The Early Pioneers of Attachment Disorder: Bowlby and Robertson

For some adoptive and foster parents, attachment theory is a new concept, although it was first described in the 1950s. At a London hospital, psychiatrist John Bowlby and social worker James Robertson studied the effects on children children under three years of age separated from their mother. In the 1950s, long hospitalizations and the exclusion of parents were common practice, although it was common knowledge in the community that children, especially those under the age of three, were “changed for the worse” when they returned home. Robertson stated, “A hospital experience has dangers of emotional trauma for the young child.” Bowlby and Robertson identified three separate stages for children: Protest, Despair, and Denial/Detachment.

1. Protest – The child waits for the mother to respond to his cries. When she doesn’t come, the boy is heartbroken, visibly upset, and searches for her.
2. Despair – With the mother’s continued absence, the child loses hope, becomes withdrawn and silent, and becomes what Robertson calls “settled.”
3. Denial/Detachment – The boy shows more interest in his surroundings and seems happy, which Robertson saw as a sign of danger. In reality, the child is simply making the best of the situation. Robertson noted: “When her mother comes to visit, she seems like she barely knows her and no longer cries when she leaves.” Once the child returns home, and if his stay was long, it seems that he does not need any maternal care. Their relationships are described as superficial and distrustful.

These three stages occur for none small child separated from its mother for a period of weeks and sometimes even in a matter of days. Bowlby and Robertson were able to witness firsthand the effects of separating a child from its mother. Parents whose children suffered early abandonment did not witness their children’s separation, but they can imagine and understand their children’s trauma and fears.

Because of this early separation, foster and adopted children will have current events that trigger past experiences of loss or abandonment. Let’s see the example of Jacob, 8 years old, adopted in Colombia at 2 years old. Jacob was brought to the orphanage several days after he was born. The orphanage was in a poor area; he had some broken toys, shared clothes, and little food for the children. Jacob’s foster parents, Julie and Ron, know that Jacob’s tantrums occur when things are “taken” from him and especially when he loses food as punishment. This year at school, his teacher’s behavior plan was to take tokens from kids who misbehave. Jacob’s parents know that this will trigger his old trauma, and without delay, they talk to the teacher. Fortunately, the teacher understands the meaning of Jacob’s early loss and changes the classroom behavior plan. Now, children earn tokens when they care about their teacher.

Bowlby and Robertson were pioneers in identifying the three phases that lead to attachment difficulties. His work has been invaluable in understanding how to prevent attachment difficulties. Although we may not be able to prevent all children from experiencing early separation and loss, Bowlby and Robertson’s work provides a backdrop for understanding the three phases children experience when they experience neglect, abandonment, or loss.

1 Robertson, J. (1958) Small children in hospitals. New York.: Basic Books.