ABSTRACT
Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982) from its beginning was concerned with the implications of atypical patterns of attachment as well as the formation and course of normal infant-parent relationships. Bowlby (1944) formulated his ideas of personality development in part to explain the link between early emotional deprivation and later pathology in the lives of 44 thieves and as a guide for the diagnosis and treatment of emotionally disturbed children and families. Thus, attachment theory is a theory of both psychopathology and normal development.
