The Myth of Attachment Theory

The Myth of Attachment Theory confronts the uncritical acceptance of attachment theory – challenging its scientific basis, questioning its relevance in our modern, superdiverse and multicultural society, and exploring the central concern of how children, and their way of forming relationships, differ from each other.

In this book, Heidi Keller examines diverse multicultural societies, proposing that a single doctrine cannot best serve all children and families. Drawing on cultural, psychological, and anthropological research, this challenging volume respects cultural diversity as the human condition and demonstrates how the wide heterogeneity of children’s worlds must be taken seriously. This approach helps avoid painful or unethical consequences that might result from applying attachment theory in different fields.

The book explores attachment theory as a scientific construct, discusses its role as the foundation of early education, and specifies the dimensions needed for a culturally conscious approach. Furthermore, it addresses ethical problems resulting from attachment theory's claim of universality in different areas. This book employs multiple and mixed methods, while also going beyond critical analysis of theory to offer insight into the implications of the unquestioning acceptance of this theory in areas such as childhood interventions, diagnosis of attachment security, international intervention programmes, and educational settings.

This volume will be a crucial read for scholars and researchers in developmental, educational and clinical psychology, as well as educators, teachers-in-training, and other professionals working with children and their families.