Mental health articles

Disorganised/disoriented attachment Infants who have experienced maltreatment or abuse at the hands of an attachment figure or whose parent is preoccupied with loss or trauma, will show signs of disturbed attachment behaviour and chronic stress. These infants may be classified as ‘disorganised’ (‘D’ pattern) in their attachment behaviours, as they do not develop an effective strategy for coping with a dangerous and unpredictable attachment figure. The disorganised pattern is the only one directly linked to the development of emotional and behavioural disturbance and externalising disorders in early childhood. This pattern occurs when the child is faced with the insoluble dilemma that the one she must turn to for comfort is also the source of her distress. Disorganised attachment behaviours may be confused and contradictory, and strategies may at times resemble other attachment patterns.

Tags: attachment