All dressed up and nowhere to go:
Attachment measures and theory in family law practice
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts webinar
09.14.2021
(c) 2021 B.D. Garber, Ph.D.
Register to attend here
Click the image to access the PowerPoint handout
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
New 2021!
 |
 |
 |
 |
Click the image below to
view this self-playing, 2-minute attachment primer:
"All About Aloysius"
What we see and measure in the preschool years is BOTH the quality of the child's relationship with a particular parent AND a snapshot of the child's emerging capacities for self-regulation. Those two variables diverge in the early grade school years.
The first variable -relationship quality- is subject to the pressures of ACEs and therefore has little predictive validity. Preschool attachment security is only predictive of later relationship security when all other things are equal. That is (almost) never the case in the high conflict divorce population.
The second variable -self-regulation- is internalized across development and must be measured differently at different points in development. Self-regulation is the ability to manage one's internal physical and emotional experience. It is conceptually quite similar to constructs known elsewhere as "resilience" and "emotional maturity." In early grade school years, look for transitional objects. In high school, look for transitional (peer) affiliations. In adulthood, look for intimate relationships, commitments to work, hobbies, and faith-based practices. In the senior years, look for self-actualization.
Family law professionals concerned with understanding and extrapolating forward about a child's relationship with each of two or more caregivers should be concerned with reciprocal connectedness rather than attachment or "bonding." Reciprocal connectedness (or "fit" as referenced in CCE guidelines, standards, and best practices) is accessible across development. It refers to the mutuality and appropriateness of the relationship.
BDG 03.09.2021
Citations in alphabetical order
|
American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
(1997). Practice parameters for child custody
evaluation. Journal of the American Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(Supp.),
575–685. |
|
American
Psychological Association. (2010). Guidelines for
child custody evaluations in family law
proceedings. American Psychologist, 65,
863–867. |
|
Arredondo,
D.E. and Edwards, L.P. (2000). Attachment,
bonding, and reciprocal connectedness: Limitations
of attachment theory in the juvenile and family
court. Journal of the Center for Families,
Children & the Courts, 109-127 |
|
Boldt, L. J.,
Goffin, K. C., & Kochanska, G. (2020). The
significance of early
parent-child attachment for emerging
regulation: A longitudinal investigation of
processes and mechanisms from toddler age to
preadolescence. Developmental Psychology,
56(3), 431–443 |
|
Eisenberg, N.,
Cumberland, A., & Spinrad, T. L. (1998).
Parental socialization of emotion. Psychological
Inquiry, 9, 241–273.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0904_1 |
|
Eisenberg, N.,
Duckworth, A. L., Spinrad, T. L., & Valiente,
C. (2014). Conscientiousness: Origins in
childhood? Developmental Psychology, 50, 1331–1349.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0030977 |
|
Eisenberg, N.,
Spinrad, T. L., & Cumberland, A. (1998). The
socialization of emotion: Reply to commentaries. Psychological
Inquiry, 9, 317–333.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0904_17 |
|
Eisenberg, N.,
Spinrad, T. L., & Eggum, N. D. (2010).
Emotion-related self-regulation and its relation
to children’s maladjustment. Annual Review of
Clinical Psychology, 6, 495–525. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131208 |
|
Forslund, T.,
et al., (2021). Attachment goes to court. Attachment
& Human Behavior, online advance
release. |
|
Garber, B.D.
and Prescott, D.E. (2020). On the value of Teddy
bears and Barbie dolls: The place of children's
transitional objects in family law. Southwestern
Law Review, 49. |
|
Garber,
Benjamin D. (2004). Parental alienation in light
of attachment theory: Consideration of the broader
implications for child development, clinical
practice and forensic process. Journal of
Child Custody, 1(4), 49-76 |
|
Garber,
Benjamin D. (2009). Attachment methodology in
custody evaluation: Four hurdles standing between
developmental theory and forensic
application. Journal of Child Custody,
6(1&2), 38-61. |
|
Garber,
Benjamin D. (2012) Security by association?
Mapping attachment theory onto family law
practice. Family Court Review, 50(3),
467-470 |
|
Garber,
Benjamin D. (2016). Exploring a process-oriented
forensic family observation protocol. Family
Court Review, 54(2), 261-276. |
|
Garber,
Benjamin D. (2019). For the love of Fluffy:
Respecting, protecting, and empowering
transitional objects in the context of high
conflict divorce. Journal of Divorce
and Remarriage, 60:7, 552-565. |
|
Grossmann, K.,
Grossmann, K. E., Kindler, H., & Zimmermann,
P. (2008). A wider view of attachment and
exploration: The influence of mothers and fathers
on the development of psychological security from
infancy to young adulthood. In J. Cassidy & P.
R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory,
research, and clinical applications (pp. 857–879).
The Guilford Press. |
|
Kalpidou, M.
(2012). Sensory processing relates to attachment
to childhood comfort objects of college students.
Early Child Development and Care, 182(12),
1563-1574. |
|
Kelly, J.B.,
& Lamb, M.E. (2000). Using child development
research to make appropriate custody and access
decisions for young children. Family Court
Review, 38(3), 297–311. |
|
Kitagawa, M.,
Iwamoto, S., Umemura, T., Kudo, S., Kazui, M.,
Matsuura, H., & Mesman, J. (2021).
Attachment-based intervention improves Japanese
parent-child relationship quality: A pilot study.
Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse
Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues.
Advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01297-9 |
|
National
Association of Social Workers. (2016). Social
workers and child custody evaluations. National
Association of Social Workers. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
NEW 2021!
 |
 |
 |
 |
