Psychological Security in At-Risk Youth: Attachment, Emotion Regulation, and PTSD Symptom Severity

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be influenced by attachment insecurities and dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies in children at risk for mental health difficulties, such as children in foster care or in low socioeconomic status (SES) homes. Yet relatively little research exists on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal on child maltreatment : research, policy and practice policy and practice, 2019-07, Vol.2 (1-2), p.17-36
Main Authors: Hobbs, Sue D., Bederian-Gardner, Daniel, Ogle, Christin M., Goodman, Gail S., Hastings, Paul, Cordon, Ingrid, Bakanosky, Sarah, Lawler, Michael J., Chae, Yoojin, Narr, Rachel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Adults
Anxiety
At risk populations
At risk youth
Attachment
Attachment Behavior
Avoidance behavior
Caregivers
Child abuse & neglect
Child development
Child Well-being
Children & youth
Cognition
Domestic violence
Emotional regulation
Emotions
Foster care
Foster children
Health services
Mental disorders
Mental health
Original Paper
Parents & parenting
Post traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Psychopathology
Security
Social Sciences
Socioeconomic status
Symptoms
Trauma
Youth
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Summary:Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be influenced by attachment insecurities and dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies in children at risk for mental health difficulties, such as children in foster care or in low socioeconomic status (SES) homes. Yet relatively little research exists on attachment and emotion regulation in at-risk adolescents, including in youth with foster care experience. We examined attachment dimensions (attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety) and emotion regulation strategies (expressive emotion suppression and cognitive reappraisal) as predictors of PTSD symptom severity in a sample of 17-year-olds in foster care ( n  = 146) compared to a low SES sample of 17-year-olds with no foster care experience ( n  = 83). Greater attachment avoidance and greater attachment anxiety were associated with higher PTSD symptom severity scores regardless of foster care status. Cognitive reappraisal was associated with less severe PTSD symptoms for foster and non-foster youth. Policy and practice implications for at-risk youth’s rights to psychological security are discussed.
ISSN:2524-5236
2524-5244
DOI:10.1007/s42448-019-00015-8