title: Understanding and promoting attachment.
abstract: Interest in early relationships has led to increased use of terms such as attachment disorder, attachment problems, and attachment therapy when describing behavioral/emotional regulation in young children. Unfortunately, such terms are vague and lead to clinical confusion and diagnostic inaccuracies. This article will introduce attachment theory, with a discussion of reactive attachment disorder and implications for treatment of children who have problems with social-emotional development.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, and International Adoption Clinic, Child Development Center, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA. slwilson@mcw.edu
authors.forename: Samantha L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000300:Adoption / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000523:psychology; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D019962:Reactive Attachment Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine