266 Chapter 32
is that family circumstances are generally stable, for example, a mother
who is sensitive and responsive to her infant is still likely to be sensitive
and responsive to the same child several years later, thereby promoting
secure attachment at each age. One way these alternative explanations can
be distinguished is by studying what happens when family circumstances
change markedly for the better or for the worse. For example, what
happens if the caregivers of insecurely attached infants are taught to be
more sensitive and responsive? Does this have no effect because early
experience has already irreversibly moulded the children? Or do the
children become securely attached because what counts is current rather
than previous caregiving?
What limited evidence there is favours an intermediate answer. On the
one hand, early attachment experiences typically do have lasting effects
that cannot simply be attributed to the continuity of the environment. On
the other hand, these effects are not totally irreversible and can be atten-
uated or even reversed by radically altered life circumstances. Thus for
example in one study, over 90% of abused children taken into foster care
had insecure attachment patters to their birth parents, but over half had
developed secure patterns to their foster parents after being with them for
at least 6 months, a rate similar to controls. This suggests that attachment
patterns can indeed be altered by changes in parenting circumstances.
Moreover there are now a number of well-validated interventions to
increase attachment security in infancy. They all have a common element
in increasing parental sensitivity to the child’s signals so the child is better
cared for in all interactions, but especially when distressed. To date, the
most effective interventions use video feedback to show the parent the
infant’s signals and how best to respond.
There has recently been an explosion of interest in attachment in adult
life. Close adult relationships commonly have an attachment component,
providing security, comfort and a source of confidence. In adulthood, un-
like childhood, the relationship is often a reciprocal bond between equals,
with each adult being an attachment figure to the other, and commonly
a sexual partner too. Research on attachment quality in adult life has
drawn heavily on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), developed by
Mary Main. This interview asks adults for descriptions and evaluations
of their childhood attachment relationships, and also enquires about
any separations or losses, and the effect these had on the respondent’s
development and personality. The respondent is asked to provide specific
biographical episodes to substantiate global evaluations. The aim is not
to reconstruct exactly what happened many years ago but to establish,
through discourse analysis, the respondent’s current state of mind with
respect to attachment. Four categories have been identified, each of which
has an association with one of the child ABCD categories (see Table 32.1).
1 Dismissing. The respondent can recall few affectively charged memories
from childhood. Closeness and attachment are not valued. An idealised
picture of parents is at odds with the specific details recalled. These