Citation

Wright J, Briggs S, Behringer J. Clin. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 2005; 10(4): 477-491.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1359104505056310

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There is a relative dearth of studies in the field of adolescent attachment despite the potential impact of such developmental changes on the organization of attachment systems. This omission is even more acute among clinical populations, although adolescence is notable for dramatic increases in specific psychopathologies, e.g. eating disorders, delinquency, and suicide and self-harm. This article attempts to address the shortfall using a mixed quantitative/qualitative research design. First, it examines the association between attachment styles and suicidality by comparing two groups of adolescent participants attending a psychotherapy clinic. Second, it explores the phenomenology of different presentations of suicidality in adolescence from a psychodynamically informed attachment theory perspective. The clinical and research implications from these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2005 SAGE Publications.

Language: en

Keywords

theory; adolescent; human; suicide; Suicide; Adolescents; Attachment; suicidal behavior; Psychotherapy; child behavior; article; eating disorder; mental disease; clinical research; juvenile delinquency; automutilation; emotional attachment; methodology; phenomenology; qualitative analysis; quantitative analysis; Body