Publicação
Out of sight is not out of mind : associations between perceived maternal attachment and self-representations of youth in residential care moderated by individual and relational variables
| Resumo: | The present study aims to explore the associations between perceived maternal attachment security and self-representation of youth in residential care, considering the potential moderator role of individual (i.e., youth’s sex and age), and relational variables (i.e., length of separation from the family and frequency of contact with the family). To this end, a sample of 734 youth (52.7% males) from standard residential care settings in Portugal, with ages between 11 and 25 years old (M = 16.17, SD = 2.24), filled out self-report questionnaires to evaluate their perceptions of maternal attachment and self-representations. Results indicated that youth’s perception of an insecure maternal attachment was associated with lower levels of relational and global positive self-representations and with higher levels of emotional, behavioral, misfit and global negative self-representations. Moreover, compared to males, females with lower levels of secure maternal attachment reported higher emotional and global negative self representations. Additionally, youth with lower levels of secure maternal attachment reported higher emotional self-representations only for low and medium levels of frequency of phone contacts with the family. No moderation effects were found for age and length of separation from the family. This study contributes to the literature with evidence regarding the role of attachment relationships on the self-representations and the moderating role of youth’s sex and frequency of contact with their family, which informs the development of interventions with this vulnerable and under-investigated population. |
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| Autores principais: | Ferreira, Margarida Alexandra Tavares Leal |
| Assunto: | Vinculação materna Autorrepresentação Adolescentes Acolhimento residencial Relações familiares Dissertações de mestrado - 2022 |
| Ano: | 2022 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | The present study aims to explore the associations between perceived maternal attachment security and self-representation of youth in residential care, considering the potential moderator role of individual (i.e., youth’s sex and age), and relational variables (i.e., length of separation from the family and frequency of contact with the family). To this end, a sample of 734 youth (52.7% males) from standard residential care settings in Portugal, with ages between 11 and 25 years old (M = 16.17, SD = 2.24), filled out self-report questionnaires to evaluate their perceptions of maternal attachment and self-representations. Results indicated that youth’s perception of an insecure maternal attachment was associated with lower levels of relational and global positive self-representations and with higher levels of emotional, behavioral, misfit and global negative self-representations. Moreover, compared to males, females with lower levels of secure maternal attachment reported higher emotional and global negative self representations. Additionally, youth with lower levels of secure maternal attachment reported higher emotional self-representations only for low and medium levels of frequency of phone contacts with the family. No moderation effects were found for age and length of separation from the family. This study contributes to the literature with evidence regarding the role of attachment relationships on the self-representations and the moderating role of youth’s sex and frequency of contact with their family, which informs the development of interventions with this vulnerable and under-investigated population. |
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