Attachment Theory in Old Age: Protection of the Attached Figure

Abstract

Before proceeding further, it should be noted that this chapter is somewhat speculative in nature as well as limited in focus. First, the chapter does not deal with reciprocal interactions between parent and child, although they are of obvious importance. Second, the chapter does not deal with multiple attachments, although their existence and importance is recognized. Third, the chapter does not deal with contextual variables to any great extent, although the importance of context is obvious. Employment of adult daughters , norma-tive obligations, generational equity, and so on, all have their influence on attachment and on provision of help to the elderly. Fourth, the chapter does not deal with individual differences in attachment and protective behaviors to any great degree, although the importance of accounting for intra-and interindividual differences over time is recognized as a goal of developmental research. Finally, the chapter does not deal with the long-range effects of infant attachment on the individual's emotional-social development, as important as that question may be.