title: [The Relationship Between Attachment Representations of Foster Parents and Foster Children and the Role of the Child's Sex].
abstract: Children who have been placed in foster care after having experienced difficult family situations need to experience secure relationships. The development of a secure attachment model is regarded as a key protective factor for a healthy development. The present study examines predictors of attachment representations in a sample of 37 foster children aged three to eight years. Children's attachment representations were assessed using the Attachment Story Completion Task, and foster parents' attachment representations with the Adult Attachment Interview. Female foster children scored higher in secure attachment representations than males. Attachment representations of male foster children were positively influenced by a secure attachment representation of their primary foster parent and slightly by the duration of placement in the foster family as well as their age of placement but differently than expected. These results suggest that male foster children may be more vulnerable in their development of attachment representations and that foster parents' state of mind regarding attachment as well as the duration of the placement seem to have an impact on the development of attachment patterns in their foster children. This should be considered in the choice and counseling of foster parents.
authors.affiliation: Fachhochschule Dortmund, Fachbereich Angewandte Sozialwissenschaften, Emil-Figge-Str. 44, 44227 Dortmund;
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nowacki
authors.affiliation: Fachhochschule Dortmund.
authors.forename: Josephine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kliewer-Neumann
authors.affiliation: Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg.
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bovenschen
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Jugendinstitut Munchen.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Jugendinstitut Munchen.
authors.forename: Janin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg.
authors.forename: Gottfried
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spangler
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004505:Education, Nonprofessional; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011386:Projective Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D019962:Reactive Attachment Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment
keywords: Bindungsreprasentationen; Geschlechterunterschiede; Pflegeeltern; attachment representations; foster children; foster parents; r Pflegekinder; sex differences