Abstract
Chapter 3 delineates the contribution of attachment theory to understanding parental caregiving. Bowlby saw caregiving as the counterpart of attachment, based upon the parent’s ‘retrieval’ instinct: regulating the child’s desire to explore and learn, with the need to protect them from harm. There are three principal strategies:
a) habitually keeping the child closely aligned to ‘make sure’ they are safe (experienced by the child as Controlling).
b) habitually keeping the child at a distance to make it easier for the parent to manage the demands of the outside world without being overwhelmed (experienced by the child as Unresponsive)
c) collaborative relationships where the parent adapts, offering the level of support and nurture needed in the context, dependant on the child’s development (Sensitivity).
The chapter describes the ways parents interpret their world, and their child’s, to facilitate these options. These are best seen as the compromises parents make to manage the challenges they face now, and in the past. It is important to understand what parents are adapting to, as well as how they defend themselves. A systemic reading of attachment theory has considerable potential to recognise the impact of social and economic adversity on parent-child relationships.
a) habitually keeping the child closely aligned to ‘make sure’ they are safe (experienced by the child as Controlling).
b) habitually keeping the child at a distance to make it easier for the parent to manage the demands of the outside world without being overwhelmed (experienced by the child as Unresponsive)
c) collaborative relationships where the parent adapts, offering the level of support and nurture needed in the context, dependant on the child’s development (Sensitivity).
The chapter describes the ways parents interpret their world, and their child’s, to facilitate these options. These are best seen as the compromises parents make to manage the challenges they face now, and in the past. It is important to understand what parents are adapting to, as well as how they defend themselves. A systemic reading of attachment theory has considerable potential to recognise the impact of social and economic adversity on parent-child relationships.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Meaning of the Child Interview |
| Subtitle of host publication | Making Sense of Parent-child Relationships |
| Editors | Ben Grey |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Chapter | 3 |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 28 Feb 2025 |
Publication series
| Name | Palgrave Texts in Counselling and Psychotherapy |
|---|
Keywords
- meaning of the child interview
- attachment theory
- attachment
- caregiving
- parenting
- child welfare
- child protection
- child mental health
- parent-child relationships
- family systems
- parental sensitivity