Simona Di Folco

Adoptive parenting and attachment: Association of the internal working models between adoptive mothers and their late-adopted children during adolescence

Introduction: Recent literature has shown that the good outcome of adoption would mostly depend on the quality of adoptive parenting, which is strongly associated with the security of parental internal working models (IWMs) of attachment. Specifically, attachment states-of-mind of adoptive mothers classified as free and autonomous and without lack of resolution of loss or trauma could represent a good protective factor for adopted children, previously maltreated and neglected. While most research on adoptive families focused on pre-school and school-aged children, the aim of this study was to assess the concordance of IWMs of attachment in adoptive dyads during adolescence. Method: Our pilot-study involved 76 participants: 30 adoptive mothers (mean age = 51.5 ± 4.3), and their 46 late-adopted adolescents (mean age = 13.9 ± 1.6), who were all aged 4–9 years old at time of adoption (mean age = 6.3 ± 1.5). Attachment representations of adopted adolescents were assessed by the Friend and Family Interview (FFI), while adoptive mothers’ state-of-mind with respect to attachment was classified by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Adolescents’ verbal intelligence was controlled for. Results: Late-adopted adolescents were classified as follows: 67% secure, 26% dismissing, and 7% preoccupied in the FFI, while their adoptive mothers’ AAI classifications were 70% free-autonomous, 7% dismissing, and 23% unresolved. We found a significant concordance of 70% (32 dyads) between the secure–insecure FFI and AAI classifications. Specifically adoptive mothers with high coherence of transcript and low unresolved loss tend to have late-adopted children with high secure attachment, even if the adolescents’ verbal intelligence made a significant contribution to this prediction. Discussion: Our results provides an empirical contribution to the literature concerning the concordance of attachment in adoptive dyads, highlighting the beneficial impact of highly coherent states-of-mind of adoptive mothers on the attachment representations of their late-adopted adolescent children.

Scripted secure base knowledge and its relation to perceived social acceptance and competence in early middle childhood

Attachment theory regards experiences with caregivers as the affective ground for the development of early images of self, possibly embedded in scripted secure-base knowledge as a rudimentary representation of early caregiver-child attachment relationships. However, the possible link between implicit representations of secure base availability - and the image of self in these representations - and explicit evaluations of self, is still unclear. The present study assessed whether implicit knowledge of secure-base interactions with caregivers is related to self-reported self-esteem in early middle childhood (N = 97 second-grade children). Results revealed that children with rich knowledge of secure base interactions perceived themselves not only as more accepted and appreciated by their peers and mothers but also as more cognitively competent, beyond actual differences in cognitive competence. Yet, given the limited strength of this link, the role of contextual factors beyond attachment ought to be considered in the assessment of self-perception in early middle childhood.

Attachment to Mother and Father at Transition to Middle Childhood

The present study investigated concordance between representations of attachment to mother and attachment to father, and convergence between two narrative-based methods addressing these representations in middle childhood: the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) and the Secure Base Script Test (SBST). One hundred and twenty 6-year-old children were assessed by separate administrations of the MCAST for mother and father, respectively, and results showed concordance of representations of attachment to mother and attachment to father at age 6.5 years. 75 children were additionally tested about 12 months later, with the SBST, which assesses scripted knowledge of secure base (and safe haven), not differentiating between mother and father attachment relationships. Concerning attachment to father, dichotomous classifications (MCAST) and a continuous dimension capturing scripted secure base knowledge (MCAST) converged with secure base scriptedness (SBST), yet we could not show the same pattern of convergence concerning attachment to mother. Results suggest some convergence between the two narrative methods of assessment of secure base script but also highlight complications when using the MCAST for measuring attachment to father in middle childhood.

La depressione post-partum nelle madri immigrate : una review della letteratura

Questa rassegna propone un’analisi della letteratura sulla depressione post-partum (PPD) nelle donne immigrate e rifugiate, e sui possibili fattori ostacolanti la ricerca di cure. La ricerca bibliografica condotta nelle banche dati PsychInfo e Medline, relativamente agli anni 2004-2013, ha individuato 51 articoli. I risultati hanno evidenziato: 1) la peculiarita dei bisogni e dei fattori di rischio per la PPD nelle donne immigrate; 2) la specificita dei fattori culturali coinvolti, sebbene a oggi poco studiati; 3) l’esiguita di studi relativi al ruolo del supporto sociale nella ricerca di cure; infine, 4) la necessita di ricerche future sulle loro percezioni, sul supporto sociale, sugli ostacoli alla ricerca di cure al fine di pianificare possibili strategie e programmi d’intervento.

