The transnational history of attachment theory in post-war Europe
An interdisciplinary study of agents, discourses, and practices
Attachment theory, whose foundations were established by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth in the 1950s and 1960s, is arguably one of the most influential and widely accepted psychological theories of the 20th century.
It is now common to find references in nearly every parenting guide, advising that babies and toddlers need a secure attachment to a few primary adult caregivers. However, from a historical perspective, it becomes clear that this knowledge only began to spread across Europe after World War II.
This project will analyze the speed at which it took hold in various European countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain and the impact of this understanding.
The interdisciplinary network on the transnational history of attachment theory in post-war Europe aims to address two interrelated themes.
First, it seeks to analyze the dissemination of attachment theory across various academic disciplines. Second, it aims to examine its influence on different societal sectors—for instance, on the organization of residential care or on normative concepts of child-rearing practices. By doing so, the network comprehensively investigates the historical development of a theory that has significantly shaped psychology, psychiatry, social work, education, and psychotherapy in recent decades.
This approach seeks to enhance the understanding of how attachment theory has been applied across different disciplines and countries and contribute to a broader comprehension of innovations in the psychological and psychiatric sciences, as well as shifting conceptions of childhood. Furthermore, it historicizes and contextualizes the changing experiences of childhood, particularly during the early years of life.
The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a Scientific Network for a period of three years.
The network is organized by Felix Berth (Project Lead, German Youth Institute), Claudia Moisel (Co-Project Lead, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich), Frank van der Horst (Erasmus University Rotterdam), and Maren Zeller (Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, St. Gallen). An additional 16 researchers from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Hungary will participate in the five planned network meetings.
The 20 participants in the network come from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. Among them are historians, historically-oriented sociologists, as well as scholars from social work, psychology, and educational sciences. Each participant will contribute their own disciplinary and historical perspectives, aiming to consolidate existing knowledge on the development of attachment theory in Europe, while also identifying and, where possible, addressing new research questions. The network will employ a range of methodological approaches, including archival research, as well as discourse and content analysis.
First network meeting in Munich, Oktober 27-29, 2024: Documentation DJI homepage
Berth, Felix (2021). This house is not a home: Residential care for babies and toddlers in the two Germanys during the Cold War. In The History of the Family 26(3), S. 506-531. https://doi.org/10.1080/1081602X.2021.1943488
Moisel, Claudia (2017). Geschichte und Psychoanalyse. Zur Genese der Bindungstheorie von John Bowlby. In Vierteljahreshefte für Zeitgeschichte 65(1), S. 51–74. https://www.ifz-muenchen.de/heftarchiv/2017_1_3_moisel.pdf
Van der Horst, Frank (2024). The American contribution to attachment theory: John Bowlby’s WHO trip to the USA in 1950 and the development of his ideas on separation and attachment. In Attachment & Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2024.2342665
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81541 Munich
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