Providing Incarcerated Youth With A Community Of Their Peers, Providing Resources, And Modeling Healthy Attachment May Lead To Prosocial Behaviors, Emilee Brnusak

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the connection between gang activity and attachment style. A summary of literature suggests that childhood attachment injuries lead to antisocial, maladaptive relationships and neurological changes that impact executive functioning and emotional regulation. These factors leave youth at higher risk of gang membership. This thesis then explores how an outreach experience at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility inspired a large-scale intervention called Resources for Attachment-injured Youth (RAY) that could be implemented in youth prisons across the country.

Impact Of Employee-Supervisor Attachment Styles On The Prevalence And Symptomatic Expression Of Secondary Traumatic Stress In Public Child Welfare Workers., Lisa Purdy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child welfare organizations throughout the nation grapple with turnover rates estimated to be as high as 65% (e.g., CWLA, 2016; Edwards & Wideman, 2018). Turnover contributes negatively to client outcomes, organizational financial shortages, and to perpetuating stressful conditions for the child welfare workforce. One factor found to contribute to turnover within child welfare is that of secondary traumatic stress (STS). Child welfare workers are known to experience higher rates of STS than any other helping professional (Brady, 2017). However, while many risk and protective factors for secondary traumatic stress have been evaluated, there remains a gap in the literature as …

Examining Differences In Adult Attachment Across Varying Family Dynamics, Hannah Miller

School of Social Work Undergraduate Honors Theses

Recent research suggests that attachment in adulthood impacts many aspects of an individual’s life, including experiences with romantic partners, emotional regulation, and overall life satisfaction. Research attributes this to the levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance individuals experience due to relationship experiences with their caregivers in childhood. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between specific family dynamics and the presence of attachment anxiety and avoidance in adulthood. The present study recruited 185 adults to participate in an anonymous survey about the family dynamics they experienced in childhood, including the relationship between their parents or guardians …

A Life Lived With Schizophrenia: When Mother’S Love Is Kept In The Dark Exploring Maternal Communication And Attachment Organization In Families With Schizophrenia, Myrsini Stefanidou Marini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, research into the transgenerational transmission of attachment styles has shown that a mother’sattachment style often predicts the attachment style of her infant. Fearsome parental behavior has been found to predict disorganized attachment in infants, which is further associated with a range of mental health disturbances in adolescence. Furthermore, regular patterns of disturbed communication between mother and child have also been found to lead to ‘schizophrenic’ thinking and behavior in the child’s life. While acknowledging that genetic and other biological factors contribute to the emergence of schizophrenia, this study focused on disorganized attachment and disturbed communication between mother …

Clinical Interventions For Developmental Trauma Disorder: How Evidence-Based Practice And Attachment Theory Can Inform Therapeutic Approach, Victoria Deveau

DSW Capstone Projects

Approximately two-thirds of U.S. children and adolescents report having experienced a traumatic event. A posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis requires that the youth has directly experienced a traumatic event, witnessed a traumatic event occur to others, or learned that a traumatic event has occurred to someone close. The clinician is in a diagnostic quandary, however, when the youth presents with the PTSD hallmarks of hyperarousal, avoidance, and emotional dysregulation, in absence of such life experiences. The answer to this quandary lies in an understanding of developmental trauma disorder (DTD). Clinical interventions for DTD are the focus of this capstone.

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The Examination And Evaluation Of The Public Foster Care System's Attachment-Based Intervention And Trainings For Foster Parents In The West North Division Of The Midwestern States, Brooke T. Crowell

MSU Graduate Theses

The effectiveness of many foster parent training curricula in the United States foster care system is basically unknown (Adkins et al., 2018). Furthermore, there is little to no research that indicate when and how attachment-focused interventions and trainings are being implemented in the United States. Thus, the initial purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate interventions and trainings pertaining to attachment that exist throughout the United States public foster care system. As this study progressed however, the purpose shifted to answering this question: How is the Midwest foster care system training staff and foster parents on issues of …

Nicu Experiences Of Adoptive Parents & Desired Preparation, Catherine J. Howe

MSU Graduate Theses

Parents who have newborns admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) have multiple experiences and emotions. Additional social and emotional layers are experienced by adoptive couples when the infant they wish to adopt needs specialized care. This research study was completed to find out what adoptive parents experience in the NICU and what preparation would have been helpful. The method included semi-structured, open-ended interviews with seven couples who adopted a newborn at a Midwestern adoption agency within the past three years and had a NICU experience. The results described adoptive couples’ experiences on the unit, bonding and attachment, fears …

