Arguing the need for Aboriginal-specific testing of attachment theory as a foundation of culturally informed child protection and attachment best practice

Abstract

Objective: To argue the need for Aboriginal-specific testing of attachment theory as a foundation for culturally informed child protection practice. Method: Narrative review of attachment theory, cross-cultural attachment research, and the author’s clinical expertise with Aboriginal families over twenty-five years. Results: Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure has been validated in more than 40 countries but never with Aboriginal Australian populations. Cultural parenting practices including collective caregiving, kinship obligation, natural growth parenting, and skin and avoidance relationships can be misclassified as attachment deficits by a child protection workforce that is 94% non-Indigenous. Indigenous child removals have escalated by 119% over the past decade while non-Indigenous removals declined by 12%. The most recent national data shows Aboriginal children are in out-of-home care at 11 times the rate of non-Indigenous children. Existing attachment programs fail to incorporate contextual cultural factors or address race-mediated trauma as a contributor to compromised caregiver responsiveness. Conclusions: Empirical testing of the SSP with Aboriginal populations is urgently needed alongside culturally informed attachment programs targeting Indigenous-specific caregiver responsiveness to halt the intergenerational transmission of compromised attachment.