Enhancing Early Attachments: Theory, Research, Intervention, and Policy

Synthesizing the latest theory, research, and practices related to supporting early attachments, this volume provides a unique window into the major treatment and prevention approaches available today. Chapters address the theoretical and empirical bases of attachment interventions; explore the effects of attachment-related trauma and how they can be ameliorated; and describe a range of exemplary programs operating at the individual, family, and community levels. Throughout, the authors consider cross-cutting issues such as the core components of effective services and appropriate outcome measures for attachment interventions. Also discussed are policy implications, including how programs to enhance early child-caregiver relationships fit into broader health, social service, and early education systems.

Lisa J. Berlin, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University. Her work focuses on early development and programs and policies for young children and their families; she is especially concerned with child abuse prevention. Currently she is directing two studies, with funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, addressing the intergenerational transmission of problematic parenting.

Yair Ziv, PhD, is a Senior Study Director at Westat. He has conducted research on attachment-based early intervention and on parent-child relationships in infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Dr. Ziv's research program focuses on cognitive models of self and others and the mechanisms through which these models guide social perception, information processing, and behavior in close relationships.

Lisa Amaya-Jackson, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. She is Associate Director at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress and Co-Director of Research and Training at the Center for Child and Family Health in North Carolina. Dr. Amaya-Jackson is a clinician-researcher known for her research in the assessment and treatment of children exposed to traumatic life events and her expertise in implementing evidence-based treatment for child trauma in community settings.

Mark T. Greenberg, PhD, holds the Bennett Endowed Chair in Prevention Research at Pennsylvania State University's College of Health and Human Development. He is also the director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development. Since 1981, Dr. Greenberg has been examining the effectiveness of school-based curricula (the PATHS Curriculum) to improve the social, emotional, and cognitive competence of elementary-age children.