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Factors influencing maltreated children's early adjustment in foster care
1Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA. stephanie.e.milan@vanderbilt.edu
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Children’s internal representations influence their relationships and behavior in foster care. Early self and maternal representations predict adjustment and foster mother relationship quality for maltreated children.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Attachment Theory
Background:
- Maltreatment impacts children's relationships through internal representations.
- Previous research has not examined attachment continuity in children removed from home.
- Understanding these representations is crucial for supporting children in foster care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how maltreated children's maternal and self-representations influence their relationships with foster mothers.
- To investigate the impact of these representations on behavioral adjustment in foster care.
- To explore the role of foster placement in the development of compensatory relationships.
Main Methods:
- Study included 32 children (ages 9-13) entering foster care.
- Assessed children's maternal and self-representations upon entering foster placement.
- Examined relationships between representations, maltreatment severity, and behavioral adjustment.
- Evaluated children's subsequent relationships with foster mothers.
Main Results:
- Maternal and self-representations were linked to each other and maltreatment severity.
- These representations predicted children's views of their foster mother relationships.
- Behavior in foster homes correlated with maltreatment severity, initial representations, and current foster mother perceptions.
Conclusions:
- Internal representations are key to understanding maltreated children's adjustment in foster care.
- Foster care may offer opportunities for forming compensatory relationships.
- Findings highlight the importance of early representations in shaping developmental trajectories.
Abstract:
Internal representations of self and primary attachment figures may be one mechanism by which maltreatment affects children's interpersonal behavior and relationships with others. Research on the continuity and influence of maltreated children's attachment representations, however, has not included youngsters removed from abusive or neglectful home environments. This paper examines the influence of maltreated children's maternal and self-representations on subsequent relationships with foster mothers and behavioral adjustment in foster care. Participants included 32 children, ages 9-13 years, who entered foster placement for the first time after a sustained relationship with a maltreating biological mother. Upon initially entering foster care, children's maternal and self-representations were significantly related to each other and to severity of maltreatment history but not to other factors believed to influence the quality of parent-child relationship (e.g., maternal mental health, partner stability). In addition, these representations significantly predicted children's subsequent views of their relationships with foster mothers. Finally, children's behavior in their foster homes was associated with maltreatment severity, internal representations assessed at entry into foster care, and to concurrent perceptions of their new foster mothers. These findings advance our understanding of foster placement's role in maltreated children's development and provide preliminary insight into the processes associated with the formation of potentially compensatory relationships.