Relations between young children's responses to the depiction of separation and pain experiences

This study examined relations between young children's representations of separation and pain experiences in 60, 4- and 5-year-old children. Separation representations were assessed with the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT) and pain representations were assessed by examining responses to pictures of children about to experience pain in the presence of parent figures. Results showed that representations of separation and pain experience were systematically related and the patterns were not accounted for by the child's ability to differentiate emotional states, language ability, or reports of emotional regulation. These findings are consistent with Bowlby's (1982) concept of secure base behaviour in response to a variety of distress, and support the hypothetical construct of an internal working model of attachment which organizes children's behaviours, thoughts, and feelings in response to both separation experience and painful events.