Caregiving Representations Research Articles

Narrative representations of caregivers and emotion dysregulation as predictors of maltreated children's rejection by peers.

This study examined whether maltreated children were more likely than nonmaltreated children to develop poor-quality representations of caregivers and whether these representations predicted children's rejection by peers. A narrative task assessing representations of mothers and fathers was administered to 76 maltreated and 45 nonmaltreated boys and girls (8-12 years old). Maltreated children's representations were more negative/constricted and less positive/coherent than those of nonmaltreated children. Maladaptive representations were associated with emotion dysregulation, aggression, and peer rejection, whereas positive/coherent representations were related to prosocial behavior and peer preference. Representations mediated maltreatment's effects on peer rejection in part by undermining emotion regulation. Findings suggest that representations of caregivers serve an important regulatory function in the peer relationships of at-risk children.

Narrative representations of caregivers and self in maltreated pre-schoolers

This study examined narrative representations of parents and of self, as well as child behavior during the assessment, in maltreated (N = 56) and demographically comparable non-maltreated (N = 37) pre-school-aged children in a one-year longitudinal study. Maltreated children evidenced more negative representations of parents and of self at Time 2, including the juxtaposition of both a negative and a grandiose self. Over time there was a marginal interaction such that maltreated children portrayed fewer disciplining parent representations and nonmaltreated children portrayed more. Also over time, maltreated children portrayed marginally more grandiose self-representations and nonmaltreated children fewer. Furthermore, maltreated children demonstrated less responsivity to the examiner over time and nonmaltreated children demonstrated more. The deleterious effects of maltreatment on representations of self and of others, especially as development proceeds, are discussed, and the importance of providing attachment-informed intervention prior to the consolidation of these negative representations is highlighted.

The caregiving system in mothers of infants: A comparison of divorcing and married mothers

This study was designed to investigate (1) the construct validity of a measure of the mother's internal representation of herself as a secure base in samples of married and divorcing mothers and infants, and (2) the relative contribution to infant security of this measure and a second representational measure, termed Psychological Protection, which focused specifically on the mother's responsiveness to the infant in the context of father visitation. There were 144 mothers and their first-born infants, age 12 to 20 months, who participated in the study. Of these, 51 dyads were from intact families; 93 were from families who had never married, had recently separated, or were in the process of divorce. Divorcing families were further divided into those in which the infant was participating in overnight timesharing arrangements with the father (n = 44) and those in which the infant was not (n = 49). Mothers completed questionnaires, they participated with their infants in the Strange Situation, and an hour-long, semi-structured Caregiving Interview was administered to them. Ratings of mothers on the Secure Base and Psychological Protection scales were based on verbatim transcripts of this interview. As predicted, mothers of securely attached infants in all family groups were discriminated from mothers of insecurely attached infants on the basis of Secure Base scores. Within the group of divorcing mothers, Secure Base scores were correlated with a rating of the mother's Psychological Protection of the infant in the context of visitation and both measures made independent contributions to infant attachment security. These findings are interpreted in terms of a more general model of the caregiving system. The manner in which the divorce context can disrupt the mothers's caregiving behavioral strategies and representations is also discussed.

A representational perspective of child abuse and prevention: Internal working models of attachment and caregiving

Attachment theory provides a rich theoretical framework for research and intervention in child abuse. This paper examines the central role of internal working models in the development of child-parent relationships. Mental representations of child attachment (in infancy and middle childhood), adult attachment and parental caregiving are discussed in light of the adaptational deficits that researchers have found to be associated with attachment insecurity. A reconceptualization of the link between insecurity and child abuse is described, highlighting disorganized attachment. Implications for child abuse intervention are discussed.

Mothers' resolution of their children's diagnosis: Organized patterns of caregiving representations

Dans cet article nous examinons les representations que font les meres d'une forme de trauma au systeme de mode de soin: l'experience du fait de recevoir un diagnostic d'une maladie chronique ou d'un handicap chez leur enfant. Un entretien et un systeme de classification ont ete utilises avec 91 meres d'enfants âges de 15-50 mois atteints de paralysie cerebrale ou d'epilepsie. Les meres ont ete classifiees en tant que resolues ou Non Resolues pour ce qui conceme le diagnostic de leur enfant, et regroupees en sous-categories au sein de ces principaux groupes. Environ la moitie de ces meres ont ete classifiees comme Non Resolues en ce qui conceme le diagnostic de leur enfant. Le type de diagnostic, la severite de l'etat, l'âge de developpement, et la periode ecoulee depuis le moment ou le diagnostic a ete fait n'etaient pas lies a la distribution des classifications Resolues/Non Resolues. Les pattems de resolution dans lesquels les strategies cognitives predominaient etaient la forme la plus frequente au sein de la classification Resolue. Les resultats soutiennent la nature d'organisation des representations de modes de soin et soutiennent egalement un nombre d'implications pour la pratique clinique.

Mothers' resolution of their children's diagnosis: Organized patterns of caregiving representations

In this paper we examine mothers' representations of one form of trauma to the caregiving system: the experience of receiving a diagnosis of a chronic illness or disability in their child. An interview and classification system was used with 91 mothers of children ages 15–50 months with cerebral palsy or epilepsy. Mothers were classified as Resolved or Unresolved with respect to their child's diagnosis and grouped into subcategories within these major groups. Roughly half of these mothers were classified as Unresolved with respect to their child's diagnosis. Diagnosis type, severity of condition, developmental age, and time since receiving diagnosis were all unrelated to the distribution of Resolved/Unresolved classifications. Patterns of resolution in which cognitive strategies predominated were the most frequent form within the Resolved classification. Findings provide support for the organizational nature of caregiving representations as well as a number of implications for clinical practice.

Representations of Caregiving by Margaret Forster; Mary Gordon, and Doris Lessing

This article examines three novels in order to provide a new perspective on traditional gerontological studies of caregiving and the public policies they generate. All three novels challenge the model of caregivers as rational calculators and the fixed, static notion of caregiving that underlies cross-sectional research. The novels also highlight the importance of paying greater attention to the particularities of individual experience.

Internal working models of caregiving and security of attachment at age six

This study describes the relation between internal working models of caregiving, child attachment, and maternal behavior in the home. Thirty-two mothers of 6-year-old children were observed in the home and subsequently interviewed regarding experiential and affective dimensions of parenting. Interviews were examined in order to assess the quality of the mother's thinking regarding two dimensions of caregiving (secure base, competence) which we hypothesized to be related to attachment security. Results indicated a strong correspondence between internal working models of caregiving and child mental representations of attachments as measured from the child's response to a laboratory reunion. The correspondence between mental representations of caregiving and maternal behavior in the home was limited. Representation ratings were most strongly associated with competence-supporting behavior. Implications for infant mental health research and program evaluation are discussed.