Attachment theory and child abuse: an overview of the literature for practitioners

Abstract

Abstract This review shares the ‘literature path’ we followed in developing our ideas about how attachment theory can inform clinical work with abused children and adults. A short outline of the early work in the field is followed by a description of research that is relevant to clinical work with children and families in the field of child abuse and child protection. We then focus on those concepts and findings from research we have found most relevant to our own work with victims of child sexual abuse, their parents and carers, and with adult survivors. In our experience, a parallel theme is the effect of working in this field on professionals' own attachment systems, and the necessity to be aware of the interplay between the individual professional's response, the role of the organization and the ability to make useful clinical interventions. This review therefore includes some material about professional attachment systems and caregiving. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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