Children who begin their lives with compromised and disrupted attachment (associated with prenatal drug and alcohol exposure, neglect of physical and emotional needs, abuse, violence, multiple caregivers) are at risk of serious problems as development unfolds, including:
• low self-esteem
• being needy, clingy, or psuedoindependent
• decompensating when faced with stress and adversity
• lacking self-control; being biologically and behaviorally dysregulated
• inability to develop and maintain friendships
• alienation from and opposition to parents, caregivers, and other
authority figures
• antisocial attitudes and behaviors
• aggression and violence
• difficulty with genuine trust, intimacy, and affection
• negative, hopeless, and pessimistic view of self, family, and society
• lacking empathy, compassion, remorse, and prosocial morality
• behavior and academic problems at school
• perpetuating the cycle of maltreatment and attachment disorder in
their own children when they reach adulthood
• being incapable of securing adult-to-adult attachment relationships.
Dr . Terry Levy and Mr. Michael Orlans co-wrote this article. They are the co-authors of two books and co-lead seminars on attachment and trauma. They welcome hearing from you.
