Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T04:48:44.135Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The formation of secure new attachments by children who were maltreated: An observational study of adolescents in foster care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2013

Michelle A. Joseph ,
Thomas G. O'Connor ,
Jacqueline A. Briskman ,
Barbara Maughan  and
Stephen Scott
Michelle A. Joseph
Affiliation:
King's College London
Thomas G. O'Connor*
Affiliation:
University of Rochester Medical Center
Jacqueline A. Briskman
Affiliation:
King's College London National Academy for Parenting Research, London
Barbara Maughan
Affiliation:
King's College London
Stephen Scott*
Affiliation:
King's College London National Academy for Parenting Research, London
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Tom O'Connor, Department of Psychiatry, Wynne Center for Family Research, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Boulevard, Rochester, NY 14642; E-mail: Tom_OConnor@URMC.Rochester.edu; or Stephen Scott, Box P85, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK; E-mail: Stephen.Scott@kcl.ac.uk.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Tom O'Connor, Department of Psychiatry, Wynne Center for Family Research, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Boulevard, Rochester, NY 14642; E-mail: Tom_OConnor@URMC.Rochester.edu; or Stephen Scott, Box P85, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK; E-mail: Stephen.Scott@kcl.ac.uk.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Children who were maltreated and enter foster care are at risk for maladjustment and relationship disturbances with foster carers. A popular hypothesis is that prior attachment relationships with abusive birth parents are internalized and carried forward to impair the child's subsequent attachment relationships. However, the empirical base for this model is limited, especially in adolescence. We examined the attachment patterns of 62 adolescents with their birth parents and their foster parents; we compared them to a comparison sample of 50 adolescents in normal-risk families. Attachment was assessed using the Child Attachment Interview; adolescent–parent interaction quality was assessed from direct observation; disruptive behavior symptoms were assessed from multiple informants. Whereas nearly all of the adolescents in foster families exhibited insecure attachments to their birth mothers (90%) and birth fathers (100%), nearly one-half were classified as having a secure attachment with their foster mother (46%) and father (49%); rates of secure attachment toward foster parents did not differ significantly from the rate in comparison families. Within the foster care sample, attachment security to the foster mother was predicted from current observed relationship quality and the duration of current placement. In addition, attachment quality in foster adolescents was associated with fewer disruptive behavior symptoms, and this association was equally strong in foster and comparison families. Our findings demonstrate that there is substantial potential for maltreated children to change and develop subsequent secure attachments in adolescence.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , February 2014 , pp. 67 - 80
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Allen, J. P., Marsh, P., McFarland, C., McElhaney, K. B., Land, D. J., Jodl, K. M., et al. (2002). Attachment and autonomy as predictors of the development of social skills and delinquency during midadolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 56–66.Google Scholar
Allen, J. P., McElhaney, K. B., Land, D. J., Kuperminc, G. P., Moore, C. W., O'Beirne-Kelly, H., et al. (2003). A secure base in adolescence: Markers of attachment security in the mother–adolescent relationship. Child Development, 74, 292–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2000). The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 39–48. doi:10.1097/00004583-200001000-00015Google Scholar
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Juffer, F. (2003). Less is more: Meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 195–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bisceglia, R., Jenkins, J. M., Wigg, K. G., O'Connor, T. G., Moran, G., & Barr, C. L. (2012). Arginine vasopressin 1a receptor gene and maternal behavior: Evidence of association and moderation. Genes, Brain, and Behavior. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/j.1601-183X.2012.00769.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1988). Developmental psychiatry comes of age. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 1–10.Google Scholar
Bretherton, I. (1999). Updating the “internal working model” construct: Some reflections. Attachment & Human Development, 1, 343–357. doi:10.1080/14616739900134191CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruce, J., Tarullo, A. R., & Gunnar, M. R. (2009). Disinhibited social behavior among internationally adopted children. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 157–171. doi:10.1017/S0954579409000108Google Scholar
Byrne, J. G., O'Connor, T. G., Marvin, R. S., & Whelan, W. F. (2005). Practitioner review: The contribution of attachment theory to child custody assessments. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 115–127. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00396.xGoogle Scholar
Cadoret, R. J., Troughton, E., Bagford, J., & Woodworth, G. (1990). Genetic and environmental factors in adoptee antisocial personality. European Archives of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, 239, 231–240.Google Scholar
