Importance of Attachment: Two Cases, Attached to Different Parents and Given to Their Biological Parents at the Age of Four

Abstract

Attachment between mother and the baby is important regarding the healthy development of the child. Importance of attachment was aimed to be investigated. Two male children, who were given to other families after birth and given back to their biological families at the age of four by court order, were observed with their families and evaluated regarding their attachment, coherence in their new families, and other problems. The follow-up continued by clinical evaluations. Denver II, Maternal Attachment Inventory, Adult Attachment Style Scale, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI) were used. Informed consents were taken from the families for research purposes. As a result, children who were raised by other parents then their biological parents, were determined to attach to the parents who raised them. It was established that there were problems regarding separation from the families who were the children attached to and reattachment to the biological parents were risen in the process. The importance of attachment between mother and children, regarding the psychiatric development of children was discussed. The problems which were caused by the separation from parents who the children were attached to and the difficulty of re-attachment after four years were reviewed.