Supporting Low Income Parents In The Early Years: Group And Dyadic Intervention Programs For Mothers And Babies, Eve Atkins

Child Development Theses

The study of infant mental health has developed significantly over the last three decades. Now there is greater knowledge that the early years of life are vital for social and emotional development across the lifespan (Brazelton, 1990; Zeanah et al, 2000). It has become widely accepted that the parent child bond is now understood to be highly predictive for healthy childhood development. So, as a result, it is critical to understand the development of Attachment Theory, and the ways in which it has guided our foundational knowledge of the importance of the early years, and the interactions between caregivers and …

Foster Youth's Attachment Styles, Brenda Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This proposed study explored if there was a common attachment style taken on by foster youth. The study explored the types of attachments that are exhibited from foster youth through the perspective of a social worker. The results potentially had an impact on the practices that are used by social workers who have constant interaction with this vulnerable population.

Witnessed Intimate Partner Abuse And Later Perpetration: The Maternal Attachment Influence, Kendra Lee Wiechart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Witnessing intimate partner abuse (IPA) as a child is linked to later perpetration as an adult. Questions remain regarding why some men who witnessed abuse go on to perpetrate, while others do not. The influence maternal attachment has on IPA perpetration after witnessed IPA has not been thoroughly researched. Maternal attachment is a complex variable grounded in attachment theory and may explain why some men fail to relate to their victimized mothers. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence maternal attachment has on men who witnessed IPA as a child and later perpetrated IPA as an adult. …

Examining Relationships Between Early Childcare Teachers' Adult Attachment Orientations And Quality Of Interaction In The Infant Classroom, Alexandra Morris Benoit

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past several decades, women have entered the workforce in increasing numbers. This has led to the majority of infants and young children being cared for outside of the home by extra-familial caregivers. Research has shown the benefits that quality childcare can have on the developmental trajectories of children, as well as the detrimental effects that can be seen when children experience low quality care. Further, children are particularly vulnerable in the first year of life when they are establishing attachment bonds with their primary caregivers. With the long hours that many spend in the care of childcare workers, …

The Lived Experiences Of Caregivers Of Children With Reactive Attachment Disorder, Abby Baumgart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parents of children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) encounter challenges in parenting and parent-child relationship development that are not typical to most parental situations. The purpose of the qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of caregivers of children with RAD, to identify current met and unmet needs, to explore the experiences the caregivers of children with RAD have and the resources available to them. The study included a hermeneutic phenomenological foundation and incorporated the conceptual frameworks of family systems theory and attachment theory. A nonprobability, self-selection sampling strategy was utilized with recruitment through Facebook support groups. Methods included …

Adult Attachment Functioning Of Former Foster Youth Initially Placed In Early Adolescence, Adrienne Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child attachment has been an area of study among scholars for several decades; however, early adolescent attachment is a specific age period that few scholars have examined, especially pertaining to child welfare where placement is a necessary but forced attachment disruption. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the likelihood of early adolescent attachment during initial placement and to explore the frequencies of this population securely attaching postplacement based on the added variables of placement setting (foster home/kinship home/group home/institution) and sibling accessibility. Attachment theory was the lens through which to analyze the 83 results received via anonymous …

Attachment In Middle Childhood Among Foster And Adopted Children: Preliminary Validation Of A Behavioral Observation System, Somer George

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Abstract

The study of attachment in middle childhood, especially among foster and adoptive children, is a critical and timely one. An assessment that helps us understand the behavioral manifestations of attachment for these children, while considering the link with caregiving behavior and parental reflective functioning (PRF) can help to provide effective and efficient intervention leading to security and relational healing. This study examines the attachment patterns of 39 foster and adopted children (ages six to twelve) in the Modified Strange Situation Procedure (MSSP), with their caregivers. Association with caregiving patterns, PRF, and caregiver reported child behavior are analyzed using Pearson’s …