Chamberlain, P., Price, J., Leve, L. D., Laurent, H., Landsverk, J. A., & Reid, J. B. (2008). Prevention of behavior problems for children in foster care: Outcomes and mediation effects. Prevention Science, 9, 17–27. doi:10.1007/s11121-007-0080-7Google Scholar
Chisholm, K. (1998). A three-year follow-up of attachment and indiscriminate friendliness in children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Child Development, 69, 1092–1106.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Howe, M. L., & Toth, S. L. (2010). The effects of maltreatment and neuroendocrine regulation on memory performance. Child Development, 81, 1504–1519. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01488.xGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Toth, S. L. (2006). Fostering secure attachment in infants in maltreating families through preventive interventions. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 623–649.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2000). Developmental processes in maltreated children. Nebraska Symposia on Motivation, 46, 85–160.Google Scholar
Cloninger, C. R., Sigvardsson, S., Bohman, M., & von Knorring, A. L. (1982). Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees: II. Cross-fostering analysis of gene–environment interaction. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1242–1247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collishaw, S., Dunn, J., O'Connor, T. G., & Golding, J. (2007). Maternal childhood abuse and offspring adjustment over time. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 367–383. doi:10.1017/S0954579407070186CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dadds, M. R., Jambrak, J., Pasalich, D., Hawes, D. J., & Brennan, J. (2011). Impaired attention to the eyes of attachment figures and the developmental origins of psychopathy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 52, 238–245. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02323.xGoogle Scholar
Dozier, M., Albus, K., Fisher, P. A., & Sepulveda, S. (2002). Interventions for foster parents: Implications for developmental theory. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 843–860.Google Scholar
Dozier, M., Peloso, E., Lewis, E., Laurenceau, J. P., & Levine, S. (2008). Effects of an attachment-based intervention on the cortisol production of infants and toddlers in foster care. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 845–859. doi:10.1017/S0954579408000400Google Scholar
Dozier, M., Stovall, K. C., Albus, K. E., & Bates, B. (2001). Attachment for infants in foster care: The role of caregiver state of mind. Child Development, 72, 1467–1477.Google Scholar
Eddy, J. M., & Chamberlain, P. (2000). Family management and deviant peer association as mediators of the impact of treatment condition on youth antisocial behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 857–863.Google Scholar
Egeland, B., Jacobvitz, D., & Sroufe, L. A. (1988). Breaking the cycle of abuse. Child Development, 59, 1080–1088.Google Scholar
Elliot, D. S., Huizinga, D., & Ageton, S. S. (1985). Explaining delinquency and drug use. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P., & Loeber, R. (2000). Epidemiology of juvenile violence. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 9, 733–748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fisher, P. A., Stoolmiller, M., Mannering, A. M., Takahashi, A., & Chamberlain, P. (2011). Foster placement disruptions associated with problem behavior: Mitigating a threshold effect. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 481–487. doi:10.1037/a0024313Google Scholar
Flaherty, E. G., Thompson, R., Litrownik, A. J., Zolotor, A. J., Dubowitz, H., Runyan, D. K., et al. (2009). Adverse childhood exposures and reported child health at age 12. Academica Pediatrica, 9, 150–156. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2008.11.003Google Scholar
Fonagy, P., Steele, M., Steele, H., Higgitt, A., & Target, M. (1994). The Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture 1992: The theory and practice of resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 231–257.Google Scholar
Ford, T., Vostanis, P., Meltzer, H., & Goodman, R. (2007). Psychiatric disorder among British children looked after by local authorities: Comparison with children living in private households. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 319–325. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.106.025023Google Scholar
Francis, D., Diorio, J., Liu, D., & Meaney, M. J. (1999). Nongenomic transmission across generations of maternal behavior and stress responses in the rat. Science, 266, 155–158.Google Scholar
Frick, P. J., & Hare, R. D. (2001). The Antisocial Process Screening Device. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Goodman, R., & Scott, S. (1999). Comparing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist: Is small beautiful? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27, 17–24.Google Scholar
Hagan, M. S., Hollier, E. A., O'Connor, T. G., & Eisenberg, N. (1992). Parent–child relationships in nondivorced, divorced single-mother, and remarried families. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 57, 94–148.Google Scholar
Harden, B. J. (2004). Safety and stability for foster children: A developmental perspective. Future Child, 14, 30–47.Google Scholar
Hetherington, E. M. (1999). Family functioning and the adjustment of adolescent siblings in diverse types of families. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 64, 1–25.Google Scholar
