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Inhibited attachment behaviour and disinhibited social engagement behaviour as relevant concepts in referred home

F Y Scheper1, M E Abrahamse2, C S Jonkman3

  • 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Child: Care, Health and Development
|February 19, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Inhibited attachment and disinhibited social engagement behaviors are clinically significant in young home-reared children with emotional and behavioral problems, even without maltreatment links.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology

Background:

  • Attachment and social engagement disorders are primarily studied in institutionalized or foster care children.
  • Limited research exists on these disorders in home-reared children with biological parents.
  • This study investigates the clinical relevance of attachment and social engagement behaviors in home-reared children seeking treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the clinical significance of inhibited attachment behavior in home-reared children.
  • To evaluate the prevalence and impact of disinhibited social engagement behavior in home-reared children.
  • To compare these behaviors in home-reared children with those in treatment foster care.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Disturbances of Attachment Interview, Maltreatment Classification System, Child Behaviour Checklist, and Parenting Stress Index.
  • Studied 141 home-reared children and 59 foster children aged 2.0-7.9 years.
  • Included 71% boys in the participant cohort.

Main Results:

  • Inhibited attachment behavior was less common in home-reared children (9%) than foster children (27%).
  • Disinhibited social engagement behavior was similar in both groups (42% in home-reared).
  • These behaviors were not linked to child maltreatment but associated with internalizing/externalizing behaviors and parenting stress.

Conclusions:

  • Inhibited attachment and disinhibited social engagement behaviors hold clinical significance in home-reared children referred for emotional and behavioral issues.
  • These findings are relevant even when direct links to maltreatment are not evident.
  • Highlights the importance of addressing these attachment and social behaviors in clinical settings for home-reared children.
Abstract

Keywords:
attachmentmaltreatmentparenting stresspreschool childrenpsychiatric problems in children

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