An account is given of attachment theory as a way of conceptualizing the propensity of human beings to make strong affectional bonds to particular others and of explaining the many forms of emotional distress and personality disturbance, including anxiety, anger, depression and emotional detachment, to which unwilling separation and loss give rise. Though it incorporates much psychoanalytic thinking, many of its principles derive from ethology, cognitive psychology and control theory. It conforms to the ordinary criteria of a scientific discipline. Certain common patterns of personality development, both healthy and pathological, are described in these terms, and also some of the common patterns of parenting that contribute to them.

An historical sketch of the manner in which evidence has accumulated showing the ill effects of separation, loss, and maternal deprivation during the early years, and of how, in the light of this evidence, a new conceptual framework, often referred to as attachment theory, has been formulated for understanding personality development and psychopathology.

This is a historical account of the partnership in which Bowlby and Ainsworth participated to develop attachment theory and research. Beginning with their separate approaches to understanding personality development before Ainsworth joined Bowlby " s research team at the Tavistock Clinic in London for 4 years, it describes the origins of the ethological approach that they adopted. After Ainsworth left London, her research in Uganda and in Baltimore lent empirical support to Bowlby's theoretical constructions. The article shows how their contributions to attachment theory and research interdigitated in a partnership that endured for 40 years across time and distance.The distinguishing characteristic of the theory of attachment that we have jointly developed is that it is an ethological approach to personality development. We have had a long and happy partnership in pursuing this approach. In this article we wish to give a brief historical account of the initially separate but compatible approaches that eventually merged in the partnership, and how our contributions have intertwined in the course of developing an ethologically oriented theory of attachment and a body of research that has both stemmed from the theory and served to extend and elaborate it.

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The renowned British developmental psychologist continues to explore the nature of early parental bonds and many aspects of intimate relationships, including the unique roleof fathers, theoriginsof depression in childhood, and the special communication between psychotherapistsandtheirpatients. "Written in a clear and readable style, the book provides a valuable introduction to Bowlby's thinking. It will help ensure that he is remembered as...one of the arch integrators of child development. He has brought together, and moves easily between, psychoanalysis, experimental researchinchilddevclopment, natural selection, and cognitive psychology....A most welcome book.