ATTACHMENT AND FAMILY-BASED PREVENTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29076/issn.2602-8379vol9iss16.2025pp%25ppKeywords:
prevention , attachment , family , systematic review , lomgitudinalAbstract
The attachment system is formed in close family relationships and plays fundamental roles in psychological development. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to describe associations and predictions from longitudinal studies on attachment-based prevention with samples of at least one family unit (FU), published between 2002 and 2023, and tracked up to July 23, 2023, in: Scopus; Web of Science; ProQuest Central; Science Direct; PubMed; PsycNet, and Google Scholar. The results of the 24 included studies (n = 5124 FU) describing 11 preventive programs are presented. The results showed that the programs reported efficacy and positive long-term preventive impacts on key dimensions associated with attachment and family functioning, such as: increased attachment security, enhanced parental sensitivity, reduced family conflict, increased parenting capacities, and decreased psychological symptoms. On the other hand, attachment insecurity was predicted by contextual factors (psychosocial and economic risk, family dysfunction, and caregiver symptoms) and by insensitive and harsh parenting practices. The limitations regarding the contexts of program application, gender biases, and the benefits of the family perspective are discussed.
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