The Psychobiology of Attachment and Separation provides an understanding of certain theoretical issues involved in social attachment and separation. The book brings together a number of investigators studying animal and human models of the psychobiology of attachment and separation. The contributors are actively conducting studies that incorporate physiological measures in attachment-separation paradigms. Thus, the book's unique features include reviews and interpretations of recent data on the physiological correlates of attachment and separation behavior in both animals and humans. The book is divided into two parts, one on animal models and one on human models. The first part reviews research from several animal species, including studies on the biology of maternal behavior and physiological, neurochemical, and neuroanatomical correlates of both attachment and separation. The chapters on animal models provide an overview of the state of knowledge on both the biology of social attachment and the biological correlates of separation. The second part presents reviews and new data on attachment and separation in human infants. A summary chapter examines both animal and human data and offers a synthesis of the results, including clinical implications and ideas for future research.

This reference work breaks new ground as an electronic resource. Utterly comprehensive, it serves as a repository of knowledge in the field as well as a frequently updated conduit of new material long before it finds its way into standard textbooks.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International] licence. It is free to read at Oxford Clinical Psychology Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Attachment theory is among the most popular theories of human socioemotional development, with a global research community and widespread interest from clinicians, child welfare professionals, educationalists and parents. It has been considered "one of the most generative contemporary ideas" about family life in modern society. It is one of the last of the grand theories of human development that still retains an active research tradition. Attachment theory and research speak to fundamental questions about human emotions, relationships and development. They do so in terms that feel experience-near, with a remarkable combination of intuitive ideas and counter-intuitive assessments and conclusions. Over time, attachment theory seems to have become more, rather than less, appealing and popular, in part perhaps due to alignment with current concern with the lifetime implications of early brain development Cornerstones of Attachment Research re-examines the work of key laboratories that have contributed to the study of attachment. In doing so, the book traces the development in a single scientific paradigm through parallel but separate lines of inquiry. Chapters address the work of Bowlby, Ainsworth, Main and Hesse, Sroufe and Egeland, and Shaver and Mikulincer. Cornerstones of Attachment Research utilises attention to these five research groups as a lens on wider themes and challenges faced by attachment research over the decades. The chapters draw on a complete analysis of published scholarly and popular works by each research group, as well as much unpublished material.

First Published in 1985. This book provides a thorough review of the literature concerning the origins, interpretation, and developmental significance of individual differences in early infant-parent attachment.

This volume showcases the latest theoretical and empirical work from some of the top scholars in attachment. Extending classic themes and describing important new applications, the book examines several ways in which attachment processes help explain how people think, feel, and behave in different situations and at different stages in the life cycle. Topics include the effects of early experiences on adult relationships; new developments in neuroscience and genetics; attachment orientations and parenting; connections between attachment and psychopathology, as well as health outcomes; and the relationship of attachment theory and processes to clinical interventions.

"Nine central issues relevant to attachment theory and research constitute this volume: Defining attachment and attachment security, Measuring the security of attachment, The nature and functioning of internal working models, Stability and change in attachment security, Influence of early attachment, Culture and attachment, Separation and loss, Attachment-based interventions, and Attachment, systems, and services. This is a time of widening interest in attachment theory, and this book exists alongside others that provide perspective on the field as a whole. The authors of these chapters have synthesized their views into fresh perspectives that, juxtaposed with others addressing the same questions, offer novel and useful insights into the current status of attachment theory and research, and perspective on its future"--

From a historical point of view the first studies on the response of the organism to stressful situations in general, and on the psychobiology of stress in particular, are probably those of Cannon and de la Paz, the physiologists who showed in 1911 that the adrenal medulla and the sympathetic system are involved in emergency situations. Cannon noted that the venous blood of cats frightened by barking dogs contained adrenaline, a response of the organism which was prevented by adrenalectomy or by section of the splanchnic nerve innervating the adrenal medulla. Cannon suggested that the adrenal medulla was acting in concert with the sympathetic nervous system, so that both systems were activated during stress. The role of the sympathetic system in response to stressful events was later emphasized by the experiments carried out by Maickel et al. (1967) and by Mason (1968): these authors clearly showed that stressors activate the sympathetic system causing it to release adrenaline and noradrenaline. This line of research may be contrasted with that carried out by Hans Selye, centered on of the adrenal cortex in the stress response. Selye's findings and theories originated the role the so-called hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal cortex (HPA) model of stress: in short, during stress adrenocorticotropic hormone is released from cells of the anterior pituitary and elicits secretion of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex.

Pre-eminent authorities in the field cover the origins and development of attachment theory, biological attachment theory, biological perspectives, measurement of attachment across the lifespan, and emerging topics and perspectives.

Drawing on research from a variety of domains - clinical studies of trauma, developmental psychopathology, interpersonal psychobiology, epidemiology, and social policy - September 11: Trauma and Human Bonds addresses especially the fundamental relationship of human bonds to trauma and underscores the manner in which developments in all these fields are coming together in complementary ways that sustain a key finding: that trauma must be understood in its relational and attachment contexts. The quality of early emotional attachments, differences in attachment styles to family milieus, and the psychological qualities that enable traumatized parents to avoid traumatizing their children are among the topics through which these contexts are explored. From their various disciplinary vantage points, the contributions converge to show how human relationships can either provide an anodyne to trauma or serve as the vehicle of its transmission. As Susan Coates observes, a major legacy of 9/11 is the realization that "there are no simple truths in the world of trauma studies, no easy-to-remember anodynes or pharmacologic magic bullets or depth-psychological schematizations that will hold true for a majority or even a sizable minority of cases." Yet, in delineating the multiple connections between human relations and trauma, and in elaborating these connections from multiple disciplinary perspectives, the contributors to September 11 have taken a decisive first step to consolidate new knowledge about trauma and to demonstrate how it can assist clinicians who encounter diverse responses to trauma in their day-to-day work. A sobering reminder of shared human vulnerability in the face of devastating events, September 11 is also a heartening reminder of resiliency in the face of overwhelming loss and of the healing potential of human connection.

A theoretically and empirically rich exploration of universal questions, this book examines the interplay of three distinct behavioral systems involved in romantic love. This integrative volume will be of interest to both researchers and clinicians.