Attachment Theory’s Universality Hypothesis: Clinical Implications for Culturally Responsive Assessment

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory has achieved a major influence in social work practice as a basis for research and as a foundation for clinical approaches. The contention that attachment as it is contemporarily understood is a ubiquitous phenomenon has been labeled the universality hypothesis. This hypothesis is built on three assertions—that healthy attachment is facilitated through parental sensitivity, that secure attachment is normative, and that healthy attachment leads to longitudinal competence. Critics argue that contemporary attachment theory privileges a conception of child-rearing that is fundamentally based on family structures and societal conditions that ignore the cultural practices of most of the non-Western world. Although the universality hypothesis is intended as a tool for research, this author contends that it can be used as a construct to guide culturally responsive clinical work. The article will first provide an extensive review of the debate around cross-cultural attachment and then explore its clinical implications. A brief case study of clinical work with an ultraorthodox family will be used to elucidate the author’s contention.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment Theory
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Ultraorthodox Jews
• Clinical Assessment
• Cross-Cultural Practice
• Universality Hypothesis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.