Child Study Center Grand Rounds: Looking forwards and looking back: a synthesis of the evidence underpinning attachment theory

Attachment theory and research has been enormously influential for both the discipline of developmental science and for clinical practice and policy concerning the welfare of children. Despite this, the underpinning evidence supporting attachment theory is often poorly understood and is commonly misapplied. A thorough understanding of attachment theory and an appreciation of what the evidence does and does not say about attachment in human development is critically important for clinicians working with children. My aim in this talk is to provide a broad and rigorous summary of this evidence, so that audience members can appreciate the strengths and limitations of this influential theory in relation to both science and practice.