What Happens When You Disrupt a Secure Attachment?

We will use attachment theory and research to discuss what happens when you disrupt a secure attachment. 

Key points to be discussed include:

• The identification of security and insecurity in infant attachment relationships
• The importance of infant attachment relationships for later development
• The caregiver behaviors that foster secure attachment
• The consequences of disrupting early, primary attachment relationships

Participants will be able to apply this information in their work to

• Identify indicators of infants’ secure and insecure attachment
• Support parent and caregiver efforts to develop and sustain secure attachment relationships with infants and young children
• Advocate for continuity of care and stability in the attachment relationships of infants and young children

Cheryl Fortner-Wood has a PhD in Child Development and Family Studies from Purdue University. She is a full professor of psychology at Winthrop University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in child and lifespan development and research methods. Her scholarship on relationships and development spans 25 years and includes national and international presentations and publications. She has testified as an expert in child development and attachment in two dozen family cases in 11 different SC counties and was cited in a 2018 SC State Supreme Court appellate decision. Dr. Fortner-Wood has serves as Co-Chair of the Adoption and Foster Care Focus Group of the National Council on Family Relations and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Attention Home in Rock Hill, SC.