The abused child as a hostage: Insights from the hostage theory on pathological attachment and some developmental implications

In a theoretical extension of Goddard's Hostage theory, the authors propose that a pathological attachment may be formed between the abused child and the abuser. While this attachment may have value in the short term for the abused child, it may have longer term developmental costs. Some preliminary evidence for a pathological attachment can be found in the literature.