Hoeve, M., Stams, G. J., van der Put, C. E., Dubas, J. S., van der Laan, P. H., & Gerris, J. R. (2012). A meta-analysis of attachment to parents and delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40, 771–785. doi:10.1007/s10802-011-9608-1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaffari-Bimmel, N., Juffer, F., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Mooijaart, A. (2006). Social development from infancy to adolescence: Longitudinal and concurrent factors in an adoption sample. Developmental Psychology, 42, 1143–1153. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.6.1143Google Scholar
Jee, S. H., Conn, A. M., Szilagyi, P. G., Blumkin, A., Baldwin, C. D., & Szilagyi, M. A. (2010). Identification of social–emotional problems among young children in foster care. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 1351–1358. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02315.xGoogle Scholar
Juffer, F., Hoksbergen, R. A., Riksen-Walraven, J. M., & Kohnstamm, G. A. (1997). Early intervention in adoptive families: Supporting maternal sensitive responsiveness, infant–mother attachment, and infant competence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 1039–1050.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C., Pecora, P. J., Williams, J., Hiripi, E., O'Brien, K., English, D., et al. (2008). Effects of enhanced foster care on the long-term physical and mental health of foster care alumni. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65, 625–633. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.65.6.625Google Scholar
Kobak, R., Zajac, K., & Smith, C. (2009). Adolescent attachment and trajectories of hostile–impulsive behavior: Implications for the development of personality disorders. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 839–851. doi:10.1017/S0954579409000455Google Scholar
Kobak, R. R., Cole, H. E., Ferenz-Gillies, R., Fleming, W. S., & Gamble, W. (1993). Attachment and emotion regulation during mother–teen problem solving: A control theory analysis. Child Development, 64, 231–245.Google Scholar
Landsverk, J. A., Burns, B. J., Stambaugh, L. F., & Reutz, J. A. (2009). Psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents in foster care: Review of research literature. Child Welfare, 88, 49–69.Google Scholar
Leslie, L. K., James, S., Monn, A., Kauten, M. C., Zhang, J., & Aarons, G. (2010). Health-risk behaviors in young adolescents in the child welfare system. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47, 26–34. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.12.032Google Scholar
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543–562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Main, M. (1991). Metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive monitoring, and singular (coherent) versus multiple (incoherent) models of attachment: Findings and directions for future research. In Parkes, C. M., Stevenson-Hinde, J., & Marris, P. (Eds.), Attachment across the life cycle (pp. 127–159). London: Tavistock.Google Scholar
Main, M., Kaplan, N., & Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50, 66–104.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments: Lessons from research on successful children. American Psychologist, 53, 205–220.Google Scholar
Matias, C., O'Connor, T. G., Futh, A., & Scott, S. (in press). Observational attachment theory-based parenting measures predict children's attachment narratives independently from social learning theory-based measures. Attachment and Human Development.Google Scholar
Mcara, L., & McVie, S. (2005). The usual suspects? Street-life, young people and the police. Criminal Justice, 5, 5–36.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, K. A., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2011). Attachment security as a mechanism linking foster care placement to improved mental health outcomes in previously institutionalized children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02437.xGoogle Scholar
McMahon, R. J., Witkiewitz, K., & Kotler, J. S. (2010). Predictive validity of callous–unemotional traits measured in early adolescence with respect to multiple antisocial outcomes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119, 752–763. doi:10.1037/a0020796Google Scholar
McMillen, J. C., Zima, B. T., Scott, L. D. Jr., Auslander, W. F., Munson, M. R., Ollie, M. T., et al. (2005). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among older youths in the foster care system. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 88–95. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000145806.24274.d2Google Scholar
Milan, S. E., & Pinderhughes, E. E. (2000). Factors influencing maltreated children's early adjustment in foster care. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 63–81.Google Scholar
Minnis, H., Green, J., O'Connor, T. G., Liew, A., Glaser, D., Taylor, E., et al. (2009). An exploratory study of the association between reactive attachment disorder and attachment narratives in early school-age children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 931–942. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02075.xGoogle Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Deater-Deckard, K., Fulker, D., Rutter, M., & Plomin, R. (1998). Genotype–environment correlations in late childhood and early adolescence: Antisocial behavioral problems and coercive parenting. Developmental Psychology, 34, 970–981.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Marvin, R. S., Rutter, M., Olrick, J. T., & Britner, P. A. (2003). Child–parent attachment following early institutional deprivation. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 19–38.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Matias, C., Futh, A., Tantam, G., & Scott, S. (2013). Social learning theory parenting intervention promotes attachment-based caregiving in young children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 42, 358–370.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., & Rutter, M. (2000). Attachment disorder behavior following early severe deprivation: Extension and longitudinal follow-up. English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 703–712.Google Scholar
