Abusing victims: detention of child sexual abuse victims in secure accommodation

Sexually abused children and adolescents, in limbo between revelation of abuse and trial of an alleged offender, or in emotional turmoil after such abuse, need special care and support. Evidence indicates that a number of such children are held in local authority secure centres, on various grounds: to protect them from further sexual assaults by an adult offender; because of their persistent absconding from non-secure residential centres; and because of their disturbed behaviour (including suicidal behaviours), which may have been caused by the assault. Victims of sexual abuse are held with juveniles on remand for serious crimes (including rape and murder), or (because they are too young for youth detention centres) with young adolescents who are held in detention following conviction for such crimes. Evidence is produced from case histories, and from a survey of 15 of the 27 secure detention centres for children and young people in England, that the mix of abused, disturbed and very aggressive children is highly problematic. In worst case scenarios, victims of child sexual abuse are sexually assaulted by juvenile rapists with whom they are housed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘Somebody Watching You’: Impact of Reflecting Teams on Hope in Couple Relationships

Reflecting teams (RTs) represent both an epistemological stance and a therapeutic technique. Most commonly associated with narrative and systemic approaches to therapy, RTs offer an outsider perspective that can bring hope and alternative narratives and perspectives for therapists and clients to explore. Relational hope is a little researched concept in the field of couple therapy research. This study explores the experience of RTs in couple relationships and the aspects of the experience that couples describe as connected to a sense of hope for their relationship. The study also considers whether difference in attachment style shows any relationship with hope in couple relationships before and after the clients’ session with a reflecting team. Couples completed questionnaires about their attachment style, demographics, and relational hope and were given the option to complete an interview about their experience with the reflecting team within 1 month of their therapy session. Our findings suggest that RTs contribute positively to hope in couple relationships particularly for clients who present with an anxious attachment style. This direction for research is important because there is very little research about hope in couple relationships despite its importance (Merolla, 2014; Snyder, 2002) and there is no research about what aspects of a reflecting team contribute to hope in couple relationships. Analysis of interviews indicates a number of features of the reflecting team feedback that were valued by clients.     

Attachment Representations and Time Perspective in Adolescence

This study examines the relationship between attachment to parents and peers, time perspective and psychological adjustment in adolescence. 2,665 adolescents (M age = 17.03 years, SD = 1.48) completed self-report measures about parent and peer attachment, time perspective, sympathy and self-determination. Subjects were divided into four groups based on their parent and peer attachment scores: high parent and high peer attachment, low peer and low parent, high parent and low peer, low parent and high peer. Higher levels of negative past of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory were revealed, by post hoc analyses, in the group with low attachment to parent and peer. Unlike adolescents with low attachment to parents, adolescents who reported a secure attachment to parents had higher scores on positive past, hedonistic present, and future. Adolescents with high attachment to parent and peer and adolescents with high parent but low peer attachment had the highest scores on competence and authonomy.     

A Longitudinal Study of the Developmental Trajectories of Parental Attachment and Career Maturity of South Korean Adolescents

This study tested the developmental trajectories of career maturity (CM) and parental attachment (PA), the longitudinal influence of both, and gender as a moderator. Findings showed developmental progressions in adolescents’ PA and CM over 4 years. The change in PA was positively related to the developmental change in CM. For gender, there was a statistically significant difference in the initial status of CM and PA but no significant difference in developmental change. This study verified the longitudinal influence of PA on CM and showed that the cross‐sectional effect of predictors on CM needs to be distinguished from the longitudinal effect in future studies.     

Adult Exploration of Attachment Interview in Family Therapy

The Adult Exploration of Attachment Interview (AEAI) is a therapeutic interview developed by the author to assist adults to understand themselves and their relationships with others, especially with a partner, co‐parent and/or children. It is suitable for individuals and couples struggling to overcome repeated patterns of relating, helping to improve their intimate or parenting relationships through greater self and other understanding. The AEAI explores an adult's early relational learning, especially in regard to attachment needs, in order to allow change. The interview uses specific externalising language to help persons tolerate difficult memories, reduce guilt and shame and integrate their thoughts and feelings. It applies key implications of attachment theory and the approach is illustrated by examples from therapy.     

Building relational possibilities: theoretical roots of infant mental health practice in the case of Alycia

The practice of infant mental health (IMH) has evolved from a combination of theoretical frameworks focused upon early relationships and the complex interplay between individuals and their internal and external worlds. The main components of IMH practice: developmental guidance; emotional support; parent–infant psychotherapy; concrete support; and advocacy, demonstrate a connection between psychoanalytic theoretical frameworks and social work values and forms the basis of practice for IMH therapeutic programmes. This paper will trace the theoretical roots of IMH practice and utilise a clinical case example to illustrate the ways in which insights from object relational, self psychological and attachment theories are integrated into IMH home visiting practices.     

Preconception Motivation and Pregnancy Wantedness: Pathways to Toddler Attachment Security

This research was designed to increase our understanding of how the motivational antecedents to childbearing and emotional responses to pregnancy affect the subsequent attachment bond of a toddler to his or her mother. Using a sample of 1,364 mothers and their newborns from the Study of Early Child Care, we tested a mother‐child influence framework hypothesized to mediate between the mother's preconception motivation and pregnancy wantedness and her child's security of attachment at 24 months. Almost all elements of the mediational sequence were confirmed in a structural equation model. We observed 2 unmediated pathways to attachment security, 1 from preconception motivation and 1 from parenting stress during infancy, and suggest interpretations of these unexpected pathways.     

Parental Attachment Among Korean–American Adolescents

The present study examined the relationship between parental care and control perceived by Korean–American adolescents, and further investigated the relationships between parental attachment styles and mental health measures including self-esteem, depression, and social support. The relationship between parental care and parental control resulted in a significantly negative correlation. Parental care showed significantly positive correlations with self-esteem and social support, and a negative correlation with depression. Parental control showed a significantly negative correlation with self-esteem, and a significantly positive correlation with depression. The analysis demonstrated that optimal parenting showed significantly higher self-esteem, lower depression, and higher social support than the other groups.     

Intimate Partner Violence and Children's Attachment Representations During Middle Childhood

Despite long‐standing hypotheses that intimate partner violence (IPV) may undermine children's ability to form secure attachment representations, few studies have empirically investigated this association. Particularly lacking is research that examines IPV and attachment during middle childhood, a time when the way that children understand, represent, and process the behavior of others becomes particularly important. Using data from a sample of African American children living in rural, low‐income communities (N = 98), the current study sought to address this gap by examining the association between physical IPV occurring early in children's lives and their attachment security during the first grade. Results indicate that, even after controlling for child‐ and family‐level covariates, physical IPV was associated with a greater likelihood of being rated insecurely attached. This effect was above and beyond the influence of maternal parenting behaviors, demonstrating a unique effect of physical IPV on children's attachment representations during middle childhood.