Session 5/13

Insecure attachment behavior in children

Competences to be exercised:

•   Recognizing insecure avoidant attachment behaviour in children
•   Recognizing insecure ambivalent attachment behaviour in children
•   Recognizing insecure disorganized attachment behaviour in children
•   Knowing how to handle these attachment patterns in a professional way

Theme of the session

In this session, you will work with how to observe and recognize early attachment problems and how placed children sometimes develop insecure attachment patterns. These can change if the children experience secure caregiver behaviour for a longer period. You will be provided with suggestions to how you can work with children who have insecure attachment patterns.

Aims of the session:

Children placed outside home, have often been exposed to many early traumas: premature birth and low birth weight, which can influence the child’s development, lack of secure care from parents, and/or many shifts in primary caregivers. These factors may cause the development of insecure attachment patterns in placed children to a far higher degree than what is average in society. Insecure attachment patterns are stressful for the way the children engage in social relations and for the way they cope with problems in general. As professionals, you should know the patterns and how to support the development of a positive and secure attachment in the children.