Beyond the Dyad. An Ethnographic Journey Revisiting Attachment Theory with African-Caribbean Families in London.

For over one hundred years, Western Psychology has been preoccupied with developing an understanding of the dyad par excellence: mother and child. This thesis explores the cultural validity of attachment theory and the concept of the dyad in families of African Caribbean heritage in London, UK. This is developed through the juxtaposition of an ethnography of emic perspectives and experiences of Caribbean families in London, and a series of semi-structured interviews and group discussions with practitioners from fields of relevance. The thematic analysis of the data collected puts forward conflicting interpretations, between practitioners and families, on three common themes: the meaning of being Caribbean, family bonds, and attitudes towards society. The discussion of these three themes, and divergent perspectives of participants, indicates that the key tenets of attachment theory (maternal sensitivity, quality of care and stability of attachment) are not representative of the experiences and perspectives presented by the families. Considering these results, I formulate a possible alternative theoretical framework to represent and theorise dynamics in Caribbean families: fluctuant attachment. Whilst this new framework, based on three themes identified by families as central to their experiences, wishes to limit stereotypical interpretations of family bonds; it fails to recognise children’s role in these relations. In my conclusion, following a Foucaldian deconstruction of attachment theory, I argue for the necessity for Childhood Studies to be a field of critical theory, based on children’s rights, and to develop new theoretical frameworks that recognise children as active agents.

百余年来，西方心理学始终聚焦于研究最具范式意义的二人互动单元：母婴二人组（dyad）。本论文探究了依恋理论（attachment theory）以及二人组概念在英国伦敦非裔加勒比裔家庭中的文化效度。本研究通过结合两项研究路径：一是针对伦敦加勒比裔家庭开展的、以主位视角（emic）与体验为核心的民族志（ethnography）研究，二是对相关领域从业者开展的一系列半结构化访谈与小组讨论，展开该项探究。对收集到的数据开展主题分析法（thematic analysis）后，本研究揭示了从业者与加勒比裔家庭在三大核心议题上存在截然不同的解读：加勒比身份的内涵、家庭纽带以及对社会的态度。对上述三大议题及参与者分歧视角的讨论表明，依恋理论的核心要义——母性敏感性、照料质量与依恋稳定性——并不契合加勒比裔家庭所呈现的体验与视角。基于上述研究结果，本研究提出了一种可用于阐释加勒比裔家庭互动动态的替代性理论框架：波动型依恋（fluctuant attachment）。尽管这一基于家庭所认定的三大核心体验议题构建的新框架，旨在避免对家庭纽带的刻板解读，但它未能认识到儿童在这些关系中的作用。在结论部分，本研究通过福柯式（Foucauldian）解构依恋理论，论证了童年研究（Childhood Studies）应当成为以儿童权利为基础的批判理论领域，并亟需发展出认可儿童作为行动主体（active agents）的全新理论框架。