Developmental outcomes for children whose primary caregivers are misattuned but not considered abusive are unclear. This paper argues that if by the pre-school years, insecure patterns of attachment are evident then a continuing dysfunctional attachment relationship is indicated and the likelihood of later difficulties is increased. The current study compared attachment patterns in a cohort of preschool children from the regular community with concurrent behavioural ratings obtained from caregivers and teachers. The sample was followed up seven years later. At pre-school age, there was no association between teachers or caregiver ratings and pattern of security in the children. By pre-adolescence, children with compulsively insecure patterns showed higher levels of depression on a self-report measure. Ratings by caregivers of the pre-adolescent children did not differentiate the two groups. The paper argues that since caregiver misattunment to the child contributed to the initial problems, emotional difficulties in the pre-adolescent might go unseen.
This paper explores the ability of five-to six-year-old children to remember past experiences. A set of stimuli cards modelled on adaptations of the Separation Anxiety Test was generated. Interview transcripts are scored for the child's ability to recall past experience in episodic form. The quality of episodic recall is compared with attachment pattern and with quality of the dyadic mother-child interaction. Participants are 61 Western Australian children and their parents. There is a significant level of concordance between attuned dyads and the capacity of the child to relate complete episodes about past experiences. This capacity also relates to security of attachment at four-five years. The results are discussed in the context of the growing body of knowledge that suggests that the relationships parents have with their children shape their psychological world, in this case the child's recall of episodes.
This article describes a procedure which has proven useful in facilitating narratives about experience of everyday family situations in order to provide insights into the inner world of children around five—seven years. The Windows to Attachment in Young Children (WAYC) consists of the procedure itself and scoring frameworks through which the narrative is analysed. Reports from three studies demonstrate its success in generating rich narrative accounts from Australian children. A system for coding attachment representations shows promise. A system for coding quality of recall of episodic experience has enabled research into the relationship between children’s memory and parent—child communication.
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