Attachment and Human Development

Aims & Scope

Attachment & Human Development is the leading forum for the presentation of empirical research, reviews and clinical case studies that reflect contemporary advances in attachment theory and research.

AHD is the official journal of the Society for Emotion and Attachment Studies (SEAS) and the official journal of the International Attachment Network (IAN).

AHD publishes original research, meta-analytic reviews (and occasionally) narrative reviews based on attachment theory.

Submissions that include multi-method approaches (including interviews or observations), and a longitudinal design, are especially welcome.

While reliance on widely used and previously validated methods is the norm, AHD also publishes papers that introduce new attachment methods.

Intergenerational patterns of attachment, emotion-regulation, children’s social and emotional development, the effects of loss and trauma, are common topics addressed by the journal.

Submissions that include physiological or genetic data, together with attachment variables, addressing core questions in developmental science are welcome.

Submissions typically include attachment as a predictor or an outcome, or attachment as a moderator or mediator of developmental outcomes.

AHD aims to be the source for reliable and valid research, and reviews, based on the theories advanced by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth.

The journal is of interest to developmental, social and clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals including social workers, couple and family therapists.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	2.4
2024	3.30

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	1.455

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	2517

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	495

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science
• Medline

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Medicine and Psychology, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• Attachment and development: A prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood

  Citation: 1118

  Authors: L. Alan

• Parental reflective functioning: An introduction

  Citation: 852

  Authors: Arietta

• Attachment-related psychodynamics

  Citation: 840

  Authors: Phillip R., Mario

• The first 10,000 Adult Attachment Interviews: distributions of adult attachment representations in clinical and non-clinical groups

  Citation: 690

  Authors: Marian J., Marinus H.

• Recent trends in research on teacher–child relationships

  Citation: 607

  Authors: Terri J., Robert C.

• Maternal reflective functioning, attachment, and the transmission gap: A preliminary study

  Citation: 572

  Authors: Arietta, John, Elizabeth, Dahlia, Alison

• The origins of 12-month attachment: A microanalysis of 4-month mother–infant interaction

  Citation: 479

  Authors: Beatrice, Joseph, Sara, Karen, Henian, Patricia, Lorraine, Howard, Stanley

• The Circle of Security project: Attachment-based intervention with caregiver-pre-school child dyads

  Citation: 443

  Authors: Robert, Glen, Kent, Bert

• Teacher–child relationships from an attachment perspective

  Citation: 442

  Authors: Karine, Helma M.Y.

• Maternal reflective functioning, mother–infant affective communication, and infant attachment: Exploring the link between mental states and observed caregiving behavior in the intergenerational transmission of attachment

  Citation: 409

  Authors: Kristen, Arietta, John F.

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