This study tested whether children's more anxious and avoidant attachment is linked to decreased support-seeking behavior toward their mother during stress in middle childhood, and whether children's decreased support-seeking behavior enhances the impact of experiencing life events on the increase of depressive symptoms 18 months later. Ninety-eight 8- to 12-year-old children filled out questionnaires assessing their level of anxious and avoidant attachment and depressive symptoms. Children's support-seeking behavior was observed through measuring the time children waited before calling for their mother's help while carrying out a stressful task. Results supported the hypothesis that more anxiously or avoidantly attached children waited longer before seeking maternal support. Moreover, waiting longer was related to increased depressive symptoms at follow-up in children who reported more experienced life events.

There is limited research examining stability and change in attachment security in middle childhood. The current study addresses this gap using data from a 3-year longitudinal study. Specifically, we examined stability and change in secure base script knowledge during middle childhood using a sample of 157 children (Wave 1 mean age [Mage] = 10.91, standard deviation [SD] = 0.87) assessed at 1-year intervals across 4 waves. Secure base script knowledge was moderately stable over time, as script scores were significantly correlated between each wave. We also investigated the impact of life stress on change in secure base script knowledge within individuals across waves. The results demonstrated that daily hassles (minor and frequently occurring stressful life events) but not major (more severe and infrequent) stressful life events predicted change in script knowledge. Implications for attachment-based interventions and, more broadly, the stability of attachment security are discussed.

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Attentional processes in children are tuned toward their mother. It is unclear whether this is a cognitively controlled or more automatic, stimulus-driven process. Therefore, 172 children (age 9-13) were assigned to either a cognitively controlled or a stimulus-driven task measuring the breadth of their attentional field around their mother.Results demonstrated a narrower field around the mother for children completing the more stimulus-driven task. Moreover, only for the stimulus-driven task, this effect was linked with the interaction between children's age and self-reported trust in maternal support.More trust was linked with a narrower attentional field around the mother in younger children, but with a less narrow field in older children. This resembles the expected age-related shift toward increased autonomy and points at stimulus-driven attentional processes.attachment, attentional bias, attentional breadth, middle childhood, mother-child relationship, trust | I NTR OD U CTI ONAccording to attachment theory, primary caregivers like mothers are crucial for children's development because young children need their mother to ensure survival (Bowlby, 1969). Bowlby (1969) proposed that care-related experiences with the mother are stored as an internal representation or internal working model. When infants repeatedly experience sensitive maternal responses to distress, they develop secure attachment representations, which means that they will trust that they can rely on the mother as a secure base from which to solicit support (Bowlby, 1969;Waters & Waters, 2006). Instead, in the context of absent or inconsistent maternal responses to distress, children develop insecure attachment representations and less trust. These internal working models determine how future information regarding caregivers will be cognitively processed (i.e., attention, memory, and interpretation), affecting perceived social Social Development. 2018;27:95-108.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/sode

Child welfare systems (CWSs) worldwide show increased interest in adopting empirically informed clinical strategies to increase treatment effectiveness. Many empirically supported treatments (ESTs) exist, but little is known about EST implementation barriers and facilitators in CWS. This study explored CWS providers' experiences of implementing attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) in home-based services of the Flemish CWS (in Belgium). Sixteen CWS providers (twelve counselors and four supervisors) involved in three home-based services were interviewed. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used to guide collection, coding, and analysis of interview data. Findings revealed that implementation success was related to ABFT's fit with the CWS's mission, philosophy, and existing practices. CWS providers' belief in the compatibility between ABFT and CWS increased investment in implementation efforts and persistence to overcome challenges and setbacks. Some barriers pertained to the learning of ABFT and some barriers pertained to systems level challenges such as lack of leadership and support, poor coordination with referral sources and other youth care partners, and lack of policy support. For successful expansion of ESTs into CWS settings, various barriers at multiple systemic levels need to be addressed.