Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T07:50:11.514Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

50 - Attachment insecurity and attachment disorder

from Part III - Specific treatments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2010

Jonathan Green
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University of Manchester Booth Hall Children's Hospital Blackley Manchester UK
Ming Wai Wan
Affiliation:
University of Manchester Manchester UK
Michelle DeKlyen
Affiliation:
Center for Research on Clinical Well-being Princeton University Princeton, NJ USA
Peter Tyrer
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
Kenneth R. Silk
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Get access

Summary

Editor's note

Attachment problems can be divided into two broad categories. First, attachment insecurity and disorganization characterize patterns of child/caregiver relationship that represent risk factors for later psychopathology. Second, so-called attachment disorders are categorical disorders of disrupted attachment usually associated with early social deprivation, neglect or maltreatment. These latter include both disinhibited attachment disorder, which reveals itself in indiscriminate sociability, and inhibited attachment disorder. In cases of attachment insecurity, various forms of intervention with parents appear to have effectiveness in increasing parental sensitivity but their impact on attachment per se is less clear cut. These interventions appear to work best when they are relatively brief and specifically target caregiver sensitivity. In more severe cases, especially those involving attachment disorder, interventions may require placement of the children in adoptive homes. ‘Holding therapy’ lacks empirical support and may pose serious risk to children.

Introduction

Child attachment refers to particular key characteristics of the relationship between child and specific caregiver that are known to be strongly associated with social development and mental health. Research on normative patterns of attachment in infancy find that attachment insecurity (including ‘disorganization’) is a relative psychosocial risk factor for later development and is best conceptualized as a developmental risk variable on Axis V of a multiaxial classification (Green & Goldwyn, 2002).