Skin to skin interactions. Does the infant massage improve the couple functioning

Transition to parenthood is a critical stage of life due to several changes the couple has to handle. A large body of studies described how transition to parenthood can be linked to the onset of depressive symptoms, as well as the perception of a low social support, and an increased stress, representing a risk for the early mother–baby relationship. Infant massage (IM) emerged as a helpful tool to improve maternal skills in interacting with the baby, and leading toward a decreasing of post-partum symptoms. However, a growing body of literature highlights that men also may experience post-partum diseases, representing an additional risk for the development of the baby. To date, no study observed the impact of the IM on both partners. The aim of the current qualitative research is to observe the impact of the IM on a single couple of parents at childbirth. Pre (Time 1) and post-intervention (Time 3) procedure has been established to observe the changes occurring over the time in the couple. In particular, each member of the couple filled out the EPDS, the BDI-II, the MSPSS, and the PSI-SF both at Time 1 and at Time 3. The treatment (Time 2) was represented by the IM training, and lasted 4 weeks. Findings revealed a decrease in depressive symptoms in both partners, as well as an improvement of their perception of stress related to parental role. No changes has been detected with respect to the perception of social support. The IM seems to be a helpful approach to prevent the establishment of pathological conditions in new parents. Although no direct measures on the child were used, the current qualitative data seem to suggest that the IM may represent a valuable tool to prevent the onset of early negative outcomes of the baby. Further investigations and empirical data are needed to improve the knowledge in this field.

Resilience and resilience factors in children in residential care: A systematic review

Young people raised in residential care settings are more vulnerable to poor mental health than peers in the general population. Resilience can protect mental health and promote recovery from adversity. The lack of a single clear conceptualization of resilience reflects its complex, multifaceted nature, but creates obstacles for measurement in this population. This review explored the conceptualization, operationalization and measurement of resilience in children and adolescents living in residential care settings. Databases were investigated up to November 2017 and fifteen studies were included. Among the resilience-related factors found, those promoting interpersonal relationships and development of a future focus and motivation were particularly noticeable. Overall, adolescents in residential care were reported as being more vulnerable and presenting more problems compared to peers. Higher levels of resilience were associated with better developmental outcomes. Recommendations are made to systematically include and evaluate resilience promoting design and interventions in residential care settings.

Effectiveness of art therapy with Paediatric populations affected by medical health conditions: A systematic review

Abstract Background: Visual art therapy has been widely used with children with medical health conditions within various settings. However, less is known about its effectiveness. The scope of this systematic review is to shed light on what benefit art therapy may have for ill health adjustment in youth populations. Methods: Electronic databases (Psychinfo, Medline, CINAHL, ERIC, Scopus, Embase and Child and Adolescent Studies) were searched (1806–2017). Systematic methods for study selection and data extraction were used. Results: Twelve studies (N = 404 participants, 318 in the control group; aged between 2 and 19 years old, with various medical conditions) were included. Ten studies reported significant improvements concerning at least one outcome with an overall inconclusive trend toward effectiveness. Conclusions: Visual art therapy interventions were found weak in evidence quality. However, future evidence-based research designs could show the effectiveness of these interventions in health care settings.

Depressione materna e paterna: fattori di rischio e di protezione nella genitorialità

La psicopatologia, di uno o di entrambi i partner, puo essere considerata un fattore di vulnerabilita che incide sulla capacita della coppia di gestire le esperienze stressanti e puo interferire con le funzioni di caregiving. In particolare, la depressione esperita durante la gravidanza e l’eventuale depressione del partner sono fattori che aumentano la probabilita sia nella madre sia nel padre di dar luogo a modalita relazionali imprevedibili e incoerenti nella comunicazione emotiva con il proprio bambino. Alla luce dei dati che mettono in relazione il comportamento materno disattento e distaccato e il comportamento intrusivo e rifiutante con la depressione materna, ci sono buone ragioni per ipotizzare che i figli di madri depresse abbiano una maggiore probabilita di sviluppare un attaccamento insicuro e di manifestare disturbi del comportamento e sintomi depressivi. In questa relazione interattiva quale funzione svolge il padre? Il ruolo paterno e un potenziale fattore protettivo, all’interno del sistema padre-madre-bambino? Lo scopo di questa rassegna e quello di delineare lo stato dell’arte relativo allo studio della depressione materna come fattore di rischio per lo sviluppo delle competenze genitoriali ed evidenziare il ruolo paterno nella relazione madre-bambino, con una funzione protettiva rispetto ai rischi della depressione materna.