Attachment Across the Lifecourse: A Brief Introduction

by David Howe

How do past relationships shape who we are today? Attachment theory offers a powerful model for explaining how our earliest relationships affect not only our development as children, but also our feelings and behaviour as adults.



This succinct and highly readable book offers the perfect introduction to a fascinating and fast-growing field. It explains the key concepts in attachment theory and describes how the main attachment types play out both in childhood and later life. It identifies some of the intriguing questions being explored by research, such




Students and professionals alike from across the fields of psychology, counselling, health and social work will find this an illuminating and thought-provoking guide to the rich complexity of human behaviour.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Counselling

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2011

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is informative, but not overpowering with academic language. I believe the average person can (and should) read it if he/she wants to learn more about how people attach themselves to caregivers, and how this is translated to adult life.

[Kārlis Bergmanis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My interest in attachment theory begun with first child being on her way, but then continued with interest in "Well, and how it affects me and people I know and what can be explained by recognizing this?"
Turns out, a lot. Basically everything we do is some form of relationships - business, intimate, friendly, social, etc - so learning how they are approached by various people might be helpful.
Book is great source with easy and clear structure and manner of speaking. Recommend this as first step of exploring this subject.

[william bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous introduction to the concept of "Attachment"..

[Neal Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attachment theory seeks to understand interpersonal behaviour in terms of childhood caregiver relationships. So there’s something in common with Freudian theory but with no place for infantile sexuality, Oedipus complex, etc.

Although there are different models, those childhood relationships can be categorized as: i) “secure”, in which needs and distress are expressed freely, and alleviated quickly by caregivers; ii) “ambivalent” in which children exaggerate their needs and distress in order to maximize their chance of a response from sporadically attentive caregivers; or iii) “avoidant”, in which the child is discouraged from expressing their needs and distress. “Avoidant attachment” seems an oxymoron, but the idea is that the child gets as close as they can to the caregiver without triggering a dismissive response.

So the idea is that children still rely on these learned behaviours as adults. For example, someone who formed ambivalent attachments as a child, when they come to form romantic partnerships, will have episodes of expansive expression of love, followed by pressing demands of their partner, and any hesitancy in responding can lead to despair at having their doubts confirmed. And people are liable to reproduce parenting styles which they experienced as children.

As summarized in this book, the theory makes perfect sense, including when I apply it to myself. The tone is fairly academic and statements are properly sourced. The author tries to do justice to the different variants of the theory when perhaps it would’ve been cleared to present some kind of synthesis. Although I suppose this could’ve been seen as the creation of yet another variant.

One problem with this edition is that the print lacks sharpness and contrast.

[Carlene Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for an essay. An excellent overview. The only reason it didn’t merit a 5 is because I found details of experiments in another book. For a book of this size not everything can be included though.

[Chris Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great insight into attachment theory. Written in a way that it is easy to understand.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, coherent and easily readable.

[Ester Moya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book to understand how our relationships during childhood impact our relationship patterns during adulthood.

[Reagan Formea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had such a good time reading this book for class. I am so intrigued by attachment theory and Howe does an amazing job with explanations.

[Aveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, clear, concise but detailed look at attachment theory.