Attachment issues of children placed in out-of-home care : professionals’ perspectives

Abstract

This paper aimed to explore professionals' perspectives on attachment issues experienced by children placed in Maltese out-of-home care placements. This research required a qualitative approach, namely Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) which allowed semi-structured interviews to be held and thus produced in-depth discussions and substantial amounts of data. The recruited participants were psychologists who had experiences with children in either foster care or residential homes. The data analysis of the participants‟ narratives, through IPA, in this research produced four major themes. The investigation delved into the understanding of attachment issues and the concept of the secure-base while analysing their effect on the development of the child. Consequently, this led to the discussion of other factors which influence the child‟s development and ability to form attachments, such as the adequacy of the environment, the age at which these issues are experienced and the ability of the primary caregiver to adapt to the child‟s needs, among other factors. Together, these findings suggest that these issues could have detrimental effects on the children and therefore, psychological support is highly beneficial and recommended.