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John Bowlby: biography of the founder of attachment theory

The tragic events of his childhood, added to his various studies, were the aspects that shaped one of the best psychologists of the 20th century.

Psychologist and psychonalist John Bowlby (February 26, 1907 – September 2, 1990) believed that early childhood attachments played a fundamental role in a child’s later development and mental functioning.

His work contributed to the development of attachment theory, considering that children are born with the need to seek and remain close to parental figures or those responsible for their care for their own survival.

Do you want to know how it all started? We tell you.

John Bowlby Biography

Son of Sir Anthony Alfred Bowlby, surgeon to the royal household, and Mary Bridget Mostyn, he was the fourth of six siblings belonging to the high bourgeois society of the 20th century. At that time, the higher classes usually left their children in the care of nannies. Thus, Bowlby was in charge of Minnie, his caregiver, for a long time; which led him to have little contact with his mother.

However, At four years old, she would leave the family’s domestic service, causing her great suffering when she left. and a sense of loss that would be added to the appearance of a new nanny with a colder character.

With the First World War, His father was absent and, years later, he entered a boarding school. This set of events would generate such a degree of pain that they led him to work on aspects such as bonding, separation anxiety and fear of loss in minors.

John Bowlby’s attachment theory explains the emotional bond that is created between the baby and its primary caregiver.

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Studies and preparation

After several years of boarding school, he studied at Dartmouth Naval College. After that, he would try to enter to study medicine at the University of Cambridge, but during said studies he was attracted to mental health and he abandoned them to begin a degree in Psychology at Trinity College of the same university.

His main interest was in childhood and the period of development and, after graduating, he would begin to do various studies on delinquent and maladjusted minors, observing that they often came from broken families or that had suffered abuse.

During 1937, he would be accepted as a psychoanalyst in the British Psychoanalytical Society. After that, he andTrained by Melanie Klein in child psychoanalysis, he would begin to analyze minors focusing on environmental factors, parenting and the real relationship between maternal figure and child.

That same year he accepted the proposal to preside over Trinity College. However, the Second World War would lead him to be recruited and serve as a lieutenant colonel in the medical corps.

The beginnings of attachment theory

As stated in the following article published by the magazine Review of General Psychology, John Bowlby is in the ranking of the 100 psychologists of the 20th century most cited by professionals. The reason for this began with his initial work with children; From this point, he developed a great interest in the topic of child development.

Specific, He was especially interested in how separation from caregivers affected children; and, after many studies, it was when he began to develop his ideas about the importance of attachment in child development.

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In 1949, Bowlby was commissioned by the WHO to write a report on the mental health of homeless children in Europe, and after the publication of the influential report, Bowlby continued to develop his attachment theory.

This theory suggested that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers continue throughout life. In fact, This attachment would serve to improve the child’s chances of survival.

John Bowlby’s research on attachment and child development left an important mark on the fields of psychology, education, child care, and parenting. Therefore, scholars (such as María Eugenia Moneta) expanded his research to develop clinical treatment techniques and prevention strategies.

His contribution to psychology

We hope that the biography of John Bowlby has helped you get to know him in more detail because, without a doubt, his figure It represented a transgressive change to value the importance of staying with the family during childhood. Leaving a legacy that, to this day, is still very much in mind when conducting any type of research in the field of child psychology.

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All cited sources were reviewed in depth by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, validity and validity. The bibliography in this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.

Bowlby J. Maternal care and mental health. Scientific Publication;14. 1954; Available at: https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/1160Cherry K. How John Bowlby influenced child psychology. Verywellmind.com. . Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/john-bowlby-biography-1907-1990-2795514Ehrenreich, JT, Santucci, LC, & Weiner, CL (2008). Separation anxiety disorder in youth: Phenomenology, evaluation, and treatment. Psychol. behavior, 389-412.Haggbloom SJ, Warnick R, Warnick JE, Jones VK, Yarbrough GL, Russell TM, et al. The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Rev Gen Psychol. 2002;6(2):139-52.Mimenza OC. John Bowlby: biography (and the bases of his Attachment Theory). Psicologiaymente.com. 2017. Available at: https://psicologiaymente.com/biografias/john-bowlbyMoneta C ME. Attachment and loss: rediscovering John Bowlby. Rev Chil Pediatr. 2014;85(3):265-8.

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