Then and now: the legacy and future of attachment research

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory rescued psychology from the choice between an untestable psychoanalytic, drive reduction theory and behaviorist positions that were incapable of accounting for development. Theory and research on attachment over the last 5 decades advanced knowledge on vital topics such as the emergence of the self, emotion regulation, resilience, and mental representations. The success of the theory led to broad applications both within and outside of academia. Now is a useful time to appraise this body of work and to consider future directions. The book, “Cornerstones,” and the two target articles in this special issue provide an important start to this process, suggesting a number of potentially fruitful directions. Some of the challenges associated with these suggestions are addressed in this commentary.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• research
• legacy
• future

Disclosure statement

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