Making Sense of Disorganised Attachment Behaviour in Pre-school Children

The concept of ‘disorganised attachment’ arose from the ‘Strange Situation Procedure’ designed by John Bowlby’s colleague, Mary Ainsworth, which led to the discovery of three distinctive patterns of attachment termed ‘secure’, ‘insecure: anxious-avoidant’ and ‘insecure: anxious-ambivalent’. Some children do not fit any of these categories. This article explores possible mechanisms for their ‘disorganised’ attachment, concluding that if a child cannot find comfort, reassurance or protection from a caring adult when severely stressed, then this can lead to developmental problems later on; but if the ‘caring adult’ is the cause of the fear then this can be even more damaging

Rosie 2 Inter-professional Training Pack

A 37 page training pack with literature reviw and worksheets to support the simulation Rosie

myCourtroom: Rosie’s family go to court; the use of simulations in preparing social workers for court

The role of social workers in court, how they prepare, train, write and present their reports, has been the focus of much debate. Key messages from research tell us that social workers often find court work stressful; they can lack confidence in writing reports giving evidence and being cross examined. Pre-qualification training in this area can be patchy, with many workers reporting they often learn ‘on the job.’ This article documents the journey from analysing primary and secondary research findings, via a partnership between the University of Kent Centre for Child Protection and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), to develop a training simulation for practitioners to increase their knowledge, preparation and practice for court. The partnership turned these research findings into an interactive, immersive simulation to give practitioners the space to reflect upon and critique their experiences of court. Findings from an initial evaluation of the simulation were positive with participants highly rating its usefulness in developing court room skills and knowledge

Child protection and disorganized attachment : a critical commentary

The concept of ‘disorganized attachment’ has been influential in child protection practice, often taken as a marker of abusive parenting and purportedly linked to a wide range of deleterious outcomes for children. However, there is considerable controversy about the origins and meanings of the classification. This paper examines the assertions and controversies within the primary science, and poses fundamental questions about the robustness, legitimacy and utility of ‘disorganized attachment’ as a concept in child protection assessment and decision-making. It shows that, despite a purported association between disorganized attachment and the quality of the parental care the child is provided, there is little agreement in the scientific community on the transmission mechanism and the link between disorganized attachment and later deleterious outcomes for children is weak. It concludes that whilst attachment theory itself provides a valuable contribution to child protection practice, ‘disorganized attachment’ should be handled with care

Understanding Disorganized Attachment: Theory and Practice for Working With Children and Adults

Disorganized attachment, the most extreme form of insecure attachment, can develop in a child when the person who is meant to protect them becomes a source of danger. Someone with disorganized attachment experiences 'fear without a solution', and it can result in extreme, erratic and disturbing behaviour. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible text on disorganized attachment. It outlines what it is, how it can be identified, the key causes, how it manifests in adulthood, and the implications for caregivers and those within close relationships. It also covers the debate over whether disorganized attachment can repeat down generations within families, and discusses neurological explanations and appropriate interventions. The book focuses on both children and adults and includes case vignettes to root the theory in practice and to illustrate real-life examples of disorganized attachment. With an authoritative research base, this accessible text will be invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the fields of social care, psychology, counselling and allied health professions, as well as practitioners and academics in these fields

Research review - Evidence-based research into disorganised attachment and child maltreatment

Introduction One of the main reasons why the assessment of child maltreatment allegations is problematic is because of confusion about the difference between correlation and prediction

Indicators of disorganised attachment in children

Disorganised attachment refers to momentary behaviours displayed by children if they find themselves in anxiety-provoking situations into which an abusive caregiver enters. Because they don’t know what to do, they experience what American academic Mary Main called “fear without solution” and end up behaving in bizarre ways, albeit only for a few seconds. Older children display disorganised attachment behaviours when they contemplate attachment-related scenarios involving caregivers. The condition is predictive of maltreatment, not merely correlated with it

A-Z of attachment

Launching Palgrave's interdisciplinary Professional Keywords series, this reader-friendly reference guide distils the study of attachment into digestible, yet authoritative, chunks. With over 60 alphabetized entries, it is the perfect introduction to the key concepts, debates and thinkers within this increasingly exploration of human behaviour