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Children
Special Issues
Attachment-Informed Interventions for Children and Adolescents
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Attachment-Informed Interventions for Children and Adolescents

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 June 2026 | Viewed by 1476

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Valentina Lucia La Rosa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy
Interests: developmental psychology; educational psychology; life cycle psychology; development in adolescence; attachment relationships; family; learning and quality of educational settings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Attachment theory provides a powerful perspective through which to understand how early relational experiences influence emotional, social, and cognitive development throughout childhood and adolescence. This framework has inspired a growing number of interventions and programs that aim to strengthen caregiving relationships and encourage positive development, especially in situations where children and families are facing significant challenges.

This Special Issue invites contributions that explore how attachment theory informs practices in educational, family, and community settings. We encourage studies that examine established and emerging approaches, such as parenting support programs, early childhood education initiatives, school-based interventions, and psychotherapeutic models, that draw on attachment principles to foster secure relationships and social-emotional growth.

We welcome submissions of empirical research (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods), systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and conceptual contributions. Multidisciplinary and international perspectives are particularly encouraged to reflect the diversity of contexts in which attachment-informed practices are developed and applied.

Dr. Valentina Lucia La Rosa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • attachment theory
  • developmental psychology
  • early relationships
  • socio-emotional development
  • care-giving
  • parenting support
  • early intervention
  • psychoeducational programs
  • psychotherapeutic approaches
  • psychoeducational interventions

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 850 KB  
Article
MERTIL for Parents: Pilot Study of an Attachment and Trauma-Informed Online Parenting Program
by Zoe C. G. Cloud, Jessica E. Opie, Nicole Paterson, Anne-Marie Maxwell, Anna T. Booth, Holly Foster, Ellen T. Welsh, Tanudja Gibson, Shikkiah de Quadros-Wander and Jennifer E. McIntosh
Children 2026, 13(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13010007 - 19 Dec 2025
Viewed by 408
Abstract
Background: Early relational health is critical for childhood development, and disruptions in infant-caregiver trust can heighten risk. MERTIL for Parents is a brief, universal, online program designed to build parental understanding of relational trust and its role in infant development. This pilot study [...] Read more.
Background: Early relational health is critical for childhood development, and disruptions in infant-caregiver trust can heighten risk. MERTIL for Parents is a brief, universal, online program designed to build parental understanding of relational trust and its role in infant development. This pilot study is the first evaluation of the program. Objectives: To evaluate the acceptability and short-term outcomes of MERTIL for Parents. Methods: Seventy-three parents (n = 69 mothers) of children aged 0–5 years, referred by practitioners, completed the program and online questionnaires at baseline (N = 73), post-intervention (n = 50), and three-month follow-up (n = 25). Results: The program demonstrated high acceptability: 98% of parents who engaged with the program found the content useful, 92% felt the length was appropriate, and all would recommend it to others. Program completion and satisfaction did not vary by sociodemographic or psychosocial characteristics. At three-month follow-up, parents reported significant improvements in their enjoyment of the parent–child relationship (p < 0.001), attunement to their child (p < 0.001), parenting confidence/competence (p = 0.004 and p = 0.003), help-seeking amenability (p < 0.001), and a reduction in irritability toward the child (p < 0.001), with medium to large effect sizes. No significant changes were observed for items assessing reflective functioning or perceived rejection. Conclusions: MERTIL for Parents shows strong acceptability and promising preliminary outcomes as a scalable, attachment and trauma-informed intervention supporting early relational health. Future research should examine long-term impacts and evaluate broader implementation across diverse families and service contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Attachment-Informed Interventions for Children and Adolescents)
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Review

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16 pages, 290 KB  
Review
A Narrative Review of the Co-Occurrence and Interaction of Childhood Emotional Neglect and Overprotection in Developmental Pathways to Disordered Eating
by Valentina Lucia La Rosa, Federica Tortorella and Elena Commodari
Children 2025, 12(12), 1643; https://doi.org/10.3390/children12121643 - 3 Dec 2025
Viewed by 593
Abstract
Childhood emotional neglect and parental overprotection are two subtle yet influential caregiving patterns that shape emotional, relational, and self-regulatory development. Though they are often examined separately, emerging research suggests that they may act independently and together to increase vulnerability to disordered eating. This [...] Read more.
Childhood emotional neglect and parental overprotection are two subtle yet influential caregiving patterns that shape emotional, relational, and self-regulatory development. Though they are often examined separately, emerging research suggests that they may act independently and together to increase vulnerability to disordered eating. This narrative review synthesizes contemporary theoretical and empirical contributions to clarify how emotional neglect and overprotection affect pathways related to emotion regulation, attachment processes, and self-concept development. The review introduces the concept of complementarity, explaining how these patterns may co-occur within the same family system or fluctuate among individual caregivers. This creates developmental contexts marked by emotional deprivation and restricted autonomy. Based on this synthesis, the manuscript presents an integrative framework that considers distinct and shared mechanisms connecting caregiving experiences to maladaptive eating patterns. Developmental and clinical implications are discussed, emphasizing the importance of assessing relational histories, supporting emotional clarity, and promoting autonomy in intervention planning. The limitations of the narrative approach and directions for future research are outlined, including the need for longitudinal designs, more precise measurement of caregiving dimensions, and a more systematic investigation of the interactive effects of emotional neglect and overprotection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Attachment-Informed Interventions for Children and Adolescents)
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