Conference Agenda

This roundtable offers a space for dialogue on attachment in middle childhood and adolescence, with particular attention to gendered and cultural meanings of attachment relationships and their assessment. Middle childhood represents a developmental period in which attachment is reorganized across multiple relational contexts, while cultural norms and gender socialization increasingly shape how closeness, autonomy, and emotional expression are experienced and communicated. The discussion will be introduced by the chairs and proponents (Stefania Muzi, Cecilia Serena Pace, and Howard Steele), who will briefly outline selected findings from a recent systematic review and meta-analytic synthesis of studies using the Friends and Family Interview (FFI). Rather than serving as definitive conclusions, these results will be used as a shared empirical background to reflect on observed variability in attachment patterns and representations across gender and cultural contexts from middle childhood into adolescence. Invited contributors from different countries will then integrate these findings with their own research, clinical experience, and cultural perspectives on attachment. The roundtable will encourage reflection on questions such as: How do gendered expectations influence the expression and interpretation of attachment-related narratives in middle childhood and adolescence? In what ways do cultural frameworks shape attachment meanings beyond caregiver relationships? What are the implications of cultural and gender variability for attachment theory, assessment practices, and clinical work? Consistent with the roundtable format, the session is designed to foster active exchange among panelists and participants. By situating attachment within relational, cultural, and developmental contexts, the discussion aims to promote a nuanced and reflexive understanding of attachment processes in middle childhood and adolescence, in keeping with the dialogical and interdisciplinary tradition of the IAC.