ABSTRACT

The author acknowledges attachment theory as a widely accepted analytic paradigm that has generated creative and impactful research for over half a century. This acknowledgment is followed with commentary on what the author considers critically relevant yet unacknowledged topics of inquiry in the attachment literature. The author contends that race, discrimination, and unaddressed systemic racism are the most important issues in the United States today and profoundly affect all areas of African American family life, particularly parenting, parent-child bonds, and other familial relationships in African American families. Suggestions are offered on how attachment research—a psychological, evolutionary, and ethological theory with an eye toward illuminating human universal processes can be advanced by research on race and racism, which emphasizes the critical role of context and culture on child development, parenting, and family life. Furthermore, the author discusses how attachment research can better delineate and measure cultural and contextual variations. Race, discrimination and racism; racial ethnic socialization practices; and the social context of caregiving are highlighted. Measurement and intervention considerations are suggested.

摘要

作者承认依恋理论是一种被广泛接受的分析范式，半个多世纪以来产生了创造性和影响力的研究。在此致谢之后，对作者认为在附件文献中至关重要但未被承认的探究主题进行了评论。作者认为，种族、歧视和未解决的系统性种族主义是当今美国最重要的问题，并深刻影响非裔美国人家庭生活的所有领域，尤其是非裔美国人家庭中的育儿、亲子关系和其他家庭关系。就如何通过种族和种族主义研究推进依恋研究——一种着眼于阐明人类普遍过程的心理、进化和行为学理论，提出了建议，它强调背景和文化对儿童发展、养育子女和家庭生活的关键作用。此外，作者还讨论了依恋研究如何更好地描述和衡量文化和语境的差异。种族、歧视和种族主义；种族民族社会化做法；并强调了看护的社会背景。建议考虑测量和干预。