Attachment-Informed Interventions for Children and Adolescents

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.