Toddler
Credit: Joe Szilagyi
Forty world experts on child development and mental health have released a joint statement calling for caution when applying an influential classification for assessing infant mental health and potential cases of abuse. The Disorganised Infant Attachment classification [..] is much too blunt an instrument to be used for child protection assessment - Robbie Duschinsky The consensus statement, published in the journal Attachment & Human Development, highlights the appropriate use and current limitations of a classification known as 'Disorganised Infant Attachment', which has been in use for over 30 years. The statement has been led by Professor Pehr Granqvist from Stockholm University and Dr Robbie Duschinsky from the University of Cambridge. Among the authors of the consensus statement are the originators of the classification, Mary Main and Judith Solomon. The classification is based on the 'attachment theory' proposed by renowned psychologist John Bowlby in 1969. Bowlby emphasised that when infants get upset, they tend to turn to their familiar caregivers (usually their parents). However, attachment theory suggests that an infant who has been exposed to 'alarming behaviour' by their caregiver will experience conflict about whether or not it is safe to turn to the caregiver for comfort.
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