{"title":"Mary Main's contribution to our attachment research in Bielefeld and Regensburg: personal and professional memories.","authors":"Karin Grossmann, Kaus Grossmann","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2447642","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2447642","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Our memories reflect professional meetings and our private relationship with Mary Main for over more than 50 years, working, travelling jointly, and celebrating together. Klaus met Mary Main at Mary Ainsworth's lab in 1973 in Baltimore. Mary Main's and our own longitudinal studies both started at the same time in which attachment research became a focus of several research groups. Still unpublished research results were eagerly shared. Mary supported our wider view of attachment by emphasizing the importance of exploratory play, enthusiasm, expression, and quality of communication. She also explored infants' unexpected avoidance of their mothers. Some infant's resisted traditional classification and were described as disorganized/ disoriented by her. Later in Regensburg, Mary trained our research group in assessing memories of attachment experiences of young adults. When Klaus retired in 2003, Mary gave a warm review of a long time of mutual devotion in the service of attachment development.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"30-33"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142969485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The legacy of Mary Main in attachment and developmental research in Israel.","authors":"Sarit Alkalay, Abraham Sagi-Schwartz","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2422044","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2422044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article examines Mary Main's impact on attachment research in Israel and <i>vice versa</i>, focusing on her contributions: the disorganized attachment classification (D) and the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Israeli research spans Jewish and Arab populations, individuals with special needs, and trauma-affected groups, testing the Normativity, Sensitivity, and Competence hypotheses. While confirming traditional findings, some studies revealed deviations, possibly influenced by Israel's unique sociocultural/historical context. Some studies found an overrepresentation of disorganized and ambivalent attachment classifications, possibly linked to regional conflicts. The absence of a distinction between these two classifications in certain outcomes, especially disrupted maternal communication-a precursor to D-challenges the clear-cut classifications found in Western studies. Finally, a Holocaust Project provides unique insights, identifying the absence of intergenerational transmission of an unresolved state of mind from Holocaust survivors to descendants and revealing distinctive AAI classifications, namely, Absence of Attachment Representations and Failed Mourning, all inviting further study.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"34-66"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142613916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carlo Schuengel, Lianne Bakkum, Sheri Madigan, Pasco Fearon
{"title":"Mary Main's written legacy: a bibliometric analysis.","authors":"Carlo Schuengel, Lianne Bakkum, Sheri Madigan, Pasco Fearon","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2377733","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2377733","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mary Main's written work profoundly changed the direction of attachment research through her publications and through her teachings. The current study describes the scientific impact of her her published and unpublished work. We identified 85 such works. Web of Sciences contained k = 7,571 citations to these works from by 13,398 unique authors. The topics of citing work clustered around clinical psychological research, early dyadic relationships, romantic attachment, traumatic experiences, and the adult attachment interview itself. Based on co-citation patterns, Main shared an intellectual space with authors known for developmental psychopathology and child development, parent-child relationships, adult attachment, psychodynamic theorizing, and reciprocity in interaction and infant mental health. We discuss the impact of the \"move to the level of representation\" and how new ties with researchers unfamiliar with these ideas will be important to realize unused potential in the ideas and methods given to the field by Mary Main.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"3-17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141578877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction to the double issue, the first and second issues of 2025, in honor of the legacy of Mary Main.","authors":"Howard Steele, Jude Cassidy","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2455820","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2455820","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143027921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bhavya Arya, Madeline Patrick, Huang Pei, Evelyn Law, Birit Broekman, Helen Chen, Madeline Chan Hiu Gwan, Fabian Yap, Lee Yung Seng, Kok Hian Tan, Chong Yap-Seng, Anqi Qiu, Marielle Valerie Fortier, Peter Gluckman, Michael Meaney, Ai Peng Tan, Anne Rifkin-Graboi
{"title":"Toddler disorganized attachment in relation to cortical thickness and socioemotional problems in late childhood.","authors":"Bhavya Arya, Madeline Patrick, Huang Pei, Evelyn Law, Birit Broekman, Helen Chen, Madeline Chan Hiu Gwan, Fabian Yap, Lee Yung Seng, Kok Hian Tan, Chong Yap-Seng, Anqi Qiu, Marielle Valerie Fortier, Peter Gluckman, Michael Meaney, Ai Peng Tan, Anne Rifkin-Graboi","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2404591","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2404591","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Disorganized attachment is a risk for mental health problems, with increasing work focused on understanding biological mechanisms. Examining late childhood brain morphology may be informative - this stage coincides with the onset of many mental health problems. Past late childhood research reveals promising candidates, including frontal lobe cortical thickness and hippocampal volume. However, work has been limited to Western samples and has not investigated mediation or moderation by brain morphology. Furthermore, past cortical thickness research included only 33 participants. The current study utilized data from 166 children from the GUSTO Asian cohort, who participated in strange situations at 18 months and MRI brain imaging at 10.5 years, with 124 administered the Child Behaviour Checklist at 10.5 years. Results demonstrated disorganization liked to internalizing problems, but no mediation or moderation by brain morphology. The association to internalizing (but not externalizing) problems is discussed with reference to the comparatively higher prevalence of internalizing problems in Singapore.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"135-155"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142340206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Magaly Nóblega, Gabriela Conde, Ramón Bartra, Germán Posada
