Indiscriminate friendliness in maltreated children:the importance of emotional availability

BF Psychology;R Medicine (General)

Love, Leighanne ; Minnis, Helen

University:University of Glasgow

Department:Institute of Health and Wellbeing

关键词: Indiscriminate friendliness, Reactive Attachment Disorder, emotional availability;   

Others  :  http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5617/1/2014loveDClinPsyVol1.pdf

来源: University of Glasgow

【 摘 要 】

Background:Indiscriminate friendliness (IF) refers to a lack of reticence with unfamiliar adults and has been well documented in maltreated children.This risky behaviour is distinct from attachment insecurity and has been found to persist when care-giving quality improves. There is a lack of consistency in the literature regarding the importance of care-giving following adoption.Some studies suggest that care-giving quality is not related to IF, whilst others have suggested that the emotional availability of carers is predictive.This study aimed to establish if there is a relationship between EA and IF in a group of previously maltreated infants.Method:In a cross-sectional design, a subsample of infant-carer dyads (n = 55), that were recruited as part of an on-going RCT (Pritchett et al, 2013), were observed.Videos of meal and playtime activities were analysed using The EA Scales (Biringen, 1998).IF was measured, as part of the RCT, using a semi-structured interview.This tool also identifies children that in addition to IF, have no preferred attachment figure:IF (NA).Univariate correlation analyses and regression analyses were used to explore relationships between variables.Results:This study found that child emotional availability predicted indiscriminate friendliness, even when other associated factors (age and carer non-intrusiveness) were controlled for.A composite Carer EA score was not related to IF, but carer non-intrusiveness was significantly associated with IF.Conclusions:Child emotional availability is uniquely associated with indiscriminate friendliness in maltreated children.A specific care-giving factor (non-intrusiveness) was associated with indiscriminate friendliness. It is suggested that carer-child interactions are related to indiscriminate friendliness in maltreated children and may represent a useful target for intervention.Therefore, future research may wish to explore the amelioration of indiscriminate friendliness through an intervention focusing on the carer-child relationship.