The emergence of the disorganised/disoriented (D) attachment classification, 1979-1982

Duschinsky, Robbie (2015) The emergence of the disorganised/disoriented (D) attachment classification, 1979-1982. History of Psychology, 18 (1). pp. 32-46. ISSN 1093-4510

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0038524

Abstract

This article examines the emergence of the concept of infant disorganized/disoriented attachment, drawing on published and archival texts and interviews. Since this new classification was put forward by Main and Solomon (1986), 'disorganized/disoriented attachment' has become an important concept in clinical and social intervention contexts. Yet whereas Main and Solomon have often been misunderstood to have introduced disorganized/disoriented attachment in order to produce an exhaustive, categorical system of infant classifications, this article will suggest quite a different account. Attention will be paid to the emergence of disorganized attachment as a classification out of results and reflections in the late 1970s regarding the limits of an alarmed infant's capacities for maintaining behavioral and attentional avoidance. In contrasting this interpretation of Main and Solomon's work with current, widespread misunderstandings, the article will critically examine tendencies that have supported the reification and misapplication of the concept of disorganized/disoriented attachment.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: attachment, developmental psychology, Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure, anomaly, classification
Subjects: C800 Psychology
L500 Social Work
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing
Depositing User: Users 6424 not found.
Date Deposited: 23 Mar 2015 10:03
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2023 16:32
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/21662

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