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Considerations for the School Psychologist when Providing Services for Maltreated Foster Children: A Developmental Perspective

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Abstract

As the body of research on attachment grows, attachment theory is being increasingly utilized by psychologists as a useful way of conceptualizing the problem behaviors that many foster children present. In addition, this paper explores Bowlby’s (1988) model of developmental pathways as a means to understand both normal and abnormal processes and patterns of adaptation and maladaptation. The empirical bases connecting the theoretical principles of attachment with child maltreatment are discussed, and a theoretical rationale for assessment and intervention with attachment-disordered foster children with an emphasis on modifying the child’s negative working model of attachment relationships is presented.

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Webster, L. Considerations for the School Psychologist when Providing Services for Maltreated Foster Children: A Developmental Perspective. Contemp School Psychol 4, 5–17 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03340866

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