JanetShapiroFall2007LectureCCFWB

Attachment & Loss:

Implications for Early Childhood Mental Health

Janet Shapiro , Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research; Director, The Center for Child and Family Well-being

Dr. Shapiro’s presentation addressed the question of how new research on early brain development can inform our work with children who have experienced multiple early losses and/or attachment disruption. A developmental-clinical-ecological framework that integrates more familiar psychosocial models of attachment with new research in the cognitive neurosciences, describes the processes by which early relational experiences shape brain organization and function. In particular, early experiences of separation, loss and trauma may influence brain development via their effect on the child’s developing stress response system. For professionals who work with vulnerable young children and their families, this research helps to describe how early experience, if not mediated through intervention and support, can reverberate across time, creating additional developmental vulnerability for young children in the context of their families. As an applied example, Dr. Shapiro focused on the experience of trauma and multiple attachment disruptions in young children within the child welfare system.

In social work education, the biopsychosocial model is an important perspective that directs our attention to the many biological/genetic, psychological and social/cultural factors that combine to influence the nature of human behavior and development. Yet, the biological aspect of this tripartite perspective often less fully influences our understanding of human behavior and development. One aspect of Dr. Shapiro’s work involves translating and demystifying recent research on early brain development, enabling helping professionals to integrate this emerging knowledge base into existing models of assessment, intervention and prevention. Important concepts in early brain development include the processes by which neural networks are formed in early life and the degree to which many aspects of brain development are altered by experience, such as the quality of caregiving received in early childhood. This idea, that brain organization and function are affected by exposure to a range of experiential factors, inform how we understand the experience of young children who are repeatedly exposed to extremely adverse conditions, as in the case of abuse and neglect.

Dr. Shapiro emphasized that the integration of research on brain development into our more familiar models of childhood stress can support a strengths orientation in practice with vulnerable children and families. She notes that research on the neurobiological response to stress and trauma suggests that exposure to traumatic stress in childhood can predispose children to become more overwhelmed by stress later on. The behavioral manifestations of stress, if not properly understood, may be mislabeled with other psychiatric diagnoses due to an overlapping of symptoms. A clear understanding of how traumatic stress, particularly in the context of early attachment relationships, can create vulnerability in the child’s stress response system, helps professionals to understand how a child’s internal fragility may remain even though a new set of external conditions (e.g. a move to a safe foster home) provides relative security. Clearly the potential for this line of research to inform models of assessment, intervention and prevention with high-risk children and families is enormous.

This lecture was given in celebration of Children’s Aid Society of PA’s celebrating 125 years of service to at risk children and families. Throughout the year, CAS highlighted activities and programs such as this GSSWSR special lecture that share their rich history in raising awareness of issues affecting disadvantaged children.

Shapiro's lecture is part of the Center for Child and Family Well-Being

2007-2008 Scott Lecture Series