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

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

doi:10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040

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

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

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

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

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	534-558
Number of pages	25
Journal	Attachment and Human Development
Volume	19
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040
Publication status	Published - 27 Jul 2017

Funding

This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust: [Grant Number WT103343MA] and the writing of this paper was also facilitated by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (Grant Number 51897) to Pehr Granqvist. The authors would like to thank many researchers, clinicians, and social workers who gave feedback on previous drafts on this paper. We have really appreciated their contributions. A particular thank you to Felicity Callard, Sue Lampitt, and Matt Woolgar for their suggestions, which led to substantial improvements of the paper. The authors are indebted to the Wellcome Trust (Grant Number WT103343MA) whose support has made a real difference to us and facilitated the discussions that led to this consensus statement. The writing of this paper was also facilitated by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (Grant Number 51897) to Pehr Granqvist.

Funders	Funder number
National Institute of Mental Health	R01MH062030
John Templeton Foundation	51897
Wellcome Trust	WT103343MA

Keywords

attachment disorder
attachment-based interventions
Disorganized attachment
infancy
maltreatment

UN SDGs

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

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10.1080/14616734.2017.1354040

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

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

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

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

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AU - Granqvist, Pehr

AU - Sroufe, L. Alan

AU - Dozier, Mary

AU - Hesse, Erik

AU - Steele, Miriam

AU - van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.

AU - Solomon, Judith

AU - Schuengel, Carlo

AU - Fearon, Pasco

AU - Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J

AU - Steele, Howard

AU - Cassidy, Jude

AU - Carlson, Elizabeth

AU - Madigan, Sheri

AU - Jacobvitz, Deborah

AU - Foster, Sarah

AU - Behrens, Kazuko

AU - Rifkin-Graboi, Anne

AU - Gribneau, Naomi

AU - Spangler, Gottfried

AU - Ward, Mary J.

AU - True, Mary

AU - Spieker, Susan

AU - Reijman, Sophie

AU - Reisz, Samantha

AU - Tharner, Anne

AU - Nkara, Frances

AU - Goldwyn, Ruth

AU - Sroufe, June

AU - Pederson, David

AU - Pederson, Deanne

AU - Weigand, Robert

AU - Siegel, Daniel

AU - Dazzi, Nino

AU - Bernard, Kristin

AU - Fonagy, Peter

AU - Waters, Everett

AU - Toth, Sheree

AU - Cicchetti, Dante

AU - Zeanah, Charles H.

AU - Lyons-Ruth, Karlen

AU - Main, Mary

AU - Duschinsky, Robbie

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N2 - Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static “trait” of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions.

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

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

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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