Using Assessment of Attachment in Child Care Proceedings to Guide Intervention

Crittenden, Patricia M.; Baim, Clark

doi:10.1002/9781118976111.ch23

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…These reviews, made with full knowledge of the video and the history, formed the basis for proposing new categories and coding guidelines that became the hypotheses for the next study. With this focus on identifying new behavioral markers and self‐protective attachment strategies among maltreated children, we believe that the Strange Situation—and other DMM assessments of attachment—can contribute to clinical case planning and court decision‐making (Crittenden & Baim, ; Crittenden, Farnfield, Landini, & Grey, ).…”

Section: Point 2: the Abc+dmm May Be Better Attuned To The Issues Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Attachment Inform Decision‐making in Child Protection and Forensic Settings?

Spieker

Crittenden²

2018

Infant Mental Health Journal

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The historic publication of the "consensus statement" on not using the "D/disorganized" category in the infant Strange Situation (M. Ainsworth, M. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) for case-specific child protection work (P. Granqvist et al., 2017) opens the door for a broader discussion of different branches of attachment theory and different attachment classificatory systems applied to infants, young children, and their parents. We agree with the consensus authors that Strange Situation classifications alone, regardless of coding method, are insufficient for decision-making. The authors, however, have acknowledged that the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM; Crittenden, 2016) offers a different perspective on classifying Strange Situations. The DMM is a branch of attachment theory that expands the Ainsworth A and C classifications across the life span to reflect the complex attachment strategies that some individuals use in dangerous contexts. We contrast the DMM to the D classification, both for the Strange Situation for infants and its adaptation for young children and also for the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1984-1996 for their parents. We initiate a scientific dialogue by addressing three points: (a) "Attachment" does not imply or require a model that includes a D/disorganization category nor is the D/disorganized category the only clinical expansion of Mary Ainsworth's (1978) original work; (b) the DMM method for classifying Strange Situations may be better attuned to parental inadequacy and child protection than is the D/disorganized category; and (c) with attention to guidelines, DMM classifications from the Strange Situation with both infants and preschool-aged children can be used in a case-specific manner in both treatment and forensic settings. The same is true for other DMM assessments of attachment, including the AAI. We close by suggesting steps that could further understanding and application of Ainsworth's great accomplishment: individual differences in attachment relationships.RESUMEN: La histórica publicación del "Acta de Consenso" sobre el no usar la categoría 'D/desorganizado' en la Situación Extraña del infante en el trabajo de protección del niño para casos específicos (Granqvist, et al., 2017) abre las puertas para una más amplia discusión de diferentes ramas de la teoría de afectividad y diferentes sistemas de clasificación de la afectividad aplicados a los infantes, niños pequeños y sus progenitores. Estamos de acuerdo con los autores del consenso de que las clasificaciones de la Situación Extraña, por sí solas, sin tomar en cuenta el método de codificación, son insuficientes en la toma de decisiones. Los autores, sin embargo, reconocen que el Modelo Dinámico-Madurativo de Afectividad y Adaptación (DMM; Crittenden, 2016) ofrece una perspectiva diferente acerca de cómo clasificar las Situaciones Extrañas. El DMM representa una rama de la teoría de afectividad que expande las clasificaciones A y C de Ainsworth a lo largo de...

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Section: Point 2: the Abc+dmm May Be Better Attuned To The Issues Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Attachment Inform Decision‐making in Child Protection and Forensic Settings?

Spieker

Crittenden²

2018

Infant Mental Health Journal

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“…Finally, DMM‐based formulation would organise services to meet children's needs by building on parents' existing strengths, increasing their skills one step at a time. In this way, the professional–parent relationship would model the type of empathic and supportive parent–child relationship that we hope parents will learn to use with their children (Crittenden & Baim, 2017).…”

Section: A Hierarchy Of Needs and Readiness For Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Parental Attachment in Family Court Proceedings: DMM Theory about the Adult Attachment Interview

Crittenden¹,

Landini²,

Spieker

et al. 2021

Child Abuse Review

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Parental attachment refers to the protective and comforting role of parents toward their children. This role has been violated in cases of maltreatment. Understanding the attachment of parents who endanger their children can illuminate the psychological processes behind the harmful behaviour of parents. This paper proposes assessing parental attachment with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), classified according to the Dynamic‐Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM). We discuss meta‐analyses of the ‘gold standard' Berkeley method for extracting AAI information. AAIs of maltreating adults classified with the Berkeley method have an improbably high rate of secure attachment, making it inadequate for family forensic applications. In contrast, the DMM uses a theory‐based, developmental expansion of Ainsworth's infant categories to describe a wide array of dimensionally related protective strategies for coping with danger across the lifespan. DMM‐AAIs, classified by trained, reliable professionals and integrated with data from other sources to create an individualised family formulation, meet evidentiary requirements. We call for a programme of research of court‐involved families comparing DMM‐AAI formulations to outcomes of usual methods for determining family services. Key Practitioner Messages Childhood exposure to danger is crucial to understanding maltreating parents' behaviour. Adult Attachment Interviews, classified with the DMM method by authorised experts, can reveal motivating psychological processes that are not apparent in parental behaviour. Information about parents' attachment, together with other information, can help child protection personnel gauge the risk that parents pose to their children and organise personalised treatment plans to reduce that risk. ABCD Berkeley AAI classifications are not suitable for forensic use.

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“…Theory and research on attachment are frequently employed in CPS assessment and decision-making (Crittenden & Baim, 2017), but a novel review raises the question if misinformation and misuse of attachment theory and procedures might have negative consequences when employed in the legal system (Forslund et al, 2021). Attachment theory builds on the idea that behaviour has a biological base and that early (relational) experiences are determinant for later outcome (Bowlby, 1969(Bowlby, /1982 and general development (Vaughn et al, 2019).…”

Section: A Unifying Interest In Stress With Reference To the Disadvantaged Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

In the Best Interest of the Child: the Norwegian Approach to Child Protection

Melinder

Hagen²

2021

Int. Journal on Child Malt.

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In the present paper, we discuss three challenges with the Norwegian Child Protective System (CPS) that might have contributed to the recent criticism from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). First, how to balance the rights of the child with those of the parents. Second, the psychological field’s influence on the interpretation of what constitutes the best interest of the child, and third we describe several missing links in the CPS work. Throughout the paper, we find indications of a well-developed Act, but a less optional CPS practice. Likewise, we find evidence for a narrow interpretation of the best interest of the child related to CPS and expert psychologists’ application of attachment theory, and several organizational and educational shortcomings in the area of CPS. We conclude that the child is not fully seen as a legal subject in the eyes of the ECtHR, and that more research into CPS measures and organization are needed to better deliver adequate assistance to vulnerable families.

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Using Assessment of Attachment in Child Care Proceedings to Guide Intervention

Cited by 10 publications

References 23 publications

Can Attachment Inform Decision‐making in Child Protection and Forensic Settings?

Can Attachment Inform Decision‐making in Child Protection and Forensic Settings?

Using Parental Attachment in Family Court Proceedings: DMM Theory about the Adult Attachment Interview

In the Best Interest of the Child: the Norwegian Approach to Child Protection

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