Abstract
When young children are abused or neglected, they have difficulty regulating behavior, physiology, and emotions. The parents of these children especially need to provide nurturing, synchronous, and non-frightening care. It is critical that parents behave in nurturing ways so that children develop secure, organized attachments, that they behave in contingent responsive ways to enhance the development of adequate regulatory capabilities, and that they avoid frightening behavior which undermines children’s ability to develop organized attachments and regulatory capabilities. Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) was developed to target these three issues. This chapter provides an overview of ABC, examples of the process of treatment and a description of progress toward treatment success. A case is presented that documents the progression of a maltreated child in ABC, and its value as a mental health treatment is described.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bailey, H. N., Moran, G., & Pederson, D. R. (2007). Childhood maltreatment, complex trauma symptoms, and unresolved attachment in a at-risk sample of adolescent mothers. Attachment & Human Development, 9, 139–161.
Barkley, R. A. (2001). The executive functions and self-regulation: An evolutionary neuropsychological perspective. Neuropsychology Review, 11, 1–29.
Bernard, K., Butzin-Dozier, Z., Rittenhouse, J., & Dozier, M. (2010). Young children living with neglecting birth parents show more blunted daytime patterns of cortisol production than children in foster care and comparison children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164, 438–443.
Bernard, K., & Dozier, M. (2011). This is my baby: Foster parents’ feelings of commitment and displays of delight. Infant Mental Health Journal, 32, 251–262.
Bernard, K., Dozier, M., Bick, J., Lewis-Morrarty, E., Lindhiem, O., & Carlson, E. (2012). Enhancing attachment organization among maltreated infants: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Child Development, 83, 623–636.
Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss (Vol. 1). London: Hogarth Press.
Bruce, J., Fisher, P. A., Pears, K. C., & Levine, S. (2009). Morning cortisol levels in preschool-aged foster children: Differential effects of maltreatment type. Developmental Psychobiology, 51, 14–23. doi:10.1002/dev.20333.
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Toth, S. L. (2006). Fostering secure attachments in infants in maltreating families through preventive interventions. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 623–649. doi:10.1017/S0954579406060329.
Cyr, C., Euser, E. M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2010). Attachment security and disorganization in maltreating and high-risk families: A series of meta-analyses. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 87–108. doi:10.1017/S0954579409990289.
De Wolff, M., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1997). Sensitivity and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on parental antecedents of infant attachment. Child Development, 68, 571–591. doi:10.2307/1132107.
Dozier, M., Bernard, K., Bick, J., & Gordon, M. K. (2012). Normalizing the diurnal production of cortisol: The effects of an early intervention for high-risk children. Unpublished manuscript, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
Dozier, M., & Lindhiem, O. (2006). This is my child: Differences among foster parents in commitment to their children. Child Maltreatment, 11, 338–345. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.12.003.
Dozier, M., Stovall, K. C., Albus, K. E., & Bates, B. (2001). Attachment for infants in foster care: The role of caregiver state of mind. Child Development, 72, 1467–1477. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00360.
Fearon, R. P., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Lapsley, A. M., & Roisman, G. I. (2010). The significance of insecure attachment and disorganization in the development of children’s externalizing behavior: A meta-analytic study. Child Development, 81, 435–456. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01405.x.
Feldman, R. (2007). Parent-infant synchrony and the construction of shared timing: Physiological precursors, developmental outcomes, and risk conditions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 329–354. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01701.x.
Fisher, P., Gunnar, M. R., Dozier, M., Bruce, J., & Pears, K. (2006). Effects of therapeutic interventions for foster children on behavior problems, caregiver attachment, and stress regulatory neural systems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094, 215–225. doi:10.1196/annals.1376.023.
Fisher, P. A., Stoolmiller, M., Gunnar, M. R., & Burraston, B. O. (2007). Effects of a therapeutic intervention for foster preschoolers on diurnal cortisol activity. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 32, 892–905. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.06.008.
Fisher, P. A., Van Ryzin, M. J., & Gunnar, M. R. (2011). Mitigating HPA axis dysregulation associated with placement changes in foster care. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36, 531–539. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.08.007.
Gunnar, M. R., Fisher, P. A., & The Early Experience, Stress, and Prevention Network. (2006). Bringing basic research on early experience and stress neurobiology to bear on preventive interventions for neglected and maltreated children. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 651–677. doi:10.1017/S0954579406040330.
Hane, A. A., & Fox, N. A. (2006). Ordinary variations in maternal caregiving influence human infants’ stress reactivity. Psychological Science, 17, 550–556. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01742.x.