Prison Nurseries And Social Work Practice, Brooke Sheehan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study sought to examine what gaps existed in practice through the perspectives of correctional social workers in terms of helping incarcerated mother–infant dyads bond. Additionally, it examined whether a prison nursery was viewed as a possible option within a smaller correctional facility. Theories used to guide this study included attachment theory and separation-individuation theory, which align with the research questions that sought to explore gaps in services, supports that could be established, and program feasibility. Action research, using an anonymous online survey, resulted in N = 6 social work participants who worked as prison social workers in the northeast …

Trauma-Informed Care For Youth In Foster Care, Jordyn Hubin

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Annually, in Minnesota, thousands of children enter the foster care system. The objective of this study was to use a trauma-informed lens to explore supports that are available to children, biological family members, and foster providers. Questions regarding the strengths and limitations of particular supports were also explored. This study used a qualitative design with five semi-structured interviews of mental health professionals. The main themes that were identified were: trauma-informed care, positives and challenges of formal and informal supports, involvement of biological and foster parents, differences in service to a child in foster care, and building a better system. The …

Therapist, Know Thyself: Self-Reflective Practice Through Autoethnography, Nikki Divirgilio

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Typically, in a social work graduate program, students are taught human behavioral theories, methods and interventions, ethical practices, policy and cultural competence among other areas. The primary tool used by social workers are themselves. Therefore, it is important the social worker is competent. The academic curriculum ensures that professionally, they are. However, how much does a social work graduate program ensure the social worker is competent personally? Theorists and current literature express the importance of a therapist possessing selfawareness— that essentially to know oneself is to know others. In this autoethnography, I aimed to enlighten the importance of self-awareness by …

Poor Attachment And The Socioemotional Effects During Early Childhood, Ashiko E. Newman

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A significant focus is placed on positive outcomes for children in today’s society. However, mental health clinicians attest that poor attachments, during early childhood, are likely to have negative effects on a child’s long-term outcomes. By using the post-positivist paradigm, 10 mental health clinicians were interviewed and each provided their perspectives regarding the negative social skills and emotional regulations of young children, when parents fail to appropriately bond with their children, during their early years. Their ideas were formulated, connected, and structured to develop a theoretical statement. The resulting theory focused on the parent’s ability to develop and strengthen the …

Transgenerational Transmission Of Caregiver Behaviors Promoting Secure Attachments In American Indian Communities, Bryan Ellingson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to describe American Indian caregiver behaviors that promote secure attachments and keep tribal practices alive through transgenerational transmission. This qualitative study included interviews with three American Indian participants to describe culturally specific caregiver behaviors promoting secure attachments. The urban Indian participants in this study’s purposive sample participated in interviews that yielded four salient themes and three sub-themes. The themes included: connection to culture, importance of extended family, significance of elders, and respect as a value. The three sub-themes under connection to culture included: language, ceremonies and practices, and re-visiting the reservation. The results of …

Incorporating Caregivers Into Adolescent Psychotherapy: A Systematic Review, Kelsey Taylor

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This systematic review explores the therapeutic factors that influence how effectively caregivers are incorporated into various therapy models with their adolescents. The five therapeutic models investigated in this study are: individual therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, ecologically-based family systems therapy, and attachment-based family therapy. Using the University of St. Thomas “Summons” search engine, 14 articles were selected for use in this study. The three predominant themes that emerged in the findings were a need for strong boundaries between clinicians and caregivers, sound clinical judgement in terms of when it is appropriate for caregivers to be involved, and the …

"Translating The Language Of The Body" : Engaging Individuals Who Self-Harm In Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Dani Kowalski

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain a deeper understanding of how individuals who self-harm develop ways of communicating about self-harming experiences in therapy. The study used semi-structured interviews with twelve participants to gather qualitative data about their experiences, with a focus on identifying what aspects of therapy were helpful to them, and what was difficult about engaging in therapy.

