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Attachment disturbances in young children. I: The continuum of caretaking casualty

Anna T Smyke1, Alina Dumitrescu, Charles H Zeanah

  • 1Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. asmyke@tulane.edu

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
|August 7, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Young children in socially depriving institutional environments show more disordered attachment signs. This highlights the impact of caregiving quality on early childhood development and attachment patterns.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychiatry

Background:

  • Disordered attachment in early childhood is a significant concern.
  • Social deprivation in caregiving environments may negatively impact attachment.
  • Understanding these impacts is crucial for intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between social deprivation in caregiving environments and disordered attachment in young children.
  • To compare attachment patterns in institutionalized children with varying levels of care and non-institutionalized children.

Main Methods:

  • A study in Bucharest, Romania (1999) involved three groups of toddlers: standard institutional care, reduced caregiver ratio institutional care, and home-reared controls.
  • Structured caregiver interviews were conducted over several months.
  • Attachment disorders and behavioral problems were assessed via caregiver/parent reports.

Main Results:

  • Toddlers in the standard institutional care group exhibited significantly more signs of disordered attachment compared to the other two groups.
  • Both emotionally withdrawn and indiscriminately social attachment patterns were observed.
  • Cluster analysis indicated that mixed attachment patterns are more common.

Conclusions:

  • The findings suggest a continuum of caregiving casualty, where increasing social deprivation correlates with heightened signs of disordered attachment in toddlers.
  • Quality of caregiving environment is a critical factor in the development of secure attachment.
  • Early intervention in deprived environments may mitigate attachment disorders.
Abstract

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