Internal representations of attachment in Story Stems: changes in the narratives of foster care children

Abstract

Children in care, whose early experiences have often involved significant discontinuity and adversity, are at risk of developing insecure attachments with negative internal representations. This study aimed to explore changes in their internal representations over a one-year period, as well as potential factors that could influence them. The Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP) was administered at two time points twelve months apart, to 19 children between five and ten years old (M= 7.55, SD= 1.84). Using the SSAP over two time points showed that security representations significantly increased, defensive-avoidance ones decreased, whilst children with fewer previous placements had lower increases in security. The SSAP demonstrates how secure representations can be developed in new situations with more reliable caregivers, but insecure and disorganised ones might be harder and slower to modify, pointing ultimately to the importance of placement stability.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• Story Stems
• looked after children
• fostering
• continuity
• internal representations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Saul Hillman

Dr Saul Hillman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Anna Freud Centre and an Honorary Lecturer at University College London. He is also the training lead for the SSAP, as well as being a lead researcher on a number of studies around looked after and adopted populations.

Carolina Villegas

Carolina Villegas is a PhD candidate from the Psychoanalysis Unit at University College London, working within Katerina Fotopoulou’s Lab (KatLab). She holds an MSc in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families and University College London (partially funded by CONACYT).

Katharine Anderson

Katharine Anderson is the Referrals and Research Coordinator in the Assessment and Therapy Team at Five Rivers Child Care Ltd. Katharine is also a trainee member of the UKCP, and is currently in training to become a qualified integrative child psychotherapist.

Asa Kerr-Davis

Asa Kerr-Davis is an Assistant Psychologist in the Assessment and Therapy Team at Five Rivers Child Care Ltd. Asa is also a PhD student based within the Psychoanalysis Unit at University College London.

Richard Cross

Richard Cross is a Psychotherapist and Child Psychotherapist who is Head of Assessment and Therapy at Five Rivers Child Care. He is a member of the psychotherapy training faculty of the International Society for Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) and The Arizona Trauma Institute.