Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Attachment in Foster Care: The Role of Maternal Sensitivity, Adoption, and Foster Mother Experience

  • Published:
Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The attachment relationships between 76 young foster children and their foster mothers were examined with the purpose of understanding how maternal sensitivity, adoption status, and foster mother experience contribute to relationship quality. Demographic variables were also included in the analyses. Attachment quality was assessed through home observations. More than half of the participating dyads constructed secure attachments. Maternal Sensitivity and foster mothers with little prior experience predicted higher scores on attachment quality. Additionally, variables associated with adoption status and full-time employment predicted maternal sensitivity. The results are interpreted and limitations of the study are discussed within the context of recent foster care reform policies and applications for practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ainsworth, M. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Oxford, England: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Juffer, F. (2003). Less is more: Meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 195–215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baum, A. C., Crase, S. J., & Crase, K. L. (2001). Influences on the decision to become or not become a foster parent. Families in Society, 82(2), 202–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J. (1996). Parent, infant and social-contextual antecedents of father–son attachment security. Developmental Psychology, 32, 905–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1992). EQS structural equations program manual. Los Angeles: BMDP Statistical Software.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain, P., Moreland, S., & Reid, K. (1992). Enhanced services and stipends for foster parents: Effects on retention rates and outcomes for children. Child Welfare, 71(5), 387–401.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, S. A. (2005a). Infants in foster care: Relational and environmental factors affecting attachment. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 23(1), 43–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, S. A. (2005b). Foster caregiver motivation and infant attachment: How do reasons for fostering affect relationships? Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 22(5–6), 441–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colton, M., & Williams, M. (1997). The world of foster care: An international sourcebook on foster family care systems. Brookfield, VT: Arena.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contreras, J. M., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Rhodes, J. E., Diener, M. L., & Brunson, L. (1999). Parent–child interaction among Latina adolescent mothers: The role of family and social support. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9(4), 417–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crittenden, P. M. (1983). The effect of mandatory protective daycare on mutual attachment in maltreating mother-infant dyads. Child Abuse and Neglect, 7, 297–300.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crittenden, P. M. (1985). Maltreated infants: Vulnerability and resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 85–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cuddeback, G. S., & Orme, J. G. (2002). Training and services for kinship and non-kinship foster families. Child Welfare, 81(6), 879–909.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dando, I., & Minty, B. (1987). What makes good foster parents? British Journal of Social Work, 17(4), 383–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dozier, M. (2000). Motivation for caregiving from an ethological perspective. Psychological Inquiry, 11(2), 97–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dozier, M., Stovall, K. C., Albus, K. E., & Bates, B. (2001). Attachment for infants in foster care: The role of caregiver state of mind. Child Development, 72, 1467–1477.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eastman, K. S. (1982). Foster parenthood: A nonnormative parenting arrangement. Marriage & Family Review, 5(2), 95–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egeland, B., & Sroufe, L. A. (1981). Developmental sequelae of maltreatment in infancy. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 77–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, L. H., Diener, M. L., & Mangelsdorf, S. C. (1996). Maternal characteristics and social support across the transition to motherhood: Associations with maternal behavior. Journal of Family Psychology, 10(1), 60–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goossen, F. A., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1990). Quality of infant’s attachment to professional caregivers: Relation to infant-parent attachment and daycare characteristics. Child Development, 61, 832–837.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halfon, L., & Klee, N. (1987). Mental health care for foster children in California. Child Abuse and Neglect, 11(1), 63–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hochstadt, N. J., Jaudes, P. K., & Zimo, D. A. (1987). The medical and psychosocial needs of children entering foster care. Child Abuse and Neglect, 11(1), 53–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howes, C. (1999). Attachment relationships in the context of multiple caregivers. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, & clinical applications. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howes, C., & Segal, J. (1993). Children’s relationships with alternative caregivers: The special case of maltreated children removed from their homes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 14, 71–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howes, C., & Smith, E. (1995). Relations among child care quality, teacher behavior, children’s play activities, emotional security, and cognitive activity in child care. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10, 381–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, P., & Levasseur, K. (2002). Supporting foster parents: Caring voices. Child Welfare Journal, 81(6), 853–877.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isabella, R. A. (1993). Origins of attachment: Maternal interactive behavior across the first year. Child Development, 64(2), 605–621.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, A., & Rodway, M. R. (1984). Correlates of effective foster parenting. Social Work Research & Abstracts, 20(2), 27–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, M. E., Gaensbauer, T. J., Malkin, C. M., & Schultz, L. A. (1985). The effects of child maltreatment of security of infant-adult attachment. Infant Behavior & Development, 8, 35–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moran, G., Pederson, D. R., Pettit, P., & Krupka, A. (1992). Maternal sensitivity and infant-mother attachment in a developmentally delayed sample. Infant Behavior & Development, 15, 427–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pederson, D. R., Moran, G., Sitko, C., Campbell, K., Ghesquire, K., & Acton, H. (1990). Maternal sensitivity and the security of infant-mother attachment: A Q-sort study. Child Development, 61, 1974–1983.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radke-Yarrow, M., Cummings, E. M., Kuczynski, L., & Chapman, M. (1985). Patterns of attachment in two- and three-year-olds in normal families and families with parental depression. Child Development, 56, 884–893.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rodning, C., Beckwith, L., & Howard, J. (1989). Characteristics of attachment organization and play organization in prenatally drug-exposed toddlers. Development and Psychopathology, 1(4), 277–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spieker, S. J., & Booth, C. L. (1988). Maternal antecedents of attachment quality. In J. Belsky & T. Nezworski (Eds.), Clinical implications of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sroufe, A. (2002). From infant attachment to promotion of adolescent autonomy: Prospective, longitudinal data on the role of parents in development. In J. Borkowski, S. Ramey, & M. Bristol-Power (Eds.), Parenting and the child’s world: Influences on academic, intellectual, and social-emotional development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stovall, K. C., & Dozier, M. (1998). Infants in foster care: An attachment theory perspective. Adoption Quarterly, 2(1), 55–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stovall, K. C., & Dozier, M. (2000). The evolution of attachment in new relationships: Single subject analysis for ten foster infants. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 133–156.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. (2002). Adoption in the United States. Retrieved 21 August 2002 from http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/research/fostercare.php#3.

  • Tracy, R., & Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1981). Maternal affectionate behavior and infant-mother attachment patterns. Child Development, 52, 1341–1343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van den Boom, D. C. (1994). The influence of temperament and mothering on attachment and exploration: An experimental manipulation of sensitive responsiveness among lower-class mothers with irritable infants. Child Development, 65(5), 1457–1477.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Sagi, A. (1999). Cross cultural patterns of attachment: Universal and contextual dimensions. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, & clinical applications. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, B. (1985, April). Relationships between the attachment behavior Q-set and strange situation classifications. Paper presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Toronto.

  • Vaughn, B., & Bost, K. K. (1999). Attachment and temperament: Redundant, independent, or interacting influences on interpersonal adaptation and personality development? In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, & clinical applications. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, B., & Waters, E. (1990). Attachment behavior at home and in the laboratory: Q-sort observations and strange situation classifications of one-year-olds. Child Development, 61(6), 1965–1973.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, E. (1985, April). A Q-sort instrument for assessing attachment in infancy and early childhood. Paper presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Toronto.

  • Waters, E., & Deane, K. E. (1985). Defining and assessing individual differences in attachment relationships: Q-methodology and the organization of behavior in infancy and early childhood. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1–2, Serial No. 209), 41–65.

  • Wilson, K., Sinclair, I., & Gibbs, I. (2000). The trouble with foster care: The impact of stressful ‘events’ on foster carers. British Journal of Social Work, 30(2), 193–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Leslie Ponciano

Authors
  1. Leslie Ponciano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leslie Ponciano.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ponciano, L. Attachment in Foster Care: The Role of Maternal Sensitivity, Adoption, and Foster Mother Experience. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 27, 97–114 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-010-0192-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-010-0192-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation