Attachment in adults
Subtitle: clinical and developmental perspectives
By: edited by Michael B. Sperling, William H. Berman ; foreword by Robert S. Weiss.
Contributors: Sperling, Michael B.; Berman, William H., 1954-
Publisher: Guilford Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 360
Subjects: Attachment behavior; Adulthood -- Psychological aspects; Object Attachment
Description: Reflecting the emerging understanding of the significance of attachment in adult life, this comprehensive volume provides a broad overview of recent research on adult attachment from a diversity of perspectives. Throughout, contributors apply the construct of attachment to a conceptual and empirical understanding of relatedness across the life span, exploring fundamental issues of human interaction, defining theoretical domains, and raising new questions about this compelling field of study.

The book opens with an overview of the structure and function of adult attachment. Issues central to attachment in adults - conceptualization, measurement, utility, and applicability to various stages and problems - are outlined and defined. Part II deals with broad theoretical and conceptual questions that affect adult attachment.

Chapters here address normative and disturbed life-span development; examine longitudinal studies of childhood attachment; explore the relationship between attachment theory and object relations theory; and discuss the physiological bases of attachment. Also offered is an overview of measurement, with critiques of some of the major scales in current use and the presentation of a new scale for assessing adult attachment.

. The role of attachment at various stages of the life cycle is the focus of Part III. Beginning with relationships of adolescents to parents and peers, the book proceeds to examine love relationships of late adolescence and early adulthood, and then attachment in marriage. The ways in which attachment style affects courtship and tendencies toward jealousy and romantic obsession are explored, as are the ways attachment relationships may be affected by important life transitions.

In the final section, contributors relate attachment to psychopathology and psychotherapy, through studies of suicidal ideation and impulse; parental bonding and depressive disorders; and personality disorders. In the discussion of attachment theory's application to psychotherapy, particular emphasis is placed on the interplay between the representational and the experiential world.

Representing much of the most current thinking, this volume is valuable for developmental, social, and clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, and psychotherapy researchers. Its inclusion of explicit examples of the range and application of the attachment approach makes it suitable as a reference for a variety of courses in which attachment theory is a component.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.