Attachment representations and adoption: associations between maternal states of mind and emotion narratives in previously maltreated children

Abstract

This paper reports on associations observed between Adult Attachment Interviews (AAIs) obtained from adoptive mothers, and emotional themes appearing in doll play narratives obtained from their recently adopted children. The children, aged 4 -8 years, carried into their adoptive placements a history of consistently serious maltreatment, including neglect and abuse. Results reveal strong and significant influences of maternal state of mind regarding attachment upon their adopted children's storycompletions. Mothers whose AAIs were judged insecure (either dismissing or preoccupied) were likely to have adopted children who, three months after placement, provided story-completions with higher levels of aggressiveness as compared to the stories provided by children adopted by mothers with secure-autonomous AAIs. Children whose adoptive mothers provided AAIs indicative of unresolved (as opposed to resolved) mourning regarding past loss or trauma provided story completions with higher scores for emotional themes such as 'parent appearing child-like' and 'throwing out or throwing away'. Results also include a qualitative section that provides narrative excerpts of maternal AAIs and children's story-completions. Discussion concerns the contribution these findings make to the literature on intergenerational transmission of attachment patterns, and the implications these findings have for child clinical work and social policy.

Child Abandonment and Protection of Abandoned Children in Lesotho: Prevention Strategies

“…As in the case of abandonment, research findings confirm a positive correlation between maltreatment and the failure of affected children to attach securely to subsequent carers (Howe, 2005;Kobak & Madsen, 2008;Mennen & O'Keefe, 2005;Prior & Glaser, 2006;Steele, Hodges, Kaniuk, Hillman & Enderson, 2003;Wilson, 2009). For example, in a meta-analysis of 13 studies, Morton andBrowne (1998 in Mennen &O'Keefe, 2005) discovered that maltreated children in 11 of the 13 studies were more insecurely attached compared to control group children.…”

“…Intergenerational progression of maltreatment has also been noted among families with maltreating histories (e.g. Morton & Brown, 1998in Mennen & O'Keefe, 2005Steele et al, 2003). A study by Van den Dries, Juffer, Ijzendoorn and BakermansKranenburg (2009) further found that maltreatment has a negative correlation with academic performance.…”

A concordância entre o comportamento de base segura com a mãe nos primeiros anos de vida e os modelos internos dinâmicos no pré-escolar

“…Outra proposta defendida por Bowlby prende-se com as situações em que a figura de vinculação apresenta comportamentos marcadamente contraditórios, o que leva a que a criança desenvolva diferentes tipos de representações em relação a essa figura (Steele, Hodges, Kaniuk, Hillman & Henderson, 2003). Contudo, Bowlby considera, ainda, que os pais têm um papel facilitador em auxiliar os seus filhos na construção e revisão dos modelos dinâmicos através do diálogo.…”

Relation Problems in Internationally Adopted Juvenile Delinquents

“…The adoptive parents might have difficulty attaching to an older child, who may be traumatised, sad or angry. The adoptive parents might also interfere with a normal attachment process due to their own specific traumas, grief and inabilities to attach [28][29][30][31][32]50]. This is a difficult situation and can require professional help to resolve, and is a reason why adoptive parents are now included in the search for criteria affecting the attachment process.…”

“…When applied to adoption, the focus moved from solely concerning the adoptee to now including the adoptive mother and her ability for normal attachment behaviour [6,[28][29][30][31][32].…”