Becoming attached

Psychology

First published: 1990
Print length: 498 pagesOxford University Press, 1998

Description

Robert Karen investigates attachment: the infant's bond with a caregiver and the ways that bond may shape emotional life long after childhood. He traces the development of attachment theory through the work and professional struggles of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, linking scientific debate with enduring questions about personality, parenting, and adult intimacy. The discussion considers why parents repeat conduct they resented in their own upbringing, how caregiving and day care may affect infants, and why early patterns of security or insecurity can persist. Karen also examines the possibility of change, resisting the idea that childhood fixes every later relationship. The book joins intellectual history with practical family concerns to explain how dependence becomes a foundation for autonomy and connection.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Academic · Descriptive · Essayistic

Pace

Measured

Tone

Cerebral · Earnest · Reflective

Structure

Argumentative

Focus

Ideas · Information · Relationships

Emotional intensity

3 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 4 / 5
Ideas: 4 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

FamilyIdentityLoveMental healthParenthoodTransformation

About Robert Karen

Robert Karen is a clinical psychologist whose nonfiction brings a clinician’s attention to intimate life together with long-form reporting on psychological research. Drawing on interviews and intellectual disputes, he presents researchers as complex individuals while remaining attentive to the limits of their ideas. Becoming Attached is an intellectual history rather than a conventional parenting manual. It follows John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, Mary Main, and other leading figures as their methods and theories connect with questions about family life and adult relationships. In The Forgiving Self, Karen turns to resentment and repair, using films, public figures, and clinical sessions to examine how forgiveness can coexist with anger, accountability, and the need for repair.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Language: English
ISBN: 9780195115017

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