A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Attachment-based Intervention on Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Background: research on attachment has shed new lighton understanding one of the underlying mechanisms ofpsychopathology in children. the aim of this study was to investigatethe therapeutic efficacy of attachment?based intervention in apediatric sample with obsessive?compulsive disorder (ocd).methods: twelve participants, 10-12 years of age, were treatedacross an eight?week period. they had not been treated with eitherpharmacotherapy or psychotherapy previously and remainedmedication?free during the attachment?based therapy. this studycomprised two groups of children: the experimental group, whoreceived attachment?based intervention, and the control group,who did not receive treatment. all participants were assessedin terms of severity of ocd symptoms by administrating thechildren’s yale?brown obsessive?compulsive scale before andafter the experimental group had received the therapeutic sessions.the children were assessed again one month later. the level ofchildren’s depression, and attachment insecurity, as well as theirmothers’ depression, ocd symptoms, and attachment insecurity,were statistically controlled in this study.results: multivariate analysis of covariance (mancova) indicatedthat the ocd symptoms in children decreased significantly over thecourse of the therapy, and this gain was maintained at follow?up.the results of this study demonstrated that the attachment?basedintervention was efficacious in alleviating the ocd symptoms.conclusion: it is suggested that parental instruction inattachment?based relationships may help prevent young childrenfrom developing ocd symptoms in middle?childhood andadulthood.