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Concepts travel faster than thought: an empirical study of the use of attachment classifications in child protection investigations.

Mårten HammarlundPehr GranqvistSara ElfvikCaroline AndramTommie Forslund
Published in: Attachment & human development (2022)
Scholarly discussion suggests prevalent, overconfident use of attachment classifications in child protection (CP) investigations but no systematic research has examined actual prevalence, the methods used to derive such classifications, or their interpretations. We aimed to cover this gap using survey data from a nationally representative sample of Swedish CP workers ( N  = 191). Three key findings emerged. First, the vast majority formed an opinion about young children's attachment quality in all or most investigations. Second, most did not employ systematic assessments, and none employed well-validated attachment methods. Third, there was overconfidence in the perceived implications of attachment classifications. For example, many believed that insecure attachment is a valid indicator of insufficient care. Our findings illustrate a wide researcher-practitioner gap. This gap is presumably due to inherent difficulties translating group-based research to the level of the individual, poor dissemination of attachment theory and research, and infrastructural pressures adversely influencing the quality of CP investigations.
Keyphrases
  • mental health
  • healthcare
  • quality improvement
  • risk factors
  • palliative care
  • physical activity
  • depressive symptoms
  • social support
  • electronic health record
  • data analysis
  • deep learning
  • infectious diseases