Étude sur l’attachement et les troubles du comportement à l’adolescence chez des jeunes placés en institution

Abstract

ObjectiveDrawing on attachment theory this study seeks to show the existence of a link between behavioral and social skills among teenagers placed in care with a failure in their social attachments. Our hypothesis is that the attachment of these young people will be significantly influenced by insecurity, they will have behavioral and poor social adaptation problems and that these insecure attachments will correlate with behavioral disorder and poor social adaptation. MethodsThe study involved 26 teenagers ranging from 12 to 15 years. They completed the Inventory of Attachment to Parents and Peers (IPPA Armsden and Greenberg, 1987) and to study behavior and social adaptation, we used the LCE, the French validated version of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). ResultsThe results of the research showed that these young people's representation of their parental attachment tended towards the secure, that they had both externalized and internalized behavioral issues, poor social adaptation, and in particular experienced issues at school. Furthermore we were able to establish a link between maternal attachment and antisocial personality disorders. ConclusionThis study will enable insight into the understanding of behaviors of institutionalized teenagers in order to inform and adjust therapies.