Conference Agenda

Attachment theory is one of the most influential developmental theories and is widely used in both scientific research and by professionals working with children and families. However, as several recent studies have shown, these two fields differ in the way they understand and use attachment theoretical concepts. For example, research from Sweden, the UK, and Norway (Braarud et al., 2024; Foster, 2023; Hammarlund et al., 2022) confirms that attachment theory is frequently used in child welfare practice, but applications are diverse and not always based on a shared knowledge base. In this roundtable, six researchers, educators, and practitioners from five European countries—the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and the UK—will share follow-up work that extends these findings into other professional fields (e.g. child psychiatry) and other countries, including qualitative analyses of practitioners’ views on the use of attachment in their work. In discussion with the audience, we aim to gain more insight into potential explanations for similarities and differences in the use of the attachment framework across countries and the needs practitioners have regarding using an attachment framework in their work. We will discuss ongoing initiatives to reduce the gap between research and practice (e.g., paper on core attachment curriculum and implementation) and brainstorm about other possibilities to create a common knowledge base with regard to attachment theory and research, and useful applications in practice. The aim of this discussion is to facilitate collaborations and inspire future practically relevant research to work towards bridging the gap between attachment research and practice.