John Bowlby and Attachment Theory

by Jeremy Holmes

Second edition, completely revised and updated John Bowlby is one of the outstanding psychological theorists of the twentieth century. This new edition of John Bowlby and Attachment Theory is both a biographical account of Bowlby and his ideas and an up-to-date introduction to contemporary attachment theory and research, now a dominant force in psychology, counselling, psychotherapy and child development. Jeremy Holmes traces the evolution of Bowlby’s work from a focus on delinquency, material deprivation and his dissatisfaction with psychoanalysis's imperviousness to empirical science to the emergence of attachment theory as a psychological model in its own right. This new edition traces the explosion of interest, research and new theories generated by Bowlby’s followers, including Mary Main’s discovery of Disorganised Attachment and development of the Adult Attachment Interview, Mikulincer and Shaver’s explorations of attachment in adults and the key contributions of Fonagy, Bateman and Target. The book also examines advances in the biology and neuroscience of attachment. Thoroughly accessible yet academically rigorous, and written by a leading figure in the field, John Bowlby and Attachment Theory is still the perfect introduction to attachment for students of psychology, psychiatry, counselling, social work and nursing.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Parenting, Psychiatry, Science, Relationships

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 1993

About the author

Jeremy Holmes is a British psychiatrist, born in London in 1943.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_...

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wikipedia aside, this book was my first real look at attachment theory and I'm glad that I started here. The book begins with a sufficiently detailed overview of Bowlby's life (for me), before moving on to summarise his theory of attachment and loss, including modern developments, criticisms and research around it.

I enjoyed this structure as it provided me with enough of a background and overview before moving into an in-depth examination of each aspect of the theory and it's implications in the worlds of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, psychiatric disorder and society in general. Most sections have at least one brief case study which helps to flesh out and show the practical application of the theory. It was a thorough and scholarly review of both the man and the theory.

The author's psychiatric background comes through strongly in the unflinchingly medical manner in which he talks about mental health, and at times that was distracting, if not downright irritating (describing the narratives of people in severe distress as "rambling" doesn't sit very well with me). Additionally there were occasions where he produced controversial statements, such as "...with fathers who may be biologically unrelated to the children in their care, increasing the likelihood of insecurity or frank physical and sexual abuse" with no research to back it up, as if such things are self evident. I presume that is a relic of the period in which it was written and would be interested in reading an updated version of this book, noticing as I did after finishing it that it was published almost twenty years ago.

There were typos here and there, as well as oddly structured sentences throughout the book that jarred me out of the otherwise good flow of the writing.

Overall, though, this was a good book - well written (even if I did need my dictionary handy), well researched and managed to blend theory with practical application.

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book summarising Bowlbian attachment theory, and placing it in context as well as looking at more recent theories and work. Definately the recommended reading if you are interested in learning about attachment theory.

[M. Zayn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My therapist recommended this because she's not sure if I fit the "fear of abandonment" criteria (for BPD). And if I'm angry instead of depressed.
It would be too easy if I bragged about not feeling any remorse and overall any grief, so I had to put myself in the theory that John Bowlby created: attachment theory. Attachment A (insecure-avoidant) is what applies to me most. I am not clingy, but distant and watchful.
As a child I was unable to draw hands and faces in my human subjects (and still miserably fail as an adult), and I regard Main's findings on this very peculiar. I guess what keeps me from portraying human subjects is not 'art style', I'm very capable of doing so, I am simply stubborn and will keep being because I lack self-awareness and if you're to portray yourself as something human and existing, awareness is needed.
Something I found really interesting about individuals with the insecure-avoidant type of attachment is their general inability to get close to people or distrust. A defense mechanism of sorts.
I don't intend to fix it. I'm good watching others and occasionally snapping at them for no reason.
I'm glad to have read a book that doesn't demonize AsPD-ers, NPD-ers or BPD-ers. Bowlby treats apathy as a defense mechanism, rather than a criminal trait.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really helpful explication of Attachment Theory. It will take me a while to process the whole of what I think about the theory itself, but this was definitely a useful entry point.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-organised and detailed account but for the most part, this just brings together other works (including his own) rather than making clear, consensus statements of the basic facts. So this book is more of a review of the literature than a summary, which makes it terrible for its apparent purpose of introducing the subject.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto chiaro grazie agli schemi visivi e ottimo approfondimento

[Bobparr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proprio bello e chiaro. Ovviamente, una buona base di studi psicologici semplifica la lettura, ma Holmes e' bravo quanto basta nell'essere attento ai passaggi logici e sufficientemente distante dalla ammirazione acritica per scrivere un testo completo ed onesto sull'uomo e sullo scienziato che Bowlby e' stato.