Attachment and Adversity across the Lifespan

Attachment theory has now come of age, and it is heartening to see its recognition in areas of social policy and social care practice. Its multidisciplinary basis is now celebrated and recent investigation has led to advances in understanding the biological underpinnings of human development in relation to the better known psychological and social pathways. However, in order to follow John Bowlby's insistence that attachment experience is from “the cradle to the grave” there is a need to understand the impacts of accumulated trauma, rejection, and loss on older age experience and consequent emotional distress. A summary of a community-based study investigating attachment style in three generations indicates that not only childhood trauma but also adult trauma adds to the prediction of depression in those over aged sixty. Insecure attachment style is a key mediating factor that increases the risk of depression in all three generations,

Two examples are provided from the study, women in later life and their narrative accounts of their lives. Both experienced the Second World War in their early life, from German and UK perspectives. Both experienced trauma arising from domestic violence, bereavements of those close to them, and a lack of close loving relationships. While one received care from her parents, the other experienced separation, neglect, and emotional abuse. Both women reported an insecure fearful attachment style. The woman with the more negative childhood described greater psychological distress and disturbance although both were affected by clinical depression. Neither woman was offered psychotherapeutic or other intervention opportunities. The hope is that for later generations such support is forthcoming with attachment theory and practice to guide intervention and increase well-being.