Introduction

Most of this issue of the Journal is devoted to the papers presented at the symposium on Attachment: Theory and Clinical Issues, held on March 19, 1983, under the auspices of the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis. The occasion for the day-long event was the thirty-first annual Karen Horney Lecture given by Dr. John Bowlby. The symposium brought together presenters and discussants with very different perspectives on the nature and role of childhood factors in the development of adult psychopathology. Each illustrated his or her point of view on the matter in considerable detail.

Dr. Bowlby's paper summarizes the main premises and findings of attachment theory and applies these principles to the problem of family violence. Bowlby sees disordered attachment in children as a frequent source of adult disturbance, and this paper is a fine illustration of the application of his orientation to a specific clinical problem. Dr. Symonds’ discussion of Bowlby's paper emphasizes another way of understanding the violence-prone individual, focussing on his or her deep sense of powerlessness.

Dr. Clarice Kestenbaum's paper is essentially in two parts. The first is a review of the literature on developmental theories with a very thorough survey of the research findings concerning the mother-infant bond. The second part is clinical: a somewhat speculative attempt to link adult affective illness with early disturbances in attachment. Her paper points the way to many areas of investigation which may be very useful in the treatment and prevention of affective illness. Dr. Mahon's discussion conveys in poetry and prose some of the mystery and passion of the mother-infant bond. Perhaps a sense of this mystery and passion lends force to our efforts to understand early attachments.

Dr. Henry Paul's paper is a presentation of the application of Horneyan psychodynamics to the understanding and treatment of children. The interplay of constructive forces, neurotic conflicts, and th