title: Attachment representation in institutionalized children: a preliminary study using the child attachment interview.
abstract: The experience of being removed from one's home and the transition to a residential care system pose enormous challenges for a child. Substantial evidence has been found regarding severe developmental effects due to early exposition to extreme psychosocial and affective deprivation. The research on Bowlby's theoretical proposals has highlighted the link between insecure, disorganized and atypical attachment patterns and children both living in foster care facilities and adopted out of those institutions. The goal of this pilot study is to investigate the attachment representation in an Italian sample of children in middle childhood (9-13 years old) who have been removed from their homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two compared groups of children participated in this study. The first group was composed of 24 Italian children who had been removed from their homes. The second group, considered as the control group, was composed of 35 Italian children who had never been in foster care placement. The quality of children's attachment to their primary caregivers was assessed by the Child Attachment Interview, an innovative semi-structured interview that seeks to bridge the measurement gap identified in middle childhood
  
  
  RESULTS
  The children in foster care placement show a higher percentage of insecure and disorganized attachment representations and lower scores on the Child Reflective Functioning Scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical implications and enhancements to effective intervention for foster children's caretaking are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; Faculty of Communication Sciences, Institute for Public Communication, University of Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zaccagnino
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cussino
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Preziosa
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Veglia
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carassa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000300:Adoption / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002674:Child, Institutionalized / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D019962:Reactive Attachment Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Attachment; Child Attachment Interview; Institutional Care; Middle Childhood