The variations of disturbances in attachment have received little attention in a cultural context. This report describes a clinical syndrome of 25 Korean children (2 to 4 years of age) who presented with serious disturbances of attachment relationships with caregivers and with problems in social and language development, in some ways mimicking symptoms of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). The children did not have a history of severe abuse or chaotic family environments. Many of the children were referred to Yonsei University Hospital outpatient clinic in Seoul, Korea, with a preliminary diagnosis of autism. Extensive medical and psychological assessments were carried out and results were striking. Changes in child symptoms began to take place during evaluations and difficulties in caregiving relationships became apparent. A subgroup of 10 children received treatment for a year or more with varying degrees of improvement. The clinical features are discussed in terms of some particular Korean cultural and contextual factors.
RESUMEN: Las variaciones de las formas de ruptura de la afectividad han recibido poca atencio ´n en un contexto cultural. Este reporte describe un sı ´ndrome clı ´nico de 25 nin ˜os coreanos (de 2 a 4 an ˜os de edad) que presentaban serias rupturas en las relaciones afectivas con quienes les prestaban cuidado, y con problemas en el desarrollo social y del lenguaje, en algunos casos revelando sı ´ntomas de trastornos dan ˜inos del desarrollo (PDD). Los nin ˜os no tenı ´an una historia de abusos severos o de ambientes familiares cao ´ticos. Muchos de los nin ˜os fueron referidos a la clı ´nica de consulta externa del hospital de la Universidad Yonsei en Seu ´l, Corea, con un diagno ´stico premilimar de autismo. Se llevaron a cabo ex-