Os textos são da exclusiva responsabilidade dos autores
All texts are of the exclusive responsibility of the authors
ATTACHMENT IN INSTITUTIONALLY-REARED CHILDREN AND CAREGIVERS’
NARRATIVE COMPETENCE: A STUDY ABOUT CHILD’S CARDIAC ACTIVITY
THROUGHOUT AN INTERACTION WITH THE CAREGIVER, BASED ON BIOBEAMS 2.0
Isabel Soares(1), João Paulo Cunha(2), Margarida Henriques(3), Carla Martins(1) & Pedro Dias(4)
(1)
Universidade do Minho, Escola de Psicologia, (2)Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de
Electrónica e Telecomunicações, (3)Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências
da Educação, (4)Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Instituto de Educação e Psicologia
Grant nº 13/06
Objectives: To develop a new version of BioBeAMS, a multimedia system allowing the collection
and analysis of children’s cardiac activity, and to examine, in a group of institutionally-reared
children, the relations among child’s attachment disordered behaviors, caregiver’s narrative
competence, and child’s cardiac activity during interaction tasks with the institutional caregiver.
Method:
Participants
40 institutionalized children (19 females) aged 9 to 30 months (Mean = 19.9; SD=6.66) and their
caregivers were recruited in 12 institutions (Mean age at the time of admission = 8.35, SD=7.77;
Mean length of time spent by the children at the institution = 11.53, SD=4.58).
Measures
Disturbances of Attachment Interview (Smyke & Zeanah, 1999); Rating of Infant and Stranger
Engagement (Atlas-Corbett, Riley & Lyons-Ruth, 2005); Strange Situation Procedure (SSP;
Ainsworth et al., 1978); Bio-Behavior Attachment Multimedia System - BioBeAMS 2.0 (Soares,
Dias, Rangel, Martins, & Cunha, 2008); Caregivers’ narrative competence (Gonçalves et al., 2001);
Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (Bates, Freeland, & Lounsbury, 1979); Bayley Scales of Infant
Development III (Bayley, 2006).
Procedures
Children were connected to 3 electrodes attached to the wireless signal acquisition box placed on a
backpack. Episode 2 of the SSP was defined as the baseline for the cardiac activity. Next, two
routine interaction tasks (1. caregiver telling a story using a picture book, and 2. feeding the child
while telling a story) were carried out.
Results: A negative association between caregivers’ narrative complexity and children’s language
was found, suggesting a higher stimulation from the caregivers when verbally interacting with these
children in a structured task. Furthermore, children with less difficult temperament seem to have
caregivers who tell more structured narratives. Indiscriminate behavior was correlated to cardiac
activity during the routine tasks and the SSP; a decreased heart rate was found during interaction
with stranger and a decreased LF/HF ratio was found when caregiver leaves.
Discussion: BioBeAMS 2.0 is a valuable resource for studying cardiac activity in interaction tasks
with young children. Results suggest that caregivers’ narrative competence is relevant to the quality
of interaction with institutionalized children. Finally, indiscriminate behavior seems to be related to
cardiac activity during interactions with the caregiver, in particular during separation situations.
Presentations at Scientific Meetings:
1. Effects of institutional rearing on infants’ physical growth, neuro-cognitive functioning and
social-emotional development: Preliminary data
Isabel Soares, Joana Silva, Sofia Marques, Joana Baptista, Mariana Pereira, Nuno Sousa, Margarida
Rangel, Joana Palha, Pedro Dias & Carla Martins. Poster presented at the 39th Annual Meeting of
the Jean Piaget Society, Park City, UT, USA, 4-6 June 2009
2. Caregiver's narrative competence and child's development: An exploratory comparison study
with a normative group and a risk group with institutionalized children
Margarida R. Henriques, Isabel Soares, Marlene Sousa, Joana Baptista, Pedro Dias, Ana Moreira,
Joana Silva, Sofia Marques, Mariana Pereira, & Emília Moreira. Poster presented at the 39th Annual
Meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, Park City, UT, USA, 4-6 June 2009
3. Effects of institutionalization on infants’ physical growth, mental development, temperament,
neuro-endocrine, and social-emotional functioning: Preliminary data
Isabel Soares, Joana Silva, Sofia Marques, Joana Baptista, Mariana Pereira, Ana Mesquita, Diana
Teixeira, Nuno Sousa, Margarida Rangel, Joana Palha, Pedro Dias, & Carla Martins. Poster
presented at the 40th International Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research,
Santiago do Chile, 24-27 June 2009
4. Attachment disordered behaviours in institutionalized children, cardiac activity and caregivers’
narrative competence
Pedro Dias, Joana Baptista, Isabel Soares, Margarida Henriques & Elizabeth Carlson. Paper
presented at the International Attachment Conference, Barcelona, 2-4 October, 2009
5. Attachment disordered behaviours in Portuguese institutionally-reared children: Preliminary
data
Isabel Soares, Paula Oliveira, Joana Silva, Sofia Marques,Ana Mesquita,Carla Martins, Karlen
Lyons-Ruth, & Charles Zeanah. Paper presented at the International Attachment Conference,
Barcelona , 2-4 October, 2009
6. Trastornos del apego en niños institucionalizados: Actividad cardiaca en la Situación Extraña,
temperamento, contexto familiar y institucional
Isabel Soares, Pedro Dias, Joana Silva, Sofia Marques, Joana Baptista, Paula Oliveira, Filipa
Machado, Diana Teixeira, Ana Raquel Mesquita, Nuno Sousa, Joalha Palha, Margarida Henriques,
Carla Martins, & Elisabeth Carlson. Poster presented at the 10th Meeting of the International
Attachment Network - Iberoamerican Section, Madrid, 22-24 October 2009.
7. Un método observacional para evaluar el comportamiento de vinculación indiscriminado: Un
estudio con niños institucionalizados y niños criados en casa
Paula Oliveira, Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Isabel Soares, Joana Silva, Joana Baptista & Sofia Marques
Poster presented at the 10th Meeting of the International Attachment Network - Iberoamerican
Section, Madrid, 22-24 October 2009
Keywords: institutionally reared children, child-caregiver interaction, attachment, narrative
competence, cardiac activity