Research article summary (published 30 Dec 2006):

Little Hans and attachment theory: Bowlby's hypothesis reconsidered in light of new evidence from the Freud Archives.

Full Abstract

Bowlby (1973), applying attachment theory to Freud's case of Little Hans, hypothesized that Hans's anxiety was a manifestation of anxious attachment. However Bowlby's evidence was modest; Hans was threatened by his mother with abandonment, expressed fear of abandonment prior to symptom onset, and was separated from his mother for a short time a year before. Bowlby's hypothesis is reassessed in light of a systematic review of the case record as well as new evidence from recently derestricted interviews with Hans's father and Hans in the Freud Archives. Bowlby's hypothesis is supported by multiple additional lines of evidence regarding both triggers of separation anxiety preceding the phobia (e.g., a funeral, sibling rivalry, moving, getting his own bedroom) and background factors influencing his working model of attachment (mother's psychopathology, intense marital conflict, multiple suicides in mother's family) that would make him more vulnerable to such anxiety. Bowlby's hypothesis is also placed within the context of subsequent developments in attachment theory.

Author information

Author/s: Wakefield, Jerome C (JC);

Affiliation: New York University, NY, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article

Journal: The Psychoanalytic study of the child (Psychoanal Study Child), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-; vol 62 (issue ) : pp 61-91

Dates: Created 2008/06/05; Completed 2008/07/29;

PMID: 18524087, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Archives Austria Freudian Theory History, 20th Century Humans

Humans Object Attachment Psychoanalysis - history Psychoanalytic Interpretation Psychoanalytic Theory

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