Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Attachment

Abstract

Bowlby's theoretical conception of attachment represented a highly original and substantively unique paradigm for understanding the psychological and social development of human infants, as well as the short- and longer-term sequelae of failures in attachment. His ideas have also been highly generative, leading to a vast scientific literature that now encompasses several different disciplinary domains. Moreover, unlike many psychoanalytic developmental concepts, Bowlby's attachment theory is regarded by many social scientists as eminently researchable. Nevertheless, despite increasing popularity, Bowlby's ideas about human development are not universally embraced by dynamically oriented clinicians, who may favor other theoretical frameworks to explain developmental phenomena or psychopathology, or perhaps both. How are we to understand Bowlby's ideas about attachment, separation, and loss in light of other psychoanalytic developmental theories? To address this issue, the “goodness of fit” between attachment theory and four important contemporary psychoanalytic frameworks for understanding human development will be examined. Selected because each offers a unique vision of development, the four are Harry Stack Sullivan's interpersonal model, Margaret Mahler's separation-individuation theory, Erik Erikson's epigenetic model, and Heinz Kohut's psychology of the self. Each will be examined in detail, with particular attention to controversies and points of convergence.