@article{cb87200c8c3048c2991ff305f1a8cb4e,
title = "Attachment representations in international adolescent adoptees in Spain, over 8 to 17 years of placement",
abstract = "Adverse early experiences of adopted children tend to entail emotional deprivation, which may have impaired their attachment relationships. Using an adaptation of a projective test specifically devised to assess attachment in teenagers, the relational histories of 70 Spanish adolescent international adoptees were explored and compared to non-adopted peers. A significant association between insecure attachment and difficulties with internal representation of parental figures (birth and adoptive) appeared in young adoptees with adverse pre-placement care and late adoption. With knowledge of internal attachment{\textquoteright}s working models, professionals can improve their understanding of the adopted adolescent and go beyond mere classification of attachment patterns.",
keywords = "Adolescence, attachment, early adversity, international adoption, projective methods",
author = "Elisabeth Ball{\'u}s and Mar Casas and Edurne Urrutia and Carles P{\'e}rez-Testor",
note = "Funding Information: The authors are so grateful to the adopted youth and their parents for the participation in our research and for sharing their experiences. The first author was granted the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Support from {\textquoteleft}Secretaria d{\textquoteright}Universitats i Recerca del Departament d{\textquoteright}Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catlunya{\textquoteright} (URL/R12/2016). Funding Information: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1232-2835 Ball{\'u}s Elisabeth Universitat Ram{\'o}n Llull, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2144-5389 Casas Mar Universitat Ram{\'o}n Llull, Spain Urrutia Edurne Universidad de Deusto, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3037-2062 P{\'e}rez-Testor Carles Universitat Ram{\'o}n Llull, Spain Elisabeth Ball{\'u}s, Universitat Ram{\'o}n Llull, FPCEE Blanquerna C/ Cister 34, 08022 Barcelona, Spain. Email: elisabetbb@blanquerna.url.edu 10 2019 0020872819878484 {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2019 2019 IASSW, ICSW, IFSW Adverse early experiences of adopted children tend to entail emotional deprivation, which may have impaired their attachment relationships. Using an adaptation of a projective test specifically devised to assess attachment in teenagers, the relational histories of 70 Spanish adolescent international adoptees were explored and compared to non-adopted peers. A significant association between insecure attachment and difficulties with internal representation of parental figures (birth and adoptive) appeared in young adoptees with adverse pre-placement care and late adoption. With knowledge of internal attachment{\textquoteright}s working models, professionals can improve their understanding of the adopted adolescent and go beyond mere classification of attachment patterns. Adolescence attachment early adversity international adoption projective methods Ag{\`e}ncia de Gesti{\'o} d{\textquoteright}Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003030 URL/R12/2016 edited-state corrected-proof The authors are so grateful to the adopted youth and their parents for the participation in our research and for sharing their experiences. Declaration of conflicting interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The first author was granted the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Support from {\textquoteleft}Secretaria d{\textquoteright}Universitats i Recerca del Departament d{\textquoteright}Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catlunya{\textquoteright} (URL/R12/2016). ORCID iDs Elisabeth Ball{\'u}s https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1232-2835 Mar Casas https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2144-5389 Carles P{\'e}rez-Testor https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3037-2062 Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2019.",
year = "2019",
month = nov,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1177/0020872819878484",
language = "English",
volume = "62",
pages = "1507--1521",
journal = "International Social Work",
issn = "0020-8728",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "6",
}