Two less common forms of developmental disturbance associated with severe disruption or absence of early attachment relationships are recognized as Axis 1 clinical disorders in both DSM and ICD systems, although neither has yet received robust empirical validation.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (2002). Reactive Attachment Disorder: Position Statement. APA Document No. 200205. Washington, DC: The American Psychiatric Association.
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Juffer, F. & IJzendoorn, M. H. (1998). Intervention with video feedback and attachment discussions: does type of maternal insecurity make a difference?Infant Mental Health Journal, 19, 202–19.Google Scholar
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., IJzendoorn, M. H. & Juffer, F. (2003). Less is more: meta-analysis of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 195–215.Google Scholar
Barnard, K. E., Magyary, D., Sumner, G.et al. (1988). Prevention of parenting alterations for women with low social support. Psychiatry, 51, 248–53.Google Scholar
Beckwith, L. (1988). Intervention with disadvantaged parents of sick preterm infants. Psychiatry, 51, 242–7.Google Scholar
Boris, N. W., Hinshaw-Fusilier, S. S., Smyke, A. T., Scheeringa, M. S., Heller, S. S. & Zeanah, C. H. (2004). Comparing criteria for attachment disorders: Establishing reliability and validity in high-risk samples. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 568–77.Google Scholar
Chamberlain, P. (1996). Intensified foster care: Multi-level treatment for adolescents with conduct disorder in out-of-home care. In Psychosocial Treatments for Child and Adolescent Disorders: Empirically Based Strategies for Clinical Practice, ed. Hibbs, E. D. & Jensen, P. S., pp. 475–95. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Chisholm, K. (1998). A three year follow-up of attachment and indiscriminate friendliness in children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Child Development, 69, 1092–106.Google Scholar
Chisholm, K., Carter, M. C., Ames, E. W. & Morison, S. J. (1995). Attachment security and indiscriminately friendly behavior in children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 283–94.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Toth, S. L. & Rogosch, F. A. (1999). The efficacy of toddler-parent psychotherapy to increase attachment security in off-spring of depressed mothers. Attachment and Human Development, 1, 34–66.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A. & Toth, S. L. (2006). Fostering secure attachment in infants in maltreating families through preventive interventions. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 623–49.Google Scholar
Cooper, P. J., Murray, L., Wilson, A. & Romaniuk, H. (2003). Controlled trial of the short- and long-term effect of psychological treatment of post-partum depression. 1. Impact on maternal mood. British Journal of Psychiatry, 182, 412–19.Google Scholar
Dozier, M., Stovall, K. C., Albus, K. & Bates, B. (2001). Attachment for infants in foster care: the role of caregiver state of mind. Child Development, 72, 1467–77.Google Scholar
Egeland, B., Weinfeld, N. S., Bosquet, M. & Cheng, V. K. (2000), Remembering, repeating, and working through: lessons from attachment-based interventions. In WAIMH Handbook of Infant Mental Health (Vol. 4), ed. Osofsky, J., & Fitzgerald, H. E., pp. 35–89. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Fisher, P. A., Gunnar, M. R., Chamberlain, P. & Reid, J. B. (2000). Preventive intervention for maltreated preschool children: impact on children's behavior, neuroendocrine activity, and foster parent functioning. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1356–64.Google Scholar
Gelfand, D. M., Teti, D. M., Seiner, S. A. & Jameson, P. B. (1996). Helping mothers fight depression: evaluation of a home-based intervention program for depressed mothers and their infants. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25, 406–22.Google Scholar
Green, J. M. (2003). Are attachment disorders best seen as social impairment syndromes?Attachment and Human Development, 5(3), 259–64.Google Scholar
Green, J. M. & Goldwyn, R. (2002). Annotation: attachment disorganisation and psychopathology: new findings in attachment research and their potential implications for developmental psychopathology in childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(7), 835–46.Google Scholar
Hodges, J. & Tizard, B. (1989). Social and family relationships of institutional adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 77–97.Google Scholar
Jacobson, S. W. & Frye, K. F. (1991). Effects of maternal social support on attachment: experimental evidence. Child Development, 62, 572–82.Google Scholar
Juffer, F., Hoksbergen, A. C., Riksen-Walraven, J. M. & Kohnstamm, G. A. (1997). Early intervention in adoptive families: supporting maternal sensitive responsiveness, infant–mother attachment, and infant competence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 1039–50.Google Scholar
Juffer, F., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. & IJzendoorn, M. H. (2005), The importance of parenting in the development of disorganized attachment: evidence from a preventative intervention study in adoptive families. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 263–74.Google Scholar
Kelly, V. J. (2003). Theoretical rationale for the treatment of disorders of attachment. Association for treatment and training in the attachment of children. (http://bellsouthpwp.net/e/i/eiseles/theoretical_rationale.html).
Velderman, Klein M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Juffer, F. & IJzendoorn, M. H. (2006a). Effects of attachment-based interventions on maternal sensitivity and infant attachment: differential susceptibility of highly reactive infants. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 266–74.Google Scholar
Velderman, Klein M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Juffer, F.et al. (2006b). Preventing preschool externalizing behaviour problems through video-feedback intervention in infancy. Infant Mental Health Journal, 27, 466–93.Google Scholar
Lieberman, A., Weston, D. & Pawl, J. (1991). Preventive intervention and outcome with anxiously attached dyads. Child Development, 62, 199–209.Google Scholar
Lyons-Ruth, K, Connell, D B, Grunebaum, H U, Botein, S (1990), Infants at social risk: Maternal depression and family support services. Child Development, 61:85–98.Google Scholar
Marvin, R. & O'Connor, T. G. (1999). The formation of parent–child attachment following privation. Presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, NM, April.
