uncertainty negatively correlated with accord. In the Russian sample accord correlates negatively with verbal intelligence. Research implications. The findings contribute to the knowledge on cross-cultural similarities and differences between the American and Russian students on the relationships between intelligence, personality traits, and attitudes towards uncertainty.
Aim. To establish a statistically significant correlation between insecure attachment and some eating disorders. Methodology. The article analyses both the views on the problem of attachment and on various eating disorders. Empirical data were collected with the use of the “snowball” sample and the following questioning of the informants on the basis of the questionnaire, stating the type of grown-up’s attitudes in close relations (ECR-R). Data processing and stating the statistical correlation were performed with the help of the SPSS software. Results. The results of the study show a statistically significant correlation between eating disorders and insecure attachment. Research implications. The research results contribute to the attachment theory and to the theory of deviant eating behavior. The data can also be used in the practice of psychological counseling of individuals who have eating disorders.
Exposure to domestic violence during childhood impacts on the child’s overall development in a way that affects functioning in adulthood (cf. Rzepka, 2007:2; Bogeanu, 2012). This article seeks to describe the recollections of young adults who were exposed to domestic violence, so as to develop an understanding of what is needed to develop effective services to child victims of domestic violence. The description is based on a qualitative research study that confirmed a lack of services to children exposed to domestic violence. The participants described the influence on their childhood and on their current lives, and made suggestions for social work servicesMs Danelia Warnick, Social worker; Department of Social Development and former master’s student in the Department of Social Work, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
This chapter explores the idea of Attachment Aware Schools (AAS) and the implications for teachers and practitioners. It draws on the work of two pilot projects recently implemented in two UK Local Authorities. The aim of the projects was to promote better public understanding of the social and emotional needs that can drive children's behaviour and to stimulate political debate about inclusive educational provision. In addition, the projects sought to facilitate transformations in schools and in the practice of community-based professionals. Attachment theory (as set out by Geddes in Chapter 2) and the attachment-based strategies that help to support children's social and emotional development are integral to the Attachment Aware Schools programme. This chapter documents the positive impact of the Attachment Aware Schools programme in developing sustainable improvements in systemic school-wide practices relating to children's academic attainment, behaviour, emotional regulation and wellbeing. It concludes with a discussion on how being an Attachment Aware School translates into everyday practice in the classroom and provides case studies to illustrate practical applications.
Attachment theory is familiar to probation workers, with its broad messages that early care can leave a lasting legacy, and that patterns of relating can be repeated throughout the lifespan. Up close, however, attachment theory is complex, and research findings sometimes vague or contested. This empirical research examined the use of four key attachment-based concepts in generic probation practice over a period of six months. The concept of the probation officer as a potential secure base was a useful one, as was the idea that service users’ early attachment history could help to understand relationships and offending. Other concepts (the reflective function and attachment style) were less useful.
Cathryn Goodchild domestic abuse as affecting females of all races, social classes, religions, cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. Whilst males are also victims of domestic abuse, official statistics and patterns for physical and sexual violence confirm domestic abuse as a gendered crime. The vast majority of victims of repeated incidents are women, the majority of perpetrators men (Refuge c2016). Figures also reveal that a woman is hit on average 35 times before seeking help. Goodchild asks: Why? What leads a male to abuse his wife or girlfriend repeatedly and what prevents women from seeking assistance sooner or leaving their abuser altogether? Crucially, why is domestic abuse so rife? In answering these questions, for Goodchild it is important to recognise that perpetrators of domestic abuse are made, not born (Bancroft, Why does he do that: 2003), as are victims/survivors. Core attitudes affecting their personal choices and modes of conduct are planted, and shaped, by childhood upbringings, as well as by signals received from their wider society, including damaging examples set by law, religion and popular culture. Goodchild explores the pervasive social and cultural messages encouraging men to abuse women physically, sexually and emotionally, and that simultaneously push women to stay with their abusive partners. Referring to her own experience of an abusive long-term relationship, she examines the practical social barriers and psychological obstacles keeping women trapped and shows how patriarchal society emotionally abuses and coercively controls females from girlhood, priming them for abusive intimate relationships with males. Concluding, she draws comparisons between domestic abuse and broader forms of oppression, and asks how we can achieve the large-scale and long-term social and cultural change necessary to achieve true gender equality and prevent males from routinely abusing females in the future.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine a model of effective forensic practice with positive interventions for men with learning disabilities who have committed serious sexual offences. It outlines the theoretical and philosophical frameworks which have informed the model of care and support in a community-based setting and the evidence base for the efficacy of the approach.
Design/methodology/approach
This approach to a community-based forensic learning disability service is informed by systemic practice and underpinned by models of human occupation (Keilhofner, 2008) which informs occupational therapy and total attachment (Harbottle et al. , 2014). This is a whole systems model for developing compassionate and participatory practice based on attachment theory and approaches to professional parenting drawn from foster care settings and prevention frameworks for adult safeguarding. It uses Klinean Thinking Environments (1999) to give practical communication to the model.
