CAN ATTACHMENT INFORM DECISION-MAKING IN CHILD PROTECTION AND FORENSIC SETTINGS?

Abstract

The historic publication of the "consensus statement" on not using the "D/disorganized" category in the infant Strange Situation (M. Ainsworth, M. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) for case-specific child protection work (P. Granqvist et al., 2017) opens the door for a broader discussion of different branches of attachment theory and different attachment classificatory systems applied to infants, young children, and their parents. We agree with the consensus authors that Strange Situation classifications alone, regardless of coding method, are insufficient for decision-making. The authors, however, have acknowledged that the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM; Crittenden, 2016) offers a different perspective on classifying Strange Situations. The DMM is a branch of attachment theory that expands the Ainsworth A and C classifications across the life span to reflect the complex attachment strategies that some individuals use in dangerous contexts. We contrast the DMM to the D classification, both for the Strange Situation for infants and its adaptation for young children and also for the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1984-1996) for their parents. We initiate a scientific dialogue by addressing three points: (a) "Attachment" does not imply or require a model that includes a D/disorganization category nor is the D/disorganized category the only clinical expansion of Mary Ainsworth's (1978) original work; (b) the DMM method for classifying Strange Situations may be better attuned to parental inadequacy and child protection than is the D/disorganized category; and (c) with attention to guidelines, DMM classifications from the Strange Situation with both infants and preschool-aged children can be used in a case-specific manner in both treatment and forensic settings. The same is true for other DMM assessments of attachment, including the AAI. We close by suggesting steps that could further understanding and application of Ainsworth's great accomplishment: individual differences in attachment relationships.

Keywords: Adult Attachment Interview; Bindung; DMM; Dynamisches Reifungsmodell; Entretien de l'Attachement de l'Adulte; Entrevista de Afectividad del Adulto; Fremde Situation; Kinderschutz; Modelo Dinámico Madurativo; Modèle Maturationnel Dynamique; Situación Extraña; Situation Etrange; Strange Situation; afectividad; attachement; attachment; aアタッチメント; child protection; protección del niño; protection de l'enfant; التعلق ، الموقف الغريب ، حماية الطفل ، مقابلة تعلق البالغين ، النموذج الديناميكي التطوري; ストレンジ・シチュエーション; 依附; 児童保護; 兒童保護; 動態成熟模型 針對提供審查使用具有措施; 動的成熟モデル; 成人アタッチメントインタビュー; 成人依附訪談; 陌生情境.