Understanding trauma in different contexts along the life cycle. The multifaceted picture of attachment disorganization

The issue of trauma and attachment is closely linked to what we refer to as disorganization, i.e. the dysregulation of attachment when it is chronically or too intensely activated but not assuaged. Several studies have been conducted till now in this field but to be definitely sure about what trauma and disorganization mean more research is needed. In this presentation I will discuss three main fields of inquire, from low to higher risk for developmental outcomes. The first one deals with low risk children in their preschool age. Secondly, I then present some data from a complementary perspective, that is the attachment-caregiver systems. Finally attachment data on borderline pathology, a special and informative form of pervasive emotional dysregulation, will be presented. Open questions and future research directions close the paper.