Findings
The attachment model which underpins both the support for staff and the framework for scaffolding the care and support provided for service users is building calm, consistent and respectful relationships. This enables workers and service users to feel accepted through the availability of support; to feel a sense of belonging and inclusion in which skills and confidence can flourish helping all to feel more effective. This is evidenced by the stability of the service user group and the staff team.
Research limitations/implications
The model of whole system care and support care outlined in this paper can help to provide a therapeutic environment in which men who have committed sexual offences can develop effective skills within a safe, supportive and effectively managed setting. This is on-going research but there is evidence of service users and staff in this model of practice, feeling scaffolded, able to enjoy and achieve progress and personal development.
Practical implications
This model appears to promote stable, sustained, supportive relationships. Placement breakdown has been minimal indicating that the disruption rate is low and therefore therapeutic interventions are likely to take place and be effective. This is a hopeful and positive approach which enables individuals to flourish in a safe environment.
Social implications
The social implications of this model are positive for creating a stable workforce in an industry plagued with rapid turn over of staff to the detriment of the quality of life for service users. It creates stability and confidence for the residents allowing them to begin to relax and thereafter achieve more positive relationships.
Originality/value
This paper examines the application of theoretical frameworks drawn from other disciplines and fuses them into a therapeutic approach to support this service user group. It is a model that can have great portability to other settings but it is its application in forensic services that is new and which is growing its evidence base for its effectiveness.
‘No amount of intellectual sophistication can ground us in reality when our emotional wounds are serious enough.’ (Grille 2013)
‘In the words of Dr. Robert Block, the former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today.” And for a lot of people, that's a terrifying prospect. The scope and scale of the problem seems so large that it feels overwhelming to think about how we might approach it. … [A]t first I thought that we marginalized the issue because it doesn't apply to us. That's an issue for those kids in those neighborhoods. Which is weird, because the data doesn't bear that out. … But then, the more I talked to folks, I'm beginning to think that maybe I had it completely backwards. If I were to ask how many people in this room grew up with a family member who suffered from mental illness, I bet a few hands would go up. And then if I were to ask how many folks had a parent who maybe drank too much, or who really believed that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child, I bet a few more hands would go up. Even in this room, this is an issue that touches many of us, and I am beginning to believe that we marginalize the issue because it does apply to us. … The single most important thing that we need today is the courage to look this problem in the face and say, this is real and this is all of us.’ (Burke Harris 2014)
‘Given the epidemic of violence against children, the multiplicity of its forms, its cross-border nature, and the fact that children are not safe even in their own homes, the campaign to abolish it is still in its early stages. … The elimination of all violence against children and freedom from violence in all its forms will … remain the human rights imperative of the next decades to come, if not of the twenty-first century.’ (Lenzer 2015)
INTRODUCTION
Nazism was aggressive and utterly racist, to a degree unparalleled in human history.
Attachment theory has had a profound influence on our understanding of human relationships. This paper focuses on the application of the Dynamic‐Maturational Model of attachment to children involved in care and family proceedings. It describes the central principles of attachment as developed by Ainsworth et al. ( ); Bowlby ( ); Crittenden ( ) and Main ( ). Attachment patterns are explored and the circumstances under which these various engagement strategies arise. The authors provide two case examples of different insecure attachment styles. They include brief background information, observations about clinical presentation and formulation sections, offering the reader an opportunity to integrate their thinking about how different insecure attachment styles necessitate alternative intervention approaches. The paper highlights the complexity of assessing attachment in different circumstances, and the authors propose that this article should be viewed as a ‘primer’ for helping practitioners to take better account of attachment issues whenever undertaking assessments within the context of child and family proceedings. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
‘The paper highlights the complexity of assessing attachment in different circumstances’
Key Practitioner Messages
Attachment theory applies to every stage of life.
If the baby's care is predictable but not attuned, she learns that thinking protects her and displaying negative emotions endangers her.
When the baby's carer is unpredictable and inconsistently attuned, she learns that exaggerating emotions gets results.
Mother was unaware that her inconsistency worsened Tammy's behaviour.
Anna experienced feelings of self‐blame due to her mother feeling overwhelmed.
Assessing attachment can be very complex where a child experiences extended trauma.
‘Assessing attachment can be very complex where a child experiences extended trauma’
This article reports on the findings of a retrospective, empirical study that explores and describes grief-related beliefs of a convenience sample of 312 persons in a Veterans hospital. These beliefs may facilitate bereaved individuals’ emotional regulation and adaptive responses to loss conceptualized in the dual process model. The study addresses the question: Do gender, employment status, and loss burden contribute to differences in grief-related beliefs? The findings reveal significant gender differences, and also that grief-related beliefs are reality rather than myth-oriented. Study limitations and implications for social work practice in bereavement care and hospice settings are discussed.
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