Attachment Representation in Institutionalized Children: A Preliminary Study Using the Child Attachment Interview

Zaccagnino, Maria; Cussino, Martina; Preziosa, Alessandra; Veglia, Fabio; Carassa, Antonella

doi:10.1002/cpp.1882

Cited by 26 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…Taken together, these studies found that although these children mostly manifested insecure and disorganized attachment representations during the period of residential care and the early stage of foster care placement (Vorria et al, 2015; Zaccagnino et al, 2015), they frequently developed a subsequent secure attachment pattern toward their foster parents (Joseph et al, 2014; Vorria et al, 2015). They were able to have distinct representations of the different parenting received from their birth and foster parents (Ahmed et al, 2015), although they maintained insecure state of mind regarding attachment toward their biological parents (Joseph et al, 2014).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

The Child Attachment Interview: A Narrative Review

Privizzini¹

2017

Front. Psychol.

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Attachment theory promoted an impressive body of research on the psychic developmental processes, resulting in studies on both typical and atypical development. Much of the diffusion of the attachment theory in the clinical field was related to the design of reliable instruments to evaluate the organization of attachment in infancy as well as in adulthood. Until recently, the lack of a suitable instrument to assess attachment in middle childhood as well as in adolescence hindered the expansion of research in these developmental phases during which the parent-child relationship takes on a different, albeit still crucial, role. The Child Attachment Interview (CAI), a measure that was recently designed to assess attachment at a representational level in middle childhood and adolescence, filled the measurement gap. The aim of the current review was to summarize previous empirical investigations concerning CAI in order to (a) provide an overview of the state of current research, (b) identify unanswered questions, and (c) propose future research directions. A narrative review was conducted to map the current research findings by searching for the term “Child Attachment Interview” in the Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsychINFO databases, followed by a search in Mendeley. Limits were set to exclude dissertations, chapters in books, and qualitative or theoretical papers, while empirical studies were included if they used the CAI and were published in English language, peer-reviewed journals by July, 2016. The review, which ultimately included 39 studies meeting the criteria, showed that the CAI is a reliable instrument to assess attachment organization in clinical and non-clinical samples, thus providing a worthwhile contribution to the investigation of the influence of the parent-child relationship beyond infancy and early childhood. Nevertheless, the review pointed out a number of relevant open issues, the most critical of which concerned the CAI coding and classification system. In particular, some relevant questions arose about (a) how opportune it would be to maintain a distinct classification for mother and father, (b) coding challenges regarding both the father and the Preoccupied and Disorganized classification, and finally (c) the advantage of a dimensional vs. a categorical approach.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

The Child Attachment Interview: A Narrative Review

Privizzini¹

2017

Front. Psychol.

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“…Differently from the literature ( Waller et al, 2004 ; Kozlowska and Williams, 2009 ), especially in SSD sample, Preoccupied attachment to caregiver was underestimated. However, it is notable that Shmueli-Goetz et al (2008) and Zaccagnino et al (2015) considered the low percentage of the Preoccupied classification as possibly linked to the difficulties in identifying elements of attachment preoccupation using narratives in middle childhood. Dismissing attachment had similar frequency in both samples (25% in BDB sample and 30% in SSD sample on the four-way classification).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have reported three main frequent elements in children with disorganized attachment ( Hesse and Main, 2000 ; Liotti, 2011 ): (1) the collapse of the controlling strategies; (2) the reactivation of the disorganized IWM in the form of bizarre and contradictory behaviors; (3) the possibility to be caught in dissociative experiences. Moreover, literature shows that multiple exposures to trauma and ruptures of attachment relationships are associated with post-traumatic symptoms , including difficulties in the regulation of affect and behavior, anger, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, dissociation and somatization ( Putnam, 1997 ; Dutra et al, 2009 ; Kugler et al, 2012 ; Zaccagnino et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s mental representations with respect to caregivers and post-traumatic symptomatology in Somatic Symptom Disorders and Disruptive Behavior Disorders

et al. 2015

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Introduction: In line with literature, the quality of adult–infant interactions and mental representations of the caregivers play an essential role in influencing the children’s well-being. Many studies focused the attention on the role of attachment for a better evaluation of child psychopathological outcomes. The flexibility of the child’s attachment model gives the opportunity to parents to be helped in modifying their own caregiving quality, encouraging the reflection on the children’s state of mind with respect to attachment. The aims of this study were to evaluate: (1) the attachment models in young patients diagnosed with Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) and Somatic Symptoms Disorders (SSDs); (2) the levels of post-traumatic symptomatology; (3) the association between the attachment models and post-traumatic symptomatology.Methods: Forty Italian patients, aged from 8 to 15, recruited at Gaslini Paediatric Hospital of Genoa, previously diagnosed with SSD (N = 20) and DBD (N = 20) were assessed using the Child Attachment Interview (CAI), the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT), the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC-A). Socio-demographic data were collected.Results: In both the clinical samples, the findings on the distribution of attachment models showed a significant presence of insecure attachment with respect to both parents in more than a half of the patients and high levels of disorganized attachment. No significant differences between DBD and SSD samples were found on post-traumatic symptomatology (Post-Traumatic Stress and Dissociation). Significant differences were found on Depression, Anxiety, and Fantasy subscales.Discussion: This study can provide a detection of dysfunctional aspects in clinical populations. The findings suggest that the quality of the attachment to parents may be a fundamental element to better assess SSD and DBD in children and adolescents. Clinical implications of this study aimed at improving parental caregiving are highlighted.

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“…In relation to attachment security, children in care have been shown to have more insecure and disorganized attachment styles (Zaccagnino et al, 2015). If a child experiences their caregiver as unwilling (avoidant) or unable (ambivalent), the child will have to reorganize and adapt their attachment needs; the suppressing of which distorts the child's ability to make sense of their emotions, thoughts and behaviors (Howe, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Attachment and Internal Representations in Looked-After Children

Hillman

Cross²,

Anderson³

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Background: This article explores the Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP), a narrative-based measure, for the assessment of internal representations in children between the ages of 4 and 11 years old. Methods: The findings draw upon two samples of children comprising of a sample of looked-after children at Five Rivers Child Care (FR) (n = 42) and a community-based population (n = 42). The FR group identified were suggested to have a higher level of need, as defined by scores obtained from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Relationship Problems Questionnaire (RPQ). Results: Using the SSAP, the findings indicate the instrument's discriminant validity with strong differences being displayed between the two populations. Consistently children in the FR sample displayed more disorganized, avoidant and negative representations, whilst at the same time having significantly fewer representations characteristic of 'secure' attachment. Conclusion: The SSAP is successful in differentiating between 'low' and 'high' cohorts of children aged 4-11 years. The study provides strong support for the measure as a way of capturing internal and attachment representations, with further research to explore possible changes in these representations at follow-up being promising and intriguing. Continued research efforts at FR will allow for improved clinical formulations, increased understanding and therefore positive outcomes relating to the children in their care.

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Attachment Representation in Institutionalized Children: A Preliminary Study Using the Child Attachment Interview

Abstract: The clinical implications and enhancements to effective intervention for foster children's caretaking are discussed.

Cited by 26 publications

References 101 publications

The Child Attachment Interview: A Narrative Review

The Child Attachment Interview: A Narrative Review

Children’s mental representations with respect to caregivers and post-traumatic symptomatology in Somatic Symptom Disorders and Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Exploring Attachment and Internal Representations in Looked-After Children

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