Attachment‐facilitating interactions in non‐kin foster families

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the interaction between children in foster care and their main caregivers during a microcoded co-construction task, focusing on the verbal and non-verbal behaviours that the adults use to promote a secure attachment in the child. It also examines how children and caregivers' socio-demographic variables relate to the interaction. The sample is made up of 28 Spanish children between 4 and 9 years old in long-term non-kin foster care and their foster families. The building task was administered to 28 dyads, composed of the child and the main caregiver in each family. Our results showed that the caregivers' use of attachment-facilitating behaviours was frequent during the interaction. Moreover, children tended to display a positive attitude when adults used these attachment-facilitating behaviours. We also found some differences in the interaction according to the caregivers and children's age, the child's gender and the caregivers' satisfaction with the child's development. These results offer us a better understanding of the functioning of the adult-child relationships in foster families, which helps us make more efficient interventions to improve the caregivers' sensitivity towards the children's needs and difficulties. K E Y W O R D S attachment-facilitating behaviour, caregiver-child interactions, co-construction task, longterm foster care, non-kin foster families