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How young children cope with separation: toward a new conceptualization
1Department of Psychology, Birkbeck College, London, UK.
The British Journal of Medical Psychology
|January 16, 1998
Summary
The protest-despair-detachment (PDD) pattern in attachment literature requires reexamination. Emerging evidence supports alternative explanations for infant separation responses, challenging the PDD model.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Attachment Theory
Background:
- The protest-despair-detachment (PDD) pattern has been a widely accepted model in attachment and separation research.
- This model has significantly influenced the understanding of infant responses to separation.
Observation:
- The empirical evidence supporting the PDD pattern has been historically insubstantial.
- Recent research indicates that young children possess greater social competence than previously modeled.
Findings:
- There is substantial evidence for alternative frameworks explaining infant separation responses.
- The PDD model's assumptions about infant social competence are outdated and require revision.
Implications:
- Revisiting and potentially replacing the PDD pattern is crucial for advancing attachment theory.
- A refined understanding of infant social competence necessitates updated models of separation responses.