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situations. McIntosh (2011) pointed out that there is
inconsistent use of the literature on attachment to
make parenting decisions, and at best there is an
attempt to use various parts of attachment theory to
create a parenting plan or deliver a Court Judgment.
At worst, she notes:
…attachment concepts are stretched beyond
recognition to support a subjective view, or one
parent’s legal argument over the other. As a
result, the children concerned may be subject to
two concurrent strains: bitter and lengthy legal
proceedings that further impact parents’
capacities, and ill-conceived court orders and
parenting plans that chronically tax children’s
developmental security. (p.419)

ATTACHMENT AND THE PARENT
READINESS SCALE

The Parent Readiness Scale (PRS) was developed with
at least three areas of parent/child relationship
factors in mind: 1) Parent differentiation from child; 2)
Parent sensitivity; and 3) Ability to place child’s needs
over parent needs. These items are not representative
of all of the attachment related variables, but are
factors that contribute to attachment relationships
for mediators and parenting coordinators to consider
when working with parents. The items are scored
based on your observations of the parents during
interviews and joint sessions. The higher the parent
scores on the items, the more likely it is that that
parent will be able to provide the circle of security