Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Long-term outcomes
The Anna Freud Centre long-term follow-up
study:
Adult outcome:
In this study [20], the adult
outcome of 34 children who had received psy-
chotherapeutic treatment at the Anna Freud
Centre was compared with the outcome of 11
of their untreated siblings. In general those who
had received treatment in childhood were found
to be functioning well, reporting low levels of
adversity, relatively few severe life events and
good health. They displayed adequate personality
functioning across a range of domains and a low
rate of personality disorders.
Interestingly while adversity in childhood was
greater in the treated children, the untreated sib-
lings were found to experience more negative life
events in adulthood. In relation to personality func-
tioning, the entire sample appeared to be doing
well in the work domain. In the area of intimate
relationships those children successfully treated in
childhood appeared to be doing better than their
untreated siblings.
Possible adverse effects of treatment were high-
lighted in relation to attachment security. While
a secure adult attachment status was common in
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