Trauma Bonding

Parental bonding and emotional response to trauma: A study of rape victims.
Hauck, Simone, et al.
Psychotherapy Research, Vol 17(1), Jan, 2007. pp. 83-90.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of parental bonding as a resilience or a risk factor for psychopathology after rape. Women rape victims were assessed regarding the perception of parental bonding in childhood, acute posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, acute stress disorder (ASD), and clinical severity. The perception of having less affective parents was correlated with severity, and ASD was more frequent in participants with less affectionate and more controlling fathers. Perceived support was associated with clinical impairment. These findings could help in identifying those who need early interventions and highlight the importance of social and emotional support in facing traumatic situations, reinforcing aspects of the parent-child relationship that generate adults more apt to face adverse situations.

Bonding after trauma: On the role of social support and the oxytocin system in traumatic stress.
Olff, Miranda.
European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol 3, Apr 27, 2012. ArtID: 18597
Abstract:
This paper outlines the state of affairs in psychobiological research on psychotrauma and PTSD with a focus on the role of the oxytocin system in traumatic stress. With a high prevalence of trauma and PTSD in the Netherlands, new preventive and therapeutic interventions are needed. The focus is on the role of social support and bonding in coming to grips with psychological trauma, about the oxytocin system as a basis for reducing the stress response and creating a feeling of bonding, about binding words to painful emotions in psychotherapy, and about the bonds between researchers and clinicians.

Stockholm syndrome: Held hostage by the one you love.
Logan, Matthew H.
Violence and Gender, Vol 5(2), Jun, 2018. pp. 67-69.
Abstract:
On August 23, 1973, two machine-gun carrying criminals entered a bank in Stockholm, Sweden and took four hostages for 131 h. The hostages were rescued 5 days later and despite threats and abuse, including being strapped with dynamite, they were surprisingly supportive of their captors. Amazingly, one woman later became engaged to one of the hostage takers and another developed a legal defense fund to assist their captors. The concept should receive more attention in the arena of domestic abuse and in the study of trauma. It is, in fact, represented in these domains under the title of Trauma Bonding and Narcissistic or Psychopathic Victim Abuse. These terms are much more descriptive and germane to those who are thriving despite having been in the grip of an abuser or those who currently are in an abusive relationship.