Abstract

Children in care, whose early experiences have often involved significant discontinuity and adversity, are at risk of developing insecure attachments with negative internal representations. This study aimed to explore changes in their internal representations over a one-year period, as well as potential factors that could influence them. The Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP) was administered at two time points twelve months apart, to 19 children between five and ten years old (M= 7.55, SD= 1.84). Using the SSAP over two time points showed that security representations significantly increased, defensive-avoidance ones decreased, whilst children with fewer previous placements had lower increases in security. The SSAP demonstrates how secure representations can be developed in new situations with more reliable caregivers, but insecure and disorganised ones might be harder and slower to modify, pointing ultimately to the importance of placement stability.

摘要

受照料的儿童，其早期经历往往涉及重大的不连续性和逆境，有可能发展出带有负面内部表征的不安全依恋。本研究旨在探索他们在一年内内部表征的变化，以及可能影响它们的潜在因素。Story Stem 评估概况 (SSAP) 在相隔 12 个月的两个时间点对 19 名 5 至 10 岁的儿童进行管理（M =  7.55，SD =  1.84）。在两个时间点上使用 SSAP 表明，安全表征显着增加，防御回避的表征减少，而先前安置较少的儿童的安全性增加较低. SSAP 展示了如何在具有更可靠的看护者的新情况下开发安全的表示，但不安全和杂乱无章的表示可能更难更慢地修改，最终指出安置稳定性的重要性。