Mental Models of Attachment in Adoptive Parents and Children
The Case of Institutionalized and Adopted Young Adults
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15467256 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Angelica Arace (0000-0003-2964-0282, University of Turin, corresponding author), Protima Agostini (University of Turin), Laura Elvira Prino (0000-0002-8061-6053, University of Turin) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 776-776 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph22050776 |
| PMID | 40427890 |
| OpenAlex | W4410363110 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 26 |
The international adoption of early institutionalized children offers the opportunity to examine the quality of mental representations of attachment and their possible revision post-adoption, thus contributing to the debate on the continuity/discontinuity of internal working models and the intergenerational transmission of attachment. The main aim of this study was to investigate how early institutionalization affects the IWMs of adopted children and whether there was a relation between the IWMs of adoptive parents and those of their children. Participating in the study were 39 young adults (male: 15; female: 24) and their adoptive parents (N = 72): adoptees' IWMs were assessed with the SAT, while parents were administered the AAI. The percentage of insecure and especially disorganized attachments in adoptees differs significantly from the normative data of the reference population. The IWMs of adoptive parents only partially reflect the normative distribution of the non-clinical adult population, with dismissing models being overrepresented. There is no consistency between the IWMs of adoptees and those of adoptive parents. This study highlights the negative effects, even in the long term, of early experiences of emotional deprivation and the stabilization of insecure attachment patterns in the absence of caregivers who can act as a secure base that enables children to come to terms with their traumatic past
Developmental psychology · Young adult · Child Welfare and Adoption · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies
Examining Child Maltreatment Through a Neurodevelopmental Lens
Attachment for Infants in Foster Care
Attachment representations in mothers, fathers, adolescents, and clinical groups
Behavior Problems and Mental Health Referrals of International Adoptees
Adult Attachment Interview
Providing a secure base
The first 10,000 Adult Attachment Interviews
Conceptualizing the role of early experience
Adverse Childhood Experiences of Children Adopted from Care
The Family Adoption Communication (FAC) Model
Do You Know Your Real Parents?” and Other Adoption Microaggressions
Parenting as a Moderator of Cumulative Risk for Behavioral Competence in Adopted Children
Social competence in internationally adopted and institutionalized children
Report on a Longitudinal Research Project, Exploring the Development of Attachments between Older, Hard-To-Place Children and Their Adopters over the First Two Years of Placement
Attachment representations in late-adopted children
Comparing long-term placements for young children in care
Fostering security? A meta-analysis of attachment in adopted children
Attachment in adopted adolescents. National adoption in Chile
Foster mother state of mind and treatment use
When "New" Meets "Old
Are There Biological Programming Effects for Psychological Development? Findings From a Study of Romanian Adoptees
Adoption in the service of child protection
Family Structural Openness and Communication Openness as Predictors in the Adjustmentof Adopted Children
Adoption and Cognitive Development
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |