| This dissertation hypothesizes that body rocking in a particular population, i.e., adoptees from international orphanages, can indicate changes in children's mental representations of objects and relationships and, therefore, may be a measure of poor attachment abilities. The importance of early identification and treatment for these children should not be underestimated. With the growth of international adoptions and a decreasing number of children adopted as newborns, the likelihood of early deprivation is more present. As reported by Bowlby, as children grow older the effects of early maternal deprivation become more pronounced. Various research papers have been previously published on this subject with various hypotheses such as children's inability to make relationships, a history of institutionalization, or multiple foster care placements as being a cause or central feature leading to the development of childhood behavioral disturbances. Other researchers found that the attachment patterns formed in infancy tended to persist across time and had implications for later emotional and behavioral functioning. Given that important prosocial values, attitudes, and behaviors may be learned in the context of secure attachment relationships, empathy, caring, compassion, kindness, and morality, the implications for insecurely attached internationally adopted children are not only personal and familial, but societal as well. |
