Empirical status
Although attachment theory may be included in a psychodynamic and psychoanalytic framework, unlike psychodynamics or psychoanalytic which are hard to verify by empirical study, attachment theory has strong emphasis on empirical study. Both Bowlby and Ainsworth were empirically oriented researchers, which was not common among psychoanalytic theorists of his generation. The experiments in Uganda and Baltimore …show more content…
Child welfare social workers use attachment theory to guide their practice, such as promoting better relationships between children and their primary caregivers. Attachment theory is used to address the concerns regarding at risk families. Social workers advocate to develop parenting programs in order to provide intervention for the at-risk family. Social work therapists also conduct infant-family therapy in high-risk groups. Moreover, attachment-based programs have been development in order to provide services for the families that are at the risk of developmental …show more content…
As a result, attachment theory is a major theory for the social worker working in the field of child welfare, such as foster care, adoption, or child protection. Based on the current child welfare policy and the allocation of government’s funding and resources to attachment based program, it also can conclude that attachment is the major theory in the field of child welfare
Contributions by social work scholars toward integrating attachment theory into social work practice now appear across a wide range of topics, including theory development. Haight and Taylor’s 2007 text for social work courses on human behavior in the social environment was the first to use attachment theory as a major organizing framework, and stands in marked contrast to the cursory treatment attachment theory gets, if it is mentioned at all, in most other HBSE texts. New edited volumes on attachment theory and social work practice with children and adults are in press as of this