Purpose

Adopted children are at heightened risk for developing attachment insecurity due to relational disruptions experienced early in life. A newly developed therapy, Lifespan Integration (LI; Pace in Lifespan Integration: Connecting ego states through time (5th ed.), 2012), shows promise in reducing psychopathology and other detrimental outcomes with individuals exhibiting disrupted attachment. In this study, the efficacy of LI for addressing attachment processes with adopted children in middle childhood was investigated.

Methods

A Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design (Elliott in Psychotherapy Research, 12(1), 1-21, 2002 & The handbook of humanistic psychology: Theory, research and practice (2nd ed., pp. 351-360), 2015) was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data from an adoptive parent–child dyad experiencing LI therapy for the first time. The research participant, a 12-year-old male, received 10 sessions of LI therapy with his adoptive mother present to facilitate a more secure attachment.

Results

Client change and the contribution of LI to this change was advocated by expert case developers, and adjudicated by three experts, who concluded that change occurred and that this change was due to LI therapy. Changes in internal attachment processes, and the attachment bond between the parent and child of this dyad, was observed.

Conclusions

This case provides evidence that attachment disruptions can potentially be repaired in middle childhood and ought to be targeted for intervention in early childhood and beyond to prevent later socio-emotional and psychological issues.

中文翻译：

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将依恋过程与终生整合疗法相结合：一个被收养儿童的解释学单一个案效能设计

目的

由于早年经历的关系中断，被收养的儿童更容易产生依恋不安全感。一种新开发的疗法，Lifespan Integration (LI; Pace in Lifespan Integration: Connecting ego states through time (5th ed.), 2012)，显示出减少精神病理学和其他有害结果的希望，个人表现出破坏依恋。在这项研究中，调查了 LI 在解决儿童中期收养儿童的依恋过程中的功效。

方法

使用了解释学单案例功效设计（Elliott in Psychotherapy Research，12(1)，1-21，2002 和人本主义心理学手册：理论、研究和实践（第 2 版，第 351-360 页），2015 年）从首次接受 LI 治疗的收养亲子关系中收集定量和定性数据。研究参与者是一名 12 岁的男性，在他的养母在场的情况下接受了 10 次 LI 治疗，以促进更安全的依恋。

结果

客户变化和 LI 对这种变化的贡献由专家案例开发者倡导，并由三位专家裁定，他们得出的结论是发生了变化，并且这种变化是由于 LI 治疗。观察到内部依恋过程的变化，以及父母和孩子之间的依恋关系。

结论

该案例提供的证据表明，依恋中断有可能在儿童中期得到修复，并且应该针对儿童早期及以后的干预进行针对性干预，以防止以后出现社会情感和心理问题。