1. Thomas Coram Adoption Project:
Miriam Steele, Jill Hodges, Jeanne Kaniuk, Saul Hillman
Kay Sanderson
Sample: 43 adoptive mothers of 61 placed
children, aged 4 – 8 years, with histories of
abuse, neglect, and multiple placements.
Aim: to investigate whether there may be early
signs of the influence of the adoptive mother’s
state of mind with regard to attachment which
would be associated with their newly placed
children’s state of mind with regard attachment
(as expressed in their narrative story-
completions).
‘Attachment representations and adoption’ 2003 Journal
of Child Psychotherapy pp

2. Thomas Coram Adoption Project:
Miriam Steele, Jill Hodges, Jeanne Kaniuk, Saul Hillman
Kay Sanderson
AAI: I/d of unresolved states of mind when adult
shows signs of ongoing grief and disorientation
concerning some past loss or trauma.
Story stems: Assess child’s expectations and
perceptions of family roles, attachments and
relationships – what does the child expect from
a parent at times of need, hurt, danger, fear,
separation? Does the child believe that carers
are aware when children need care, comfort
and protection – do they believe that the parent
has them in mind?
‘Attachment representations and adoption’ 2003 Journal
of Child Psychotherapy

3. Thomas Coram Adoption Project:
Miriam Steele, Jill Hodges, Jeanne Kaniuk, Saul Hillman
Kay Sanderson
Findings: 2 years after placement, most
maltreated children showed steady progress, with
more positive representations of carers appearing
in their stories, although alongside these more
positive representations, less positive
representations continued to exist. Indicators
of disorganised attachments were still present
e.g. catastrophic fantasies, even when more
positive representations also appeared.
‘Attachment representations and adoption’ 2003 Journal
of Child Psychotherapy

4. Thomas Coram Adoption Project:
Miriam Steele, Jill Hodges, Jeanne Kaniuk, Saul Hillman
Kay Sanderson
More secure, sensitive, ‘mind-minded’ carers
appear to help these maltreated children build
internal representations of available and
responsive caregiving.
However, at times of stress or change, the more
frightening internalised attachment
representations/figures are once more evoked.
Children regress, become more aggressive and
difficult to manage.
‘Attachment representations and adoption’ 2003 Journal
of Child Psychotherapy

5. Thomas Coram Adoption Project:
Miriam Steele, Jill Hodges, Jeanne Kaniuk, Saul Hillman
Kay Sanderson
A small number of adoptive parents had an
Unresolved attachment status: unhappy
childhood experiences which they had not
processed or reflected upon, so that they had
not ‘moved on’. They remained vulnerable in the
face of strongly activated attachment-related
issues. Maltreated children are likely to present
such parents with very powerful, evocative
attachment-related issues of loss, need, neglect,
rejection and/or trauma.
‘Attachment representations and adoption’ 2003 Journal
of Child Psychotherapy

6. Thomas Coram Adoption Project:
Miriam Steele, Jill Hodges, Jeanne Kaniuk, Saul Hillman
Kay Sanderson
Finding: Adoptive mothers with unresolved attachment issues found it difficult to focus on their children’s needs adequately, feeling hurt and rejected by their children’s hostile, destructive or rejecting behaviour.
Finding: Maltreated children placed with unresolved adopters showed the least progress. They failed to develop more secure attachments. They continued to display more negative story stems and couldn’t use an organised strategy to deal with the stories’ attachment issues.
‘Attachment representations and adoption’ 2003 Journal
of Child Psychotherapy pp

7. one possible implication …?
This study demonstrates powerfully the consequences of adopters’ unresolved aspects of their past and the way disturbing children in their care make the least progress; indeed the placement itself is more vulnerable
Thus, would there be any reason to believe that these findings would not apply to other caregivers (e.g. residential workers, foster carers, nursery workers, youth workers etc.)?
Indeed, what about all professionals working with vulnerable children?