Attachment Disorganization [Hardcover]

Judith Solomon (Editor), Carol C. George (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572304804 | ISBN-13: 978-1572304802 | Publication Date: August 13, 1999 | Edition: 1

Since 1986, when disorganised attachment was first defined by Mary Main and Judith Solomon, a great deal of interest has been shown in this addition to the standard Ainsworth classification system. This groundbreaking volume brings together eminent researchers and clinicians to present current, original theory and data on the nature of disorganized attachment, its etiology, and sequelae. Advancing our understanding of a significant subgroup of infants and children with attachment-related difficulties, the volume represents an important contribution to the empirical attachment literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This comprehensive, state-of-the-art volume breaks important new ground in our understanding of attachment disorganization and its relevance to developmental psychopathology. It offers incisive theoretical and empirically based insights on disorganization as rooted in failures of mutual regulation, and sheds further light on processes of intergenerational transmission. Especially helpful to clinicians is the addition of detailed case material illustrating subtle and hard-to-describe disorganized interactional and discourse phenomena in clinical, at-risk, and nonclinical samples. Especially helpful to researchers are a variety of new tools for studying disorganized attachment phenomena from infancy to adulthood." --Inge Bretherton, PhD, Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"For several decades, attachment theory has served as a unifying construct for the study of social and emotional development in infancy. Focusing on the child's disorganized response to separation from the mother, Solomon and George offer a series of exciting explorations extending the horizons of theory and research. Compelling topics examined include whether disorganization can be anticipated by postbirth infant characteristics as well as relationship influences. Documentation is also presented on how expanding traditional concepts of maternal sensitivity can enhance our understanding of risk and developmental factors. This volume is a 'must' read for anyone working in this growing field." --Christoph M. Heinicke, PhD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, and Director, UCLA Family Development Project, University of California, Los Angeles

"Finally, a single volume provides an integrated picture of the disorganized infant growing into childhood and beyond--and what a fascinating picture it is! This landmark volume opens up a new area for exploration. The editors have done a superlative job in bringing together almost all the authorities on the disorganization of attachment. This book is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the study of attachment or its applications to any aspect of clinical work. Remarkably, it serves both as the fullest available introduction to the topic and as the definitive book of reference. This is among the most significant works on attachment in this decade." --Peter Fonagy, PhD, Freud Memorial Professor of Psychoanalysis, University College London, Training and Supervising analyst at the British Psychoanalytical Society, Vice-President of the International Psychoanalytic Association, Director, Child and Family Center at the Menninger Clinic, Topeka, Kansas

From the Back Cover

Finally, a single volume provides an integrated picture of the disorganized infant growing into childhood and beyond--and what a fascinating picture it is! This landmark volume opens up a new area for exploration. The editors have done a superlative job in bringing together almost all the authorities on the disorganization of attachment. This book is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the study of attachment or its applications to any aspect of clinical work. Remarkably, it serves both as the fullest available introduction to the topic and as the definitive book of reference. This is among the most significant works on attachment in this decade (Peter Fonagy, PhD, Freud Memorial Professor of Psychoanalysis, University College London, Training and Supervising analyst at the British Psychoanalytical Society, Vice-President of the International Psychoanalytic Association, Director, Child and Family Center at the Menninger Clinic, Topeka, Kansas)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 420 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (August 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572304804
• ISBN-13: 978-1572304802
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pathologizing Motherhood, December 2, 2008

By 

G.H. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attachment Disorganization (Hardcover)

As a professional in this field of work I was interested in learning more about the relatively new attachment classification of "D" which supposedly leads to psychopathology in later life. The collection of articles written by various researchers in the field only confirmed how little we really know about the subject, and the articles are little more than guesswork and ideological interpretations dressed up as knowledge and science. At least the authors consistently suggest that more research needs to be done in this area. Particularly treacherous was the chapter on children with disabilities, and how D symptoms were separated from symptoms of a developmental/neurological disorder, yet how they did this remains a mystery. Anyone familiar with developmental disorders, will find D traits suspiciously similar. The researchers then concluded that D is not neurological, suggesting it is learned behavior, but more recent research (2007-2008) has suggested this is far from clear-cut. Throughout the book, 'mother behavior was scrutinized and analyzed to such an excruiating degree, that it was almost dehumanizing. The authors in some chapters concluded that, because there are so many differences in the behaviors of mothers with a "D" child, stopping short of using the word "unexplainable", there must be more subtle and covert behaviors that cause infant disorganization. Frightening or frightened behaviors in the mother were thought to be the cause, YET these same "frightening moms" also produced non-D kids! Wait a minute .... the D-offspring moms were frightening BUT they also did not allay the child's fears with the right facial expression, word or gesture at the right time after frightening their child. The consequences of mom not tweaking herself in just the right way so that the child won't be afraid, is a future psychopath? Sorry, but something is wrong here: people have been bringing up children for millennia in thousands of different styles. What of the millions of children in times past who were not brought up in such an anxious, child-centered, self-obsessed, mother-blaming cultures as the modern western anglo-saxon world? If their findings are anything to go by, humanity was already doomed to extinction 1000s of years ago from the mass production of pathological human offspring when children were nothing more than slaves. Even more confusing are the obscure 'symptoms' of D at the end of the book, which make objective observation almost impossible. Recent research has disproven a lot of this book's wishy-washy Freudian claims. Researchers are now talking "child thresholds" and it's possible that D could wind up a form of developmental disorder, rather than yet one more result of `mother pathology'. A much better read is Paranoid Parenting by Frank Furedi.