A Spontaneous Emergence of Attachment Behavior in At-Risk Children and a Correlation With Sensory Deficits

• Published in: Journal of child and adolescent psychiatric nursing Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 165 - 172
• Main Authors: Purvis, Karyn B., McKenzie, L. Brooks, Cross, David R., Razuri, Erin Becker
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2013
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adoption - psychology; At risk youth; At-risk child; attachment; Behavior; Child; Child Behavior - psychology; Child, Preschool; complex developmental trauma; early intervention; Female; Humans; Life Change Events; Male; Nursing; Object Attachment; Psychotherapy - methods; Risk; Sensation Disorders - psychology; Sensation Disorders - therapy; sensory processing; System theory; Therapy; Trauma; Treatment Outcome; Trust-Based Relational Intervention; Trust-Based Relational Intervention; At-risk child; sensory processing; attachment; early intervention; complex developmental trauma
• ISSN: 1073-6077; 1744-6171
• DOI: 10.1111/jcap.12041

Problem Complex developmental trauma affects large numbers of children who have suffered from abuse, neglect, and/or deprivation. The effects often manifest in problems of attachment. Methods Researchers conducted therapeutic day camps for at‐risk children to determine whether multimodal therapies could ameliorate the effects of complex developmental trauma. Two groups of adopted children (ages 3–9 and 10–14 years) with histories of trauma attended separate 3‐week camps. Findings Data analysis indicated a positive correlation between negative attachment behaviors and deficits in sensory processing. Increased pro‐attachment behaviors were found to have a significant relationship with pre‐camp deficits in sensory processing. Conclusions These results are discussed in the context of systems theory.