There is a relative dearth of studies in the field of adolescent attachment
despite the potential impact of such developmental changes on the organization
of attachment systems. This omission is even more acute among clinical
populations, although adolescence is notable for dramatic increases in specific
psychopathologies, e.g. eating disorders, delinquency, and suicide and
self-harm. This article attempts to address the shortfall using a mixed
quantitative/qualitative research design. First, it examines the association
between attachment styles and suicidality by comparing two groups of adolescent
participants attending a psychotherapy clinic. Second, it explores the
phenomenology of different presentations of suicidality in adolescence from a
psychodynamically informed attachment theory perspective. The clinical and
research implications from these findings are discussed.
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