Introduction to the special issue: attachment-based treatments for adolescents

Abstract

During the past decade, new attachment-based treatments (ABTs) for adolescents have been developed and tested in both field and randomized control trials. The papers in this special issue represent important contributions to defining a more general model of ABTs for adolescents. Our discussion of these papers is organized by a series of challenges to developing and evaluating these treatments. We first consider how disturbances in the caregiver–adolescent attachment bond are implicated in adolescent psychopathology and family distress. We then describe different potential targets for attachment-based interventions for adolescents and their caregivers. Finally we review the different interventions and change mechanisms that have been used to increase security in the caregiver–adolescent bond. A general model of ABTs for adolescents can be useful in guiding future efforts to measure change in attachment constructs, evaluate the dynamic process of change in attachment bonds, and test the effectiveness of specific treatment elements in reducing adolescents’ symptoms and increasing attachment security.