The relationship between attachment and self-esteem in adolescents placed in foster or institutional care: The respective contribution of the biological mother and secondary caregiver

By Anne-Sophie Deborde, Camille Danner Touati, Laura Herrero, Abdelmounaim Touati
English

The aim of this study was to explore the attachment representations of adolescents in care toward their biological mother and their secondary caregiver, and to describe if and how these representations were linked to their self-esteem. Finally, this study also aimed to determine whether one type of placement (foster home or institutional care) would be more likely than the other to facilitate a positive representation of the secondary caregiver. Seventeen adolescents placed in foster care and forty-eight adolescents placed in institutional care took part in this study. They completed three questionnaires: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, the Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment (IPPA) with reference to their mother, and then a developed version of the IPPA with reference to their foster parent or social worker. The results showed that children in care had more positive attachment representations toward their secondary caregiver than toward their biological mother. However, the relationship between self-esteem and attachment representations was not significantly different if one considered the mother or the secondary caregiver. The study shows that placement in foster families favors the construction of a more positive attachment representation toward the secondary caregiver than placement in institutional care. Moreover, these positive attachment representations were linked with self-esteem: the more secure children felt with their foster mother, the higher their self-esteem was. This phenomenon was not identified in institutional care. This result highlights the importance of the availability and proximity of the foster caregiver in the context of a placement.

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