©1997 POL.it Vol.3 Issue 1 Gennaio 1997

AGGRESSION AND ATTACHMENT

Juan Carlos Garelli, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Buenos Aires
Department of Early Development

Sommario:

Ricerche naturalistiche e sperimentali hanno dimostrato che le caratteristiche del'attachment alle relazioni primordiali hanno una correlazione coll'atteggiamenti degli adulti con rispetto ai figli, ai genitori, ai coniugi, agli amici, ed alla communita in generale, e con rispetto a la ideologia politica, la capacita d'amare, e la tendenza all'aggressione ed alla crudelta.

La Teoria del Attachment considera la psicopatologia come la consecuenza di uno sviluppo deviato delle relazioni di attachment durante la prima infanza.

I bambini con un attaccamento sicuro d'accordo alla Strange Situation tendono a non congolgersi in relazione aggressive, quelli con un attaccamento non sicuro tendono ad entrare in relazioni aggressive, prendendo il ruolo dell'aggressore nel caso degli evitativi e quello della vittima nel caso dei resistenti.

Summary:

According to the Theory of Attachment, psychopathology is regardedas due to a person having suffered or still be suffering theconsequences of disturbed patterns of attachment, leading the personto have followed a deviant pathway of development. Infancy, childhoodand adolescence are seen as sensitive periods during whichattachment behaviour develops -normally or deviously- according tothe experience the individual has with his attachment figures.

As regards the development of anti-social, aggressive behaviour, ithas been found that psychopathy generally, and felony, inparticular, are deeply rooted in early histories of deserting,threatening, violent parents. Furthermore, confirmed psychopaths,such as criminals, murderers and other systematic social offenders;delinquents, in a word, usually report histories of early adverseparental attitudes and disrupted relationships, particularly motherthreats of desertion as a means of discipline.

Moreover, a vicious spiral seems to arise from the mixed feelings ofanxiety and anger aroused by threats of this kind. For, while on theone hand a child is made furiously angry by a parent's threat todesert, on the other. he dare not express that anger in case it makesthe parent actually do so. This is the main reason why in these casesanger at a parent usually turns repressed and is then redirected toother targets: spouses, siblings, children, friends, profession,institutions, armies, or even more vulnerable targets: feebleschoolmates, feeble couples, feeble friends, parents, relatives,institutions, nations, and so on.

AGGRESSION
ATTACHMENT
Bibliografia