2007 Awardees

Mary Dozier For Translational Research On Adoption: Applying Attachment Theory On Behalf Of Adults Offering Care And Infants And Children Seeking Security

John Bolwby was committed to the the idea that a good attachment theory would have prompt and significant implications for therapy and children in difficult situations. Mary Dozier has made singular contributions in both of these areas. Her work on the implications of attachment theory and assessment for adoption and foster care represent the long delayed realization of Bowlby's fondest hopes - to help children who have experienced parental loss. Few areas of attachment study involve such a difficult array of theoretical, methodological, and logistical problems. In addition to her singular work on attachment and adoption/forter care, Dr. Dozier was among the first to bring significant clinicial experience and research skills together to bridge the gap between attachment theory and clinical practice. Her work on attachment and psychopathology in adulthood has set a standard for careful work in this difficult area.

In all of her work, Mary Dozier has displayed the scholarship and service that John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth shared, taught, and valued. In addition, she is esteemed as a colleague and mentor in the Bowlby-Ainsworth tradition.

Representative Publications

Attachment organization and familial overinvolvement for adults with serious psychopathological disorders. Development and Psychopathology, 1991, 3, 475-489.

Clinicians as caregivers: The role of attachment organization in treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1994, 62, 793-800.

The role of attachment in therapeutic relationships. In J.A. Simpson & W.S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (1997, pp. 221-248).

Foster parents’ understanding of children’s problematic attachment strategies: The need for therapeutic responsiveness. Adoption Quarterly, 1999, 2, 49-64.

The development of attachment in new relationships: Single subject analyses for ten foster infants. Development and Psychopathology, 2000, 12, 133-156.

Attachment for infants in foster care: The role of caregiver state of mind. Child Development, 2001, 72, 1467-1477.

Intervening with foster infants’ caregivers: Targeting three critical needs. Infant Mental Health Journal, 2002, 25, 541- 554

Interventions for foster parents: Implications for developmental theory. Development and Psychopathology, 2002, 14, 843-860.

This is my baby: Differences among foster parents’ commitment to their young children. Child Maltreatment, 2006, 11, 338-345.

Attachment and psychopathology in adulthood. In J. Cassidy & P.R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment theory and research. (2009).

Attachment issues in foster care and adoption.. In J. Cassidy & P.R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment theory and research. (2009).

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