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John Bowlby's Macro Level Attachment Theory

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Macro Level Attachment Theory
Attachment Theory Summary According to Birkenmaier, Berg-Weger, and Dewees (2014), Attachment Theory (A.T.) was proposed by John Bowlby who hypothesized that children and caregivers bond excessively during the primary months of a child’s life. (p.108) Birkenmaier, Berg-Weger, and Dewees further claims that the bonding or lack of bonding critically impacts the person's ability to attach and make meaningful relationships throughout life (p. 109). Furthermore, Bowlby asserts “children who form an attachment to an adult that is, an enduring and socio-emotional relationship are more likely to survive” (Kirst-Ashman and Zastrow, p. 147). Therefore, if a child’s attachment process is interrupted it can cause issues …show more content…

has several limitations including sexist ideation and no self-determination for clients. Firstly, A.T. claim that caregivers are responsible for their children’s connection, therefore also their behavior and cognitive development. A.T. puts extreme emphasis on the caregiver's actions and not the self-determination of the clients (Mikuliner, Shaver, and Perg). Another limitation of A.T. would be the emphasise on the traditional gender roles of the mother and how mothers are suppose to exclusively and effortly bond with their children-- therefore eliminating detachment issues.
Social Privileges and Oppressions Concerning Attachment Theory Attachment Theory accounts for several social privileges and oppression when observing socioeconomic classes and able bodiness. For instance, an example can be seen in A.T. when scrutinizing how families from lower socioeconomic classes have less time available to bond with infants when they are born especially in America because America does not have a mandatory paid maternity/paternity leave and their financial assets forces them to return to work without establishing essential bonds with new infants.
Social Work Implications of Attachment

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