Working toward anti-racist perspectives in attachment theory, research, and practice

ABSTRACT

Recent social movements have illuminated systemic inequities in U.S. society, including within the social sciences. Thus, it is essential that attachment researchers and practitioners engage in reflection and action to work toward anti-racist perspectives in the field. Our aims in this paper are (1) to share the generative conversations and debates that arose in preparing the Special Issue of Attachment & Human Development, “Attachment Perspectives on Race, Prejudice, and Anti-Racism”; and (2) to propose key considerations for working toward anti-racist perspectives in the field of attachment. We provide recommendations for enriching attachment theory (e.g. considering relations between caregivers’ racial-ethnic socialization and secure base provision), research (e.g. increasing the representation of African American researchers and participants), and practice (e.g. advocating for policies that reduce systemic inequities in family supports). Finally, we suggest two relevant models integrating attachment theory with perspectives from Black youth development as guides for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• African Americans
• black youth development
• anti-racism

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the authors who contributed to the 2021 Special Issue of Attachment & Human Development, “Attachment Perspectives on Race, Prejudice, and Anti-Racism.” The reflections contained herein are the direct result of reading their papers and engaging in fruitful dialogue during the review process and at the Society for Research in Child Development 2021 Biennial Meeting. We also thank Amanda Trujillo for her help preparing this paper, as well as José Causadias, Angel Dunbar, Roger Kobak, and Phil Shaver for their valuable feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by a Dean’s Research Initiative seed grant from the University of Maryland College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (award no. DRI-L1-2018 to Cassidy and Stern), and by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F32HD102119 to J. Stern. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.