Attachment goes to court: child protection and custody issues.

Journal: Attachment & human development

Volume: 24

Issue: 1

Year of Publication: 2022

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. School of Psychological Sciences and Center for the Study of Child Development, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK. Psychology Department, The New School, New York, NY, USA. Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. University of California, Davis, CA, USA. Department Families and Family Policies, German Youth Institute, Munich, Germany. British Association for Adoption and Fostering at Coram (Corambaaf), London, UK. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA. Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, New York, NY, USA. Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Québec, Canada. Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK. Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS, Agency for Science and Technology (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore. School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. School of Psychology, Laval University, Québec City, Canada. Department of Psychology, University of Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile. Research Centre for Child Development, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland. Department of Educational Psychology, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya. Department of Psychology, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia. Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal. Research Center of the Seminario de Sociopsicoanálisis, Mexico City, Mexico. Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada. Faculté de Psychologie, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France. Human Information Processing Laboratory, Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland. College of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia. Department of Psychology, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan. Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, Utica, NY, USA. Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings's College London, London, UK. Department of Psychology, University of Talca, Chile. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA. Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Bari, Italy. Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma De Barcelona, Spain. Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain. Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Lab of Attachment and Parenting - LAG, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada. Center for Health & Community, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK. Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada. Institute of Child Development and Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. German Youth Institute, Munich, Germany. Department of Psychology/Developmental Psychology, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany. Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel. Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany. Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA. Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA. Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Abstract summary 

Attachment theory and research are drawn upon in many applied settings, including family courts, but misunderstandings are widespread and sometimes result in misapplications. The aim of this consensus statement is, therefore, to enhance understanding, counter misinformation, and steer family-court utilisation of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction, especially with regard to child protection and child custody decision-making. The article is divided into two parts. In the first, we address problems related to the use of attachment theory and research in family courts, and discuss reasons for these problems. To this end, we examine family court applications of attachment theory in the current context of the best-interest-of-the-child standard, discuss misunderstandings regarding attachment theory, and identify factors that have hindered accurate implementation. In the second part, we provide recommendations for the application of attachment theory and research. To this end, we set out three attachment principles: the child's need for familiar, non-abusive caregivers; the value of continuity of good-enough care; and the benefits of networks of attachment relationships. We also discuss the suitability of assessments of attachment quality and caregiving behaviour to inform family court decision-making. We conclude that assessments of caregiver behaviour should take center stage. Although there is dissensus among us regarding the use of assessments of attachment quality to inform child custody and child-protection decisions, such assessments are currently most suitable for targeting and directing supportive interventions. Finally, we provide directions to guide future interdisciplinary research collaboration.

Authors & Co-authors:  Forslund Granqvist van IJzendoorn Sagi-Schwartz Glaser Steele Hammarlund Schuengel Bakermans-Kranenburg Steele Shaver Lux Simmonds Jacobvitz Groh Bernard Cyr Hazen Foster Psouni Cowan Pape Cowan Rifkin-Graboi Wilkins Pierrehumbert Tarabulsy Carcamo Wang Liang Kázmierczak Pawlicka Ayiro Chansa Sichimba Mooya McLean Verissimo Gojman-de-Millán Moretti Bacro Peltola Galbally Kondo-Ikemura Behrens Scott Rodriguez Spencer Posada Cassibba Barrantes-Vidal Palacios Barone Madigan Jones-Mason Reijman Juffer Pasco Fearon Bernier Cicchetti Roisman Cassidy Kindler Zimmermann Feldman Spangler Zeanah Dozier Belsky Lamb Duschinsky

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations : 
Authors :  70
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1080/14616734.2020.1840762
SSN : 1469-2988
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Child
Other Terms
Attachment theory;best interests of the child;child custody;child protection;consensus statement;family court
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Kenya
Publication Country
England