Attachment theory and family systems theory, taken together, are proffered as a potential framework to understand the adverse effects of parentification. Attachment theory helps clarify the process of parentification as it involves the relationship between child and parent and/or caregiver. Family systems theory gives clarity to the context (i.e., the family system) in which parentification takes place. Internal working models are discussed as the mechanism through which meaning making about the parentification process happens and thereby informs the opportunity for positive and negative outcomes in adulthood. The proposed framework allows for a potentially broader view of this ubiquitous phenomenon parentification.
Ainsworth, M. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44, 709-716.
2.
Ainsworth, M., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
3.
Akister, J. (1998). Attachment theory and systemic practice: Research update. Journal of Family Therapy, 20(4), 353-367.
4.
Alexander, P.C. (1992). Application of attachment theory to the study of sexual abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 60, 185-195.
5.
Alexander, P.C. (2003). Understanding the effects of child sexual abuse history on current couple relationships: An attachment perspective. In S. Johnson (Ed.), Attachment: A perspective for couple and family therapy (pp. 342-365). New York: Guilford.
6.
Anderson, L. (1999). Parentification in the context of the African American family. In N. Chase (Ed.), Burdened children (pp. 154-170). New York: Guilford.
7.
Barnett, B., & Parker, G. (1998). The parentified child: Early competence or childhood deprivation. Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review, 3(4), 146-154.
8.
Belsky, J. (1993). The etiology of child maltreatment: A developmental-ecological analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 413-434.
9.
Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Spark, G. (1973). Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy. Hagerstown, MD: Harper & Row.
10.
Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson.
11.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
12.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation. New York: Basic Books.
13.
Bowlby, J. (1977). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 201-210.
14.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss, sadness, and depression. New York: Basic Books .
15.
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.
16.
Bretherton, I. (1995). The origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology, 28, 759-775.
17.
Byng-Hall, J. (1995). Rewriting family scripts. New York: Guilford.
18.
Byng-Hall, J. (2002). Relieving parentified children's burden in families with insecure attachment patterns. Family Process, 41(3), 375-388.
19.
Chase, N. (1999). An overview of theory, research, and societal issues. In N. Chase (Ed.), Burdened children (pp. 3-33). New York: Guilford .
20.
Chase, N., Demming, M., & Wells, M. (1998). Parentification, parental alcoholism, and academic status among young adults. American Journal of Family Therapy , 25, 105-114.
21.
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. (1995). A developmental psychopathology perspective on child abuse and neglect. Journal of American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(5), 541-565.
22.
Cicchetti, D., Toth, S., & Rogosch, F. (2000). The development of psychological wellness in maltreated children. In D. Cicchetti, J. Rappaport, I. Sandler , & R. Weissberg (Eds.), The promotion of wellness in children and adolescents (pp. 395-426). Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.
23.
Cowan, P.A., Cohn, D.A., Cowan, C., & Pearson, J.L. (1996). Parents' attachment histories and children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors: Exploring family systems models of linkage. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64(1), 53-63.
24.
Earley, L., & Cushway, D.J. (2002). The parentified child. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 7, 163-178.
25.
Erickson, M.F., & Egeland, B. (1996). Child neglect. In J. Briere, L. Berliner, & T. Reid (Eds.), The APSAC handbook on child maltreatment (pp. 4-20). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26.
Garbarino, J. (1977). The human ecology of child maltreatment: A conceptual model for research. Journal of Marriage and Family, 39, 721-735.
27.
George, C., Kaplan, N., & Main, M. (1984). Adult attachment interview. Berkeley: University of California.
28.
Gold, S. (2001). Not trauma alone. Philadelphia : Brunner-Routledge.
29.
Griffin, D., & Bartholomew, K. (1994). The metaphysics of measurement: The case of adult attachment. In K. Bartholomew & D. Perlman (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 5, pp. 17-52). London: Jessica Kingsley.
30.
Jones, R., & Wells, M. (1996). An empirical study of parentification and personality . American Journal of Family Therapy, 24, 145-152.
31.
Jurkovic, G.J. (1997). The plight of the parentified child. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
32.
Jurkovic, G.J. (1998). Destructive parentification in families: Causes and consequences. In L. L. Abate (Ed.), Family psychopathology (pp. 237-255). New York: Guilford.
