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Biomedical subjects

J Bowlby

Publications and source records attributed to J Bowlby.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Developmental psychiatry comes of age.

Although Meyer and Freud believed that the seeds of mental health are sown in childhood, systematic research has proved difficult and disappointing, and theory has remained intensely controversial. Research of the past two decades by developmental psychologists using an ethologically based theory of socioemotional bonds, however, is yielding findings that consistently confirm predictions. The author outlines this research, giving examples of the results, which are shown to be compatible with findings of epidemiological studies of depressed adults. He holds that a person's degree of vulnerability to stressors is strongly influenced by the development and current state of his or her intimate relationships.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Current issues in child psychiatry: a dialogue with John Bowlby.

A condensed account of Bowlby's work, particularly his advocacy of an ethological approach and of attachment theory, is followed by comments by three child psychiatrists. His work is critically discussed and ranges from questions concerning the theoretical status of Bowlby's work, to concerns about the de-emphasis of constitutional and temperamental factors, and to concerns that current realities render impractical (and perhaps unnecessary) the traditional models of child rearing. Dr. Bowlby responds to each discussant. In this three days at Lake Couchiching, John Bowlby was the most available and charming of guests. He welcomed discussion with delegates in his every free moment, including mealtimes. It was a privilege to have him in dialogue with us.

Child Development↗
PubMed1979

On knowing what you are not supposed to know and feeling what you are not supposed to feel.

Much psychopathology stems from "impressions, scenes, and experiences" of childhood having, apparently, been forgotten yet continuing to influence thought, feeling and action. The problem of how best to conceptualize the processes responsible for shutting memories away is eased by drawing on the findings and concepts of cognitive psychology. In explaining both the nature of the material shut away and the causes of its being so, attention is called to the role that a child's parents play, wittingly or unwittingly. Children not infrequently observe scenes their parents would prefer they did not observe; they form impressions their parents would prefer they did not form; and they have experiences their parents would like to believe they have not had. Examples are given of parents who seek to disconfirm their child's observations of events, to disapprove or condemn their natural emotional responses to distressing situations, and who discourage their children from registering aspects of their (the parents') personalities and behaviour. Pressure exerted on the children to conform to their parents' wishes can be crude or subtle, but its effectiveness depends always on the child's insistent desire to be loved and protected.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

The making and breaking of affectional bonds. I. Aetiology and psychopathology in the light of attachment theory. An expanded version of the Fiftieth Maudsley Lecture, delivered before the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 19 November 1976.

An account is given of attachment theory as a way of conceptualizing the propensity of human beings to make strong affectional bonds to particular others and of explaining the many forms of emotional distress and personality disturbance, including anxiety, anger, depression and emotional detachment, to which unwilling separation and loss give rise. Though it incorporates much psychoanalytic thinking, many of its principles derive from ethology, cognitive psychology and control theory. It conforms to the ordinary criteria of a scientific discipline. Certain common patterns of personality development, both healthy and pathological, are described in these terms, and also some of the common patterns of parenting that contribute to them.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The making and breaking of affectional bonds. II. Some principles of psychotherapy. The fiftieth Maudsley Lecture.

An account is given of how a clinician guided by attachment theory approaches the clinical conditions to which the theory is held to apply, which include states of anxiety, depression and emotional detachment. Assessment of a patient is in terms of the patterns of attachment and caregiving behaviour which he commonly shows and of the events and situations, both recent and past, which may have precipitated or exacerbated his symptoms. The problems posed by relevant information being suppressed or falsified are noted. Viewed in this perspective a psychotherapist is seen to have a number of inter-related tasks: (a) to provide the patient with a secure base from which he, the patient, can explore himself and his relationships; (b) and (c) to examine with the patient the ways in which he tends to construe current interpersonal relationships, including that with the therapist, and the resulting predictions he makes and actions he takes, and the extent to which some may be inappropriate; (d) to help him consider whether his tendencies to misconstrue, and as a result to act misguidedly, can be understood by reference to the experiences he had with attachment figures during his childhood and adolescence, and perhaps may still be having.

Attitude to Death↗