Pallett, C., Scott, S., Blackeby, K., Yule, W., & Weissman, R. (2002). Fostering changes: A cognitive–behavioural approach to help foster carers manage children. Adoption and Fostering, 26, 39–48.Google Scholar
Pederson, D. R., Gleason, K. E., Moran, G., & Bento, S. (1998). Maternal attachment representations, maternal sensitivity, and the infant–mother attachment relationship. Developmental Psychology, 34, 925–933.Google Scholar
Pilowsky, D. (1995). Psychopathology among children placed in family foster care. Psychiatric Services, 46, 906–910.Google Scholar
Rasbash, J., Jenkins, J., O'Connor, T. G., Tackett, J., & Reiss, D. (2011). A social relations model of observed family negativity and positivity using a genetically informative sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 474–491. doi:10.1037/a0020931Google Scholar
Rushton, A., Mayes, D., Dance, C., & Quinton, D. (2003). Parenting late-placed children: The development of new relationships and the challenge of behavioural problems. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 8, 389–400.Google Scholar
Scott, S., Briskman, J., Woolgar, M., Humayun, S., & O'Connor, T. G. (2011). Attachment in adolescence: Overlap with parenting and unique prediction of behavioural adjustment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52, 1052–1062. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02453.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, S., Sylva, K., Doolan, M., Price, J., Jacobs, B., Crook, C., et al. (2010). Randomised controlled trial of parent groups for child antisocial behaviour targeting multiple risk factors: The SPOKES project. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 48–57. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02127.xGoogle Scholar
Shmueli-Goetz, Y., Target, M., Fonagy, P., & Datta, A. (2008). The Child Attachment Interview: A psychometric study of reliability and discriminant validity. Developmental Psychology, 44, 939–956. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.4.939Google Scholar
Simms, M. D., Dubowitz, H., & Szilagyi, M. A. (2000). Health care needs of children in the foster care system. Pediatrics, 106(Suppl. 4), 909–918.Google Scholar
Smith, D. J., & McVie, S. (2003). Theory and method in the Edinburgh study of youth transitions and crime. British Journal of Criminology, 43, 169–195.Google Scholar
Smyke, A. T., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A., Nelson, C. A., & Guthrie, D. (2010). Placement in foster care enhances quality of attachment among young institutionalized children. Child Development, 81, 212–223. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01390.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Speltz, M. L., DeKlyen, M., & Greenberg, M. T. (1999). Attachment in boys with early onset conduct problems. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 269–285.Google Scholar
Strijker, J., Knorth, E. J., & Knot-Dickscheit, J. (2008). Placement history of foster children: A study of placement history and outcomes in long-term family foster care. Child Welfare, 87, 107–124.Google Scholar
Taussig, H. N., Clyman, R. B., & Landsverk, J. (2001). Children who return home from foster care: A 6-year prospective study of behavioral health outcomes in adolescence. Pediatrics, 108, E10.Google Scholar
Taussig, H. N., Culhane, S. E., & Hettleman, D. (2007). Fostering healthy futures: An innovative preventive intervention for preadolescent youth in out-of-home care. Child Welfare, 86, 113–131.Google Scholar
Thomas, R., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2011). Accumulating evidence for parent–child interaction therapy in the prevention of child maltreatment. Child Development, 82, 177–192. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01548.xGoogle Scholar
Van Ryzin, M. J., & Leve, L. D. (2012). Affiliation with delinquent peers as a mediator of the effects of multidimensional treatment foster care for delinquent girls. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0027336Google Scholar
Webster-Stratton, C. (1984). Randomized trial of two parent-training programs for families with conduct-disordered children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 666–678.Google Scholar
Werner, E., & Smith, R. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A study of resilient children. New York: McGraw–Hill.Google Scholar
Weschler, D. (1999). Weschler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.Google Scholar
Zimmermann, P. (2004). Attachment representations and characteristics of friendship relations during adolescence. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88, 83–101. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2004.02.002Google Scholar
Zimmermann, P., Mohr, C., & Spangler, G. (2009). Genetic and attachment influences on adolescents' regulation of autonomy and aggressiveness. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 50, 1339–1347. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02158.xGoogle Scholar