Attachment, brain development, transgenerational transmission: Implications for prevention of personality disorders

In this paper, we review the basic principles of the attachment theory, and link them to the recent bulk of knowledge about the impact of early attachment experiences on the brain development. Then we show, through a clinical vignette of a borderline personality disordered mother and her infant daughter, how very early traumatic attachment experiences lead to a basic and pervasive lack of trust and unstable close relationships (those characteristics of adults with severe personality disorders), are transmitted from one generation to another; how entry into parenthood triggers distorted projections on the infant, who then, becomes a dysfunctional infant. Early detection of these high risk families is crucial, if one tries to prevent the development of personality disorder from childhood into adulthood.