Analyzing development of working models for disrupted attachments: the case of hidden family violence

This article offers a developmental model of attachment theory rooted in dynamic skill theory. Dynamic skill theory is based on the assumption that people do not have integrated, fundamentally logical minds, but instead develop along naturally fractionated strands of a web. Contrary to traditional interpretations of attachment theory, dynamic skill theory proposes that individuals continue to modify their working models of attachments throughout the lifespan. In particular, working models of close relationships develop systematically through a series of skill levels such that the skills vary across strands in the web and will not automatically form a unified whole. The continual modification of working models is particularly pertinent for the consequences of hidden family violence for individuals' development. Dynamic skill theory shows how trauma can produce not developmental delay or fixation, as has been proposed previously, but instead the construction of advanced, complex working models.