Psychosocial functioning in alternative care in Saudi Arabia: The role of attachment in middle childhood

Abstract

Children in alternative care who live away from their biological parents are at great risk of experiencing developmental difficulties and attachment insecurity. This project studied the effects of care type and attachment relationship on psychosocial development in three groups of children in Saudi Arabia: abandoned children living in institutional care; children living with non-biological parents; and those living with their biological parents aged 8- 12 years. Chapter 1 describes the nature of alternative care with a focus on institutional and adoption care settings, and provides a cultural context to understand the nature of these groups. Chapter 2 outlines attachment theory as a framework and covers previous research outcomes regarding emotional and behavioural symptoms, sociality, self-perception, cognitive function and attachment relationship. Chapter 3 provides a description of institutional care for abandoned children in terms of care policy and structure, programmes and services, as well as the behaviour of caregivers and opportunities for staff training. Chapter 4 considers the validity of the translation and adaptation of two scales measuring loneliness, social dissatisfaction, and self-perception for the subsequent chapters. Chapter 5 looks at psychosocial development and cognitive function in alternative care, and finds more psychosocial problems and poor cognitive functioning in institutionalised children. Chapter 6 looks at attachment concepts in the three groups, showing a higher prevalence of the secure pattern in children living at home, compared to institutional residents. Chapter 7 collates data from Chapters 5 and 6 to determine whether a relationship between care type and attachment insecurity contributes to psychosocial challenges. The results revealed no significant interaction, but attachment insecurity was the most influential predictor of psychosocial difficulties across the sample. Chapter 8 summarises the key findings of the thesis, and compares them with previous research that has utilised attachment theory to understand developmental outcomes in children who live in different care settings. It further discusses how the findings can inform future research, and the development of prevention and intervention programmes, in terms of theory and practice, for children in Saudi Arabia who live in institutional care.

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ORCID for Jana Kreppner: orcid.org/0000-0003-3527-9083

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