Abstract
Siegel and Hartzell unpack Bowlby’s unpublished notes on disorganized attachment — when fear of the caregiver blocks a coherent attachment strategy.
Siegel, D. J., Reisz, S., & Duschinsky, R. (2017). Attachment & Human Development, 20(2), 107–134. DOI
Key findings
- Disorganized pattern — Some children show contradictory approach-avoid — no stable strategy under threat.
- Fearful base — Disorganization often rides on frightening or frightened caregiving.
- Defence stack — Multiple defence layers can block integration of attachment experience.
- Clinical read — Naming disorganization reframes behaviour — not random dysfunction.
Limits
Interpretive chapter on archival notes — not a new longitudinal trial.
Application
When closeness and flee alternate in the same bond — consider disorganized attachment, not only bad communication. See Interpersonal neurobiology.