Race, discrimination, and racism as “growing points” for consideration: attachment theory and research with African American families

Abstract

ABSTRACT The author acknowledges attachment theory as a widely accepted analytic paradigm that has generated creative and impactful research for over half a century. This acknowledgment is followed with commentary on what the author considers critically relevant yet unacknowledged topics of inquiry in the attachment literature. The author contends that race, discrimination, and unaddressed systemic racism are the most important issues in the United States today and profoundly affect all areas of African American family life, particularly parenting, parent-child bonds, and other familial relationships in African American families. Suggestions are offered on how attachment research—a psychological, evolutionary, and ethological theory with an eye toward illuminating human universal processes can be advanced by research on race and racism, which emphasizes the critical role of context and culture on child development, parenting, and family life. Furthermore, the author discusses how attachment research can better delineate and measure cultural and contextual variations. Race, discrimination and racism; racial ethnic socialization practices; and the social context of caregiving are highlighted. Measurement and intervention considerations are suggested.