Participants spoke about the therapeutic encounter as one among many socio-cultural contexts in which changes of self-injury occurred. Findings suggest that engaging individuals who self-harm in therapy involves an understanding of self-harm as a communication of distressing experiences, …

Distracted Parenting: How Social Media Affects Parent-Child Attachment, Denise Ante-Contreras

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Social media usage for parents has become ubiquitous, as either a form of entertainment or communication with other individuals. However, excessive use of social media has also shown to have effects on parenting; causing parental distraction, decreasing the level of everyday parental engagement, and making a child more likely to be at risk for injury. Studies have shown that frequent eye contact, one on one time, and undivided attention are necessary in building a secure attachment between a parent and child. The research study in question hoped to understand whether there was a correlation between the amount of hours a …

The Effectiveness Of Theraplay As Treatment For Older Children With Attachment Difficulties, Ruby Brayman

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Current research suggests that infants and young children can make great gains in the area of attachment with a consistent and nurturing caregiver; the established view has been that after the age of three forming a secure attachment is incredibly difficult. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to answer the question: What is the effectiveness of Theraplay as a form of treatment when working with children over the age of three who have difficulty in forming a secure attachment to a caregiver? This review was set up using peer-reviewed articles, books, and dissertations. The databases PsycINFO, Academic Search …

Swipe, Right? Young People And Online Dating In The Digital Age, Kyla C. Flug

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

As many as 1 in 10 Americans utilize an online dating service. A sizable percentage of these users are young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, Because this social phenomenon is relatively new, little research has been conducted to examine the impact that online dating has on youth culture. The purpose of this study is to explore young people’s expectations and realities of online dating and mobile applications, whether they deem their experiences as positive or negative, to examine young people’s experiences of deception and discrimination by others and to gauge the extent that their relational styles are …

Parental Alcoholism On Attachment Within Romantic Relationships, Brooke Hendrickson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Alcoholism is a problem in the United States, many children around the country grow up with one or more caregivers who is alcohol dependent. This study uses a systematic literature review to examine the romantic relationships of adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) with specific attention to attachment. The studies included in this review came from academic peer reviewed journals, which are empirically based, and include qualitative and quantitative studies. The studies had to include discussion on attachment in a population over 18 years of age. Studies that were excluded were those that focused on specific ethnic groups, gender, or therapy …

Caring For The Caregivers : The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support And Teacher-Child Interactions In Head Start Classrooms, Mariel R. Stadick

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose ofthis study was to examine whether there is a correlation between Head Start preschool teachers’ perceived agency support and the quality of their interactions with children in their programs. This study utilized a mixed methods design with both observational and self-report measures to examine the correlation between two measures as administered in Head Start preschools programs: The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS). A national sample of 69 Head Start preschool teachers responded to a modified version of the SPOS that included demographic items and agreed to release their CLASS scores. …

How Therapists Use And Choose Mindfulness To Treat Trauma, Jessica M. King

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This qualitative study used the phenomenological method to examine how therapists use mindfulness therapies and interventions to address trauma-salient issues with their clients. Specifically, it explored therapists’ use of and choices about mindfulness-based treatments when addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms, and trauma-relevant emotion dysregulation and attachment injury. Informants were associate and fully-licensed local therapists, recruited using convenience sampling and snowball sampling by word-of-mouth referrals. Data was collected by semi-structured interviewing. Interview data was analyzed with Moustakas’ (1994) recommended procedures for analysis of phenomenological data. Results, Discussion, Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research are described at the end.

An Exploration Of The Influence Of Attachment Style On The Link Between Ptsd And Relationship Discord In Veterans, John Franklin Carroll-Barbuto

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Effects Of Attachment Styles Of Foster And Adoptive Parents On The Relational Interactions Of Their Foster And Adoptive Children, Taylor Paige Mountjoy, Elyssa Noel Vanlandingham

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Children enter the Child Welfare System for a variety of complex reasons.

These reasons often point towards parents’ inability to provide appropriate

protection and safety for their children. After removal, many children are placed in

foster homes of relatives, non-related extended family members, group homes,

and county or private foster homes. A child who is removed from their original

home is likely to experience difficulties in the areas of attachment with caregivers

and other adults throughout their development.

This study examined the attachment styles of 37 foster and adoptive parents in

three separate private Foster Family Agencies in both San …

Alzheimer’S Disease, Spousal Caregiving Relationships, And Attachment, Mary Sherman

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in older adults. Due to increased life expectancy and the lack of a current effective treatment or prevention for this disease, a growing number of older couples will face the transition to a caregiving relationship in which one partner has dementia. Studies have shown that spousal caregivers experience a greater strain than adult children in the caregiving role, and that spousal caregivers who are providing care for Alzheimer’s related dementia experience the greatest strain of any other caregiving group due to the nature of the Alzheimer’s disease process. Studies also suggest …