Clinical Interventions For Developmental Trauma Disorder: How Evidence-Based Practice And Attachment Theory Can Inform Therapeutic Approach, Victoria Deveau

DSW Capstone Projects

Approximately two-thirds of U.S. children and adolescents report having experienced a traumatic event. A posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis requires that the youth has directly experienced a traumatic event, witnessed a traumatic event occur to others, or learned that a traumatic event has occurred to someone close. The clinician is in a diagnostic quandary, however, when the youth presents with the PTSD hallmarks of hyperarousal, avoidance, and emotional dysregulation, in absence of such life experiences. The answer to this quandary lies in an understanding of developmental trauma disorder (DTD). Clinical interventions for DTD are the focus of this capstone.

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The Examination And Evaluation Of The Public Foster Care System's Attachment-Based Intervention And Trainings For Foster Parents In The West North Division Of The Midwestern States, Brooke T. Crowell

MSU Graduate Theses

The effectiveness of many foster parent training curricula in the United States foster care system is basically unknown (Adkins et al., 2018). Furthermore, there is little to no research that indicate when and how attachment-focused interventions and trainings are being implemented in the United States. Thus, the initial purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate interventions and trainings pertaining to attachment that exist throughout the United States public foster care system. As this study progressed however, the purpose shifted to answering this question: How is the Midwest foster care system training staff and foster parents on issues of …

Nicu Experiences Of Adoptive Parents & Desired Preparation, Catherine J. Howe

MSU Graduate Theses

Parents who have newborns admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) have multiple experiences and emotions. Additional social and emotional layers are experienced by adoptive couples when the infant they wish to adopt needs specialized care. This research study was completed to find out what adoptive parents experience in the NICU and what preparation would have been helpful. The method included semi-structured, open-ended interviews with seven couples who adopted a newborn at a Midwestern adoption agency within the past three years and had a NICU experience. The results described adoptive couples’ experiences on the unit, bonding and attachment, fears …

Witnessed Intimate Partner Abuse And Later Perpetration: The Maternal Attachment Influence, Kendra Lee Wiechart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Witnessing intimate partner abuse (IPA) as a child is linked to later perpetration as an adult. Questions remain regarding why some men who witnessed abuse go on to perpetrate, while others do not. The influence maternal attachment has on IPA perpetration after witnessed IPA has not been thoroughly researched. Maternal attachment is a complex variable grounded in attachment theory and may explain why some men fail to relate to their victimized mothers. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence maternal attachment has on men who witnessed IPA as a child and later perpetrated IPA as an adult. …

Examining Relationships Between Early Childcare Teachers' Adult Attachment Orientations And Quality Of Interaction In The Infant Classroom, Alexandra Morris Benoit

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past several decades, women have entered the workforce in increasing numbers. This has led to the majority of infants and young children being cared for outside of the home by extra-familial caregivers. Research has shown the benefits that quality childcare can have on the developmental trajectories of children, as well as the detrimental effects that can be seen when children experience low quality care. Further, children are particularly vulnerable in the first year of life when they are establishing attachment bonds with their primary caregivers. With the long hours that many spend in the care of childcare workers, …

The Lived Experiences Of Caregivers Of Children With Reactive Attachment Disorder, Abby Baumgart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parents of children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) encounter challenges in parenting and parent-child relationship development that are not typical to most parental situations. The purpose of the qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of caregivers of children with RAD, to identify current met and unmet needs, to explore the experiences the caregivers of children with RAD have and the resources available to them. The study included a hermeneutic phenomenological foundation and incorporated the conceptual frameworks of family systems theory and attachment theory. A nonprobability, self-selection sampling strategy was utilized with recruitment through Facebook support groups. Methods included …

Attachment In Middle Childhood Among Foster And Adopted Children: Preliminary Validation Of A Behavioral Observation System, Somer George

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Abstract

The study of attachment in middle childhood, especially among foster and adoptive children, is a critical and timely one. An assessment that helps us understand the behavioral manifestations of attachment for these children, while considering the link with caregiving behavior and parental reflective functioning (PRF) can help to provide effective and efficient intervention leading to security and relational healing. This study examines the attachment patterns of 39 foster and adopted children (ages six to twelve) in the Modified Strange Situation Procedure (MSSP), with their caregivers. Association with caregiving patterns, PRF, and caregiver reported child behavior are analyzed using Pearson’s …

Challenges Of Child Trauma On Adoptive Families' Social And Emotional System, Jacqueline Yvonne Ford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adoption-focused psychoeducation is deemed essential in maintaining the permanency of traumatized children within a new family unit. However, adoptive parents of traumatized children struggle to find training to address their unique concerns. Guided by the lens of psychodynamic theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by adoptive families of traumatized children. Special focus was placed on the social and emotional relationships of the adoptive parents of traumatized children, to identify the realistic expectations towards attachment from the families' perspectives. Fifteen families were randomly selected to participate in this study from a group of 30 parents …