Expanding the Study of the Formation of the Child's Relationships

As a set, the reports included in this Monograph seek to expand the conceptualization and study of attachment. The editors and authors have indeed done an excellent job of presenting the "new growing points" within this field. My comments will focus on three of the issues that they raise: (1) How do we continue the study and conceptualization of secure-base behavior? (2) How do we take into account the multiple-relationship context of attachment? (3) How do we expand our conceptualization of attachment to include variations in individual adaptations and the development of relationships? Two statements that John Bowlby made during our many exciting conversations serve as an introduction to these comments. When I expressed discomfort with the reduction of attachment to five behavioral responses, he answered that the scientific study of essential phenomena requires some simplification; later conceptualization and further research involve revision and a better fit. He also often joked with me: "Jimmy Robertson, you, Miss Freud, and I can pretty much agree on how children respond to being separated from their mothers. It is when we come to interpret these responses that we get into difficulty."