Marvin, R., Cooper, G., Hoffman, K. & Powell, B. (2002). The Circle of Security project: attachment-based intervention with caregiver-pre-school child dyads. Attachment and Human Development, 4, 107–24.Google Scholar
Moran, G., Pederson, D. R. & Krupka, A. (2005). Maternal unresolved attachment status impedes the effectiveness of interventions with adolescent mothers. Infant Mental Health Journal, 26, 231–49.Google Scholar
Mukaddes, N. M., Bilge, S., Alyanak, B. & Kora, M. E. (2000). Clinical characteristics and treatment responses in cases diagnosed as Reactive Attachment Disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 30, 273–87.Google Scholar
Mukaddes, N. M., Kaynak, F. N., Kinali, G., Besikci, H. & Issever, H. (2004). Psychoeducational treatment of children with autism and reactive attachment disorder. Autism, 8, 101–9.Google Scholar
Murray, L., Cooper, P. J., Wilson, A. & Romaniuk, H. (2003). Controlled trial of the short- and long-term effect of psychological treatment of post-partum depression. 2. Impact on the mother-child relationship and child outcome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 182, 420–7.Google Scholar
Myeroff, R., Mertlich, G. & Gross, J. (1999). Comparative effectiveness of holding therapy with aggressive children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 29, 303–13.Google Scholar
Nilsen, W. J. (2003). Perceptions of attachment in academia and the child welfare system: the gap between research and reality. Attachment and Human Development, 5, 303–6.Google Scholar
O‘Connor, T. G. & Rutter, M., The English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study Team (2000). Attachment disorder behavior following early severe deprivation: extension and longitudinal follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 703–12.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G. & Zeanah, C. H. (2003). Attachment disorders: assessment strategies and treatment approaches. Attachment and Human Development, 5, 223–44.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Bredenkamp, D., Rutter, M., The English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study Team (1999). Attachment disturbances and disorders in children exposed to early severe deprivation. Infant Mental Health Journal, 20, 10–29.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1995). Clinical implications of attachment concepts: retrospect and prospect. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36, 549–71.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. and the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team (1998). Developmental catch-up, and deficit, following adoption after severe global early privation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 465–76.Google Scholar
Sajaniemi, N., Mäkelä, J., Salokorpi, T., Wendt, L., Hämäläinen, T. & Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. (2001). Cognitive performance and attachment patterns at four years of age in extremely low birth weight infants after early intervention. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 10, 122–9.Google Scholar
Schopler, E., Mesibov, G. B. & Hearsey, K. (1995). Structured teaching in the TEACCH system. In Learning and Cognition in Autism, ed. Schopler, E., & Mesibov, G. B., pp. 243–68. New York: Plenum.
Smyke, A. T., Dumitrescu, A. & Zeanah, C. H. (2002). Attachment disturbances in young children. I: The continuum of caretaking casualty. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 972–82.Google Scholar
Stams, G. -J. J. M., Juffer, F., IJzendoorn, M. H. & Hoksbergen, R. A. C. (2001). Attachment-based intervention in adoptive families in infancy and children's development at age 7: two follow-up studies. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 19, 159–80.Google Scholar
Steele, H. (2003). Holding therapy is not attachment therapy: editor's introduction to this invited Special Issue. Attachment and Human Development, 5, 219.Google Scholar
Boom, D. C. (1994). The influence of temperament and mothering on attachment and exploration: an experimental manipulation of sensitive responsiveness among lower-class mothers with irritable infants. Child Development, 65, 1457–77.Google Scholar
IJzendoorn, M. H., Juffer, F. & Duyvesteyn, M. G. C. (1995). Breaking the intergenerational cycle of insecure attachment: a review of the effects of attachment-based interventions on maternal sensitivity and infant security. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36, 225–48.Google Scholar
Zeanah, C. H. & Boris, N. W. (2000). Disturbances and disorders of attachment in early childhood. In Handbook of Infant Mental Health, 2nd edn, ed. Zeanah, C. H., pp. 353–68. New York: Guilford Press.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Attachment insecurity and attachment disorder
    • By Jonathan Green, Academic Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University of Manchester Booth Hall Children's Hospital Blackley Manchester UK, Ming Wai Wan, University of Manchester Manchester UK, Michelle DeKlyen, Center for Research on Clinical Well-being Princeton University Princeton, NJ USA
  • Edited by Peter Tyrer, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, Kenneth R. Silk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 12 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544392.052
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Attachment insecurity and attachment disorder
    • By Jonathan Green, Academic Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University of Manchester Booth Hall Children's Hospital Blackley Manchester UK, Ming Wai Wan, University of Manchester Manchester UK, Michelle DeKlyen, Center for Research on Clinical Well-being Princeton University Princeton, NJ USA
  • Edited by Peter Tyrer, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, Kenneth R. Silk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 12 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544392.052
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Attachment insecurity and attachment disorder
    • By Jonathan Green, Academic Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University of Manchester Booth Hall Children's Hospital Blackley Manchester UK, Ming Wai Wan, University of Manchester Manchester UK, Michelle DeKlyen, Center for Research on Clinical Well-being Princeton University Princeton, NJ USA
  • Edited by Peter Tyrer, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, Kenneth R. Silk, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Cambridge Textbook of Effective Treatments in Psychiatry
  • Online publication: 12 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544392.052
Available formats
×