{"title":"Maternal sensitivity and child attachment security in a low SES Peruvian sample: longitudinal relationships.","authors":"Magaly Nóblega, Gabriela Conde, Ramón Bartra, Germán Posada","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2414994","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2414994","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We tested the generalizability of the sensitivity-security link in a sample of 35 preschooler-mother dyads from a low socioeconomic district in Lima, Peru. We first describe maternal sensitivity and attachment security at two timepoints during early childhood. Second, we investigated the stability of attachment security and maternal sensitivity over a time span of one year. Third, we tested the association between sensitivity and security at each timepoint. Finally, we investigated whether changes in maternal sensitivity predict changes in child security. The results indicated that sensitivity and security were lower than scores reported in the literature for middle-class samples. T2 maternal sensitivity scores were significantly higher than T1 sensitivity scores, and no significant differences were found between T1 and T2 security. Sensitivity and security were associated at both timepoints, after controlling for socio-demographic variables. One-tail test indicated that changes in maternal sensitivity were associated with changes in child security.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"503-520"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142456926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hanne Cecilie Braarud, Polly Faith Evans Mcginn, Dag Øystein Nordanger, Øivin Christiansen, Magne Olav Mæhle
{"title":"Expert reports: an empirical study of the use of attachment theory in expert assessments in Norwegian child protection cases.","authors":"Hanne Cecilie Braarud, Polly Faith Evans Mcginn, Dag Øystein Nordanger, Øivin Christiansen, Magne Olav Mæhle","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2435006","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2435006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acknowledged researchers have highlighted the potential pitfalls of using attachment theory to guide decision-making in child protection (CP) cases. This study explores how attachment theory is applied in expert assessments in Norwegian CP decision-making processes, analyzing 285 independent expert reports. Independent experts were mandated to assess the child's attachment quality to the caregiver in one third of the reports. In almost two thirds of the reports, experts weighted the child's attachment quality to the caregiver in their concluding evaluation. Few expert assessments included the employment of attachment measures. When descriptively comparing older and newer reports, there were more newer reports that mandated the experts to assess the child's attachment quality, but fewer newer reports where the experts weighted the child's attachment quality in the concluding evaluation. Our results illustrate that the criticism of an overconfindent use of attachment theory is also relevant for independet expert assessment in CP cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":"26 6","pages":"625-640"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142982512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aylin Aras, Peter Fonagy, Chloe Campbell, Camilla Rosan
{"title":"What do we know about parental embodied mentalizing? A systematic review of the construct, assessment, empirical findings, gaps and further steps.","authors":"Aylin Aras, Peter Fonagy, Chloe Campbell, Camilla Rosan","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2421432","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2421432","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Before the maturation of higher-order cognitive functions, infants primarily communicate via bodily expressions. Their behavior adjustments are also shaped by caregiver reactions, which differ in timing, intensity, and nature. Although mentalizing, or reflective functioning, is thought to influence caregiver interactions, the literature has largely focused on mentalizing as an explicit, cognitive process. Given the inherently embodied nature of early parent-infant exchanges, this emphasis left a clear gap in capturing the implicit facets of parental mentalizing. Addressing this, the concept of \"parental embodied mentalizing\" (PEM) was developed, which pertains to a caregiver's implicit capacity to discern and respond to an infant's emotional states, thoughts, and intents through bodily movements, gauged via real-time, shared, kinesthetic interplays. This systematic narrative review explores the PEM construct, scrutinizing its theoretical foundations and empirical basis. We aggregate insights from relevant studies, review the current research landscape's strengths and limitations, and pinpoint areas ripe for further investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"588-624"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142674763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kim M Starreveld, Mathilde M Overbeek, Agnes M Willemen, Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg
{"title":"Video-feedback intervention to promote positive parenting and sensitive discipline in early elementary education (VIPP-School): a randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Kim M Starreveld, Mathilde M Overbeek, Agnes M Willemen, Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2419621","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2419621","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The VIPP-SD (Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline) program has been shown to promote positive interactions between parents and children with behavior problems. This study evaluated an adapted version for teachers (VIPP-School) through a parallel-group randomized controlled trial involving 58 teacher-child dyads from kindergarten to second grade. Teacher-child dyads were randomly assigned to VIPP-School (<i>n</i> = 28) or an active control group (<i>n</i> = 30). Intention-to-treat analyses showed improvements in teacher sensitivity (<i>d</i> = 0.87) and supportive teacher classroom interactions (<i>d</i> = 0.53) in the VIPP-School condition compared to the control condition. VIPP-School had no significant effect on teachers' observed sensitive discipline (although changes were in the expected direction), nor on reported child externalizing behavior, overall relationship quality, school happiness or teacher self-efficacy. These findings show that the intervention, originally developed for families, could be effectively applied to early elementary education. The limited number of sessions increases the feasibility of VIPP-School.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"545-566"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142520881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sofia Nord Levin, Freja Isohanni, Pehr Granqvist, Tommie Forslund
{"title":"Attachment goes to court in Sweden: perception and application of attachment concepts in child removal court decisions.","authors":"Sofia Nord Levin, Freja Isohanni, Pehr Granqvist, Tommie Forslund","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2419589","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2024.2419589","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Concerns have been raised regarding misconceptions about attachment theory in child protection settings, but the application of attachment concepts in judicial child protection decisions has not been systematically explored. This study therefore examined the perception and application of attachment concepts in Swedish judicial decision protocols concerning involuntary removals of children (aged 0-2 years) where emotional neglect was a notable concern (n=28). Attachment concepts were frequently misunderstood, and imprecisely articulated. Unsystematic observations of child behavior were used to infer attachment insecurity and, by extrapolation, caregiving deficiencies. Attachment concepts were primarily used to support child removal, and insecure attachment seemed to be viewed as meeting the legally required level of risk to warrant involuntary child out-of-home placement. Our results indicate that misconceptions about attachment theory may be prevalent in judicial decision protocols. We emphasize the need to elaborate on risks in legally relevant ways without incorrect appeals to attachment theory.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"521-544"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142493744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}