Burning their bridges: disordered attachment and foster care discharge.

An ethnographic study of boys in residential treatment reports on a small subsample of older adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorder. Attachment theory and research inform the basis for analysis of the study's observations. Findings indicate that conduct-disordered out-of-home care drifters display exceptionally clear patterns of alienation in relation to transitions from placement to placement. Implications of the findings for care and discharge planning are discussed.