Hesse, E., & Main, M. (2000). Disorganized infant, child and adult attachment: Collapse in behavioral and attentional strategies. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 48, 1097–1127.
Hofer, M. (1994). Hidden regulators in attachment, separation, and loss. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59, 192–207. doi:10.2307/1166146.
Hofer, M. (2006). Psychobiological roots of early attachment. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 84–88. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00412.x.
van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1995). Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: A meta-analysis of the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 387–403. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.387.
van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2006). Attachment across diverse sociocultural contexts: The limits of universality. In K. Rubin (Ed.), Parental beliefs, parenting, and child development in cross-cultural perspective (pp. 107–142). Hove, England: Psychology Press.
van IJzendoorn, M. H., Schuengel, C., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (1999). Disorganized attachment in early childhood: Meta-analysis of precursors, concomitants, and sequelae. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 225–249. doi:10.1017/S0954579499002035.
Lewis-Morrarty, E., Dozier, M., Bernard, K., Terraciano, S., & Moore, S. (2012). Cognitive flexibility and theory of mind outcomes among foster children: Preschool follow-up results of a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52, S17–S22. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.05.005.
Lind, T., Bernard, K., Wallin, A., & Dozier, M. (2012). The effects of an attachment-based intervention on children’s expression of negative affect in a challenging task. Unpublished manuscript, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
Lyons-Ruth, K., Connell, D. B., Zoll, D., & Stahl, J. (1987). Infants at social risk: Relations among infant maltreatment, maternal behavior, and infant attachment behavior. Developmental Psychology, 23, 223–232. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.23.2.223.
Lyons-Ruth, K., Easterbrooks, M. A., & Cibelli, C. D. (1997). Infant attachment strategies, infant mental lag, and maternal depressive symptoms: Predictors of internalizing and externalizing problems at age 7. Developmental Psychology, 33, 681–692. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.4.681.
Main, M., & Goldwyn, R. (1998). Adult attachment classification system. London: University College.
Main, M., & Hesse, E. (1990). Parents’ unresolved traumatic experiences are related to infant disorganized attachment status: Is frightened and/or frightening parental behavior the linking mechanism? In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & E. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 161–182). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/disoriented during the Ainsworth strange situation. In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & E. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 161–182). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Matas, L., Arend, R. A., & Sroufe, L. A. (1978). Continuity of adaptation in the second year: The relationship between quality of attachment and later competence. Child Development, 49, 547–556. doi:10.2307/1128221.
Meade, E., & Dozier, M. (2012). “In the moment” commenting: A fidelity measurement and active ingredient in a parent training program. Unpublished manuscript, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
Mulas, F., Capilla, A., Fernández, S., Etchepareborda, M. C., Campo, P., Maestú, F., et al. (2006). Shifting-related brain magnetic activity in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 59, 373–379. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.06.031.
Schuengel, C., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1999). Frightening maternal behavior linking unresolved loss and disorganized infant attachment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 54–63. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.67.1.54.
Stovall, K. C., & Dozier, M. (2000). The development of attachment in new relationships: Single subject analyses for 10 foster infants. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 133–156.
Stovall-McClough, K. C., & Dozier, M. (2004). Forming attachments in foster care: Infant attachment behaviors during the first 2 months of placement. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 253–271. doi:10.10170S0954579404044505.
True, M. M., Pisani, L., & Oumar, F. (2001). Infant-mother attachment among the Dogon of Mali. Child Development, 72, 1451–1466. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00359.
Weinfield, N. S., Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E. (2008). Individual differences in infant-caregiver attachment: Conceptual and empirical aspects of security. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 78–101). New York: Guildford.
Winberg, J. (2005). Mother and newborn baby: Mutual regulation of physiology and behavior – A selective review. Developmental Psychobiology, 47, 217–229. doi:10.1002/dev.20094.
Zeanah, C. H., Smyke, A. T., Koga, S. F., & Carlson, E. (2005). Attachment in institutionalized and community children in Romania. Child Development, 76, 1015–1028. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00894.x.
Zelazo, P. D. (2006). The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS): A method of assessing executive function in children. Nature Protocols, 1, 297–301.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dozier, M., Meade, E., Bernard, K. (2014). Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up: An Intervention for Parents at Risk of Maltreating Their Infants and Toddlers. In: Timmer, S., Urquiza, A. (eds) Evidence-Based Approaches for the Treatment of Maltreated Children. Child Maltreatment, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7404-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7404-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7403-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7404-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)