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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010145248 | BF575.A86 M47 2006 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Is maternal instinct fact or fiction? What special challenges do adoptive parents face? What kind of daycare is better, one with many caregivers or one with few? When is separation anxiety normal in a child? Do the experiences of early childhood always influence our ability to build and maintain social relationships as adults? Understanding Attachment helps to answer these questions and many others. This book is perfect for the reader who wants or needs a thorough understanding of attachment, but does not have time to indulge in lengthy study. Parents, child care providers, teachers, nurses, social workers, attorneys, therapists, students, and counselors will all appreciate this work.
Is maternal instinct fact or a myth? What special challenges do adoptive parents face? What kind of daycare is better, one with many caregivers or one with few? When is separation anxiety normal in a child, and when is it a sign of a developmental problem? Do the experiences of early childhood always influence our ability to build and maintain social relationships as adults? Understanding Attachment helps to answer these questions and many others. This book is perfect for the reader who wants or needs a thorough understanding of attachment, but does not have the time to indulge in lengthy study. Parents, child care providers, teachers, nurses, social workers, attorneys, therapists, students, and counselors will all appreciate this work.
Mercer defines attachment and related terms, discusses the history of the idea, and describes ways in which this aspect of emotional life can be measured. She explains developmental change and the way attachment continues to alter from infancy to adulthood. The importance of social experiences with parents and other caregivers is emphasized. Outcomes of good and poor attachment experiences are discussed, and there is material on attachment disorders. The book concludes with a description of recent work that gives a new perspective on attachment.
Author Notes
Jean Mercer is Professor of Psychology in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Richard Stockton College and President of the New Jersey Association for Infant Mental Health. She is also co-author of Attachment Therapy On Trial (Praeger, 2003).
Reviews 1
Choice Review
A useful companion to Mercer's Attachment Therapy on Trial, written with Larry Sarner and Linda Rosa with Gerard Costa (CH, Dec'03, 41-2488), this book will be especially valuable for those unfamiliar with attachment theory and research. Mercer provides a concise and jargon-free summary of attachment theory and successfully reveals how developments in the assessment of attachment promoted the evolution of attachment theory to what it is today. In the early chapters she provides a very readable summary of attachment, then outlines the potential impact various attachment experiences may have on individual and familial functioning, personality, emotional ties, and mental health at various points across the life-span. Mercer devotes a chapter to three current popular ways of thinking about attachment--attachment parenting, attachment therapy, and attachment concepts and the law; this discussion will be most beneficial to lay readers trying to understand the nonprofessional use of attachment concepts appearing in the popular press. The closing chapter presents a concise summary of recent advances in attachment research and poses interesting questions concerning the potential impact of globalization and changes in family relationship patterns on attachment development. The author provides reference notes for those seeking further detail. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates; technical students; practitioners; general readers. R. B. Stewart Jr. Oakland University