33.
Jurkovic, G.J., & Casey, S. (2000, March). Parentification in immigrant Latino adolescents . In G. P. Kuperminc (Chair), Proyecto Juventud: A Multidisciplinary Study of Immigrant Latino Adolescents . Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, San Francisco.
34.
Jurkovic, G.J., Jesse, E., & Goglia, L. (1991). Treatment of parental children and their families: Conceptual and technical issues. American Journal of Family Therapy, 19(4), 302-315.
35.
Jurkovic, G.J., Morrell, R., & Casey, S. (2001). Parentification in the lives of high-profile individuals and their families: A hidden source of strength and distress. In B. E. Robinson & N. Chase (Eds.), High-performing families: Causes, consequences, and clinical solutions (pp. 92-113). Washington, DC: American Counseling Association.
36.
Karen, R. (1990). Becoming attached: What experiences in infancy will enable children to thrive emotionally and to come to feel that the world of people is a positive place? Atlantic Monthly, 265(2), 35-55.
37.
Karpel, M. (1976). Intrapsychic and interpersonal processes in the parentification of children. Dissertation Abstracts International , 38, 365. (UMI No. 77-15090)
38.
Kobak, R.R., & Hazan, C. (1991). Attachment in marriage: Effects of security and accuracy of working models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 6, 861-869.
39.
Liotti, G. (1999). Disorganization of attachment as a model for understanding dissociative psychopathology. In J. Solomon & C. George (Eds.), Attachment disorganization (pp. 291-317). New York: Guilford.
40.
Lopez, F. (1995). Contemporary attachment theory: An introduction with implications for counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 23(3), 395-415.
41.
Lopez, F.G., & Brennan, K.A. (2000). Dynamic processes underlying adult attachment organization toward an attachment theoretical perspective on the healthy and effective self. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(3), 283-300.
42.
Main, M., Kaplan, K., & Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. In I. Bretherton & E. Waters (Eds.), Growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1-2, Serial No. 209), 66-104.
43.
Marotta, S.A. (2002). An ecological view of attachment theory: Implications for counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 80, 507-510.
44.
Marotta, S.A. (2003). Integrative systemic approaches to attachment-related trauma. In P. Erdman & T. Caffery (Eds.), Attachment and family systems: Conceptual, empirical, and therapeutic relatedness (pp. 225-240). New York: Taylor & Francis.
45.
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
46.
Minuchin, S., Montalvo, B., Guerney, B., Rosman, B., & Schumer, F. (1967). Families of the slums. New York: Basic Books.
47.
Moos, R.H. (2002). The mystery of human context and coping: An unraveling of clues. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(1), 67-88.
48.
Morris, M.G., & Gould, R.W. (1963). Role reversal: A necessary concept in dealing with the “battered child syndrome.” In The neglected battered child syndrome (pp. 29-49). New York: Child Welfare League of America.
49.
Olson, M., & Gariti, P. (1993). Symbolic loss in horizontal relating: Defining the role of parentification in addictive/destructive relationships. Contemporary Family Therapy, 15(3), 197-208.
50.
Pearson, J.A., Cohn, D.A., Cowan, P.A., & Cowan, C.P. (1994). Earned and continuous-security in adult attachment: Relation to depressive symptomatology and parenting style. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 359-373.
51.
Robinson, B.E. (1999). Workaholic children: One method of fulfilling the parentification role. In N. Chase (Ed.), Burdened children (pp. 56-74). New York: Guilford.
52.
Svanberg, P.O. (1998). Attachment, resilience, and prevention. Journal of Mental Health, 7, 543-578.
53.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. (2006). Child maltreatment 2004: Reports from the states to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
54.
Valleau, P.M., Bergner, R.M., & Horton, C.B. (1995). Parentification and caretaker syndrome: An empirical investigation. Family Therapy, 22(3), 157-164.
55.
Waters, E., Merrick, S., Treboux, D., Crowell, J., & Alhersheim, L. (2000). Attachment security in infancy and early adulthood: A twenty-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 71(3), 684-689.
56.
West, M.L., & Keller, A.E. (1991). Parentification of the child: A case study of Bowlby's compulsive care-giving attachment pattern. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 45(3), 425-431.
