Thesis--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.66-76).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [121]-144).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed July 8, 2010). PDF text: iv, 76 p. ; 569 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3366265. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisors: Theodore H. Dix and Deborah Tharinger. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 26, 2006). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-213).

Thesis (MSc. (Faculty of Health Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Susan P. Keane; submitted to the Dept. of Psychology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-105).

Previous research has investigated the effects of daycare on infants, though little attention has been given to the emotional impact of this work on their caregivers. Attachment theory has influenced the approach to infant daycare, leading many programs to adopt a primary caregiving system in order to respond effectively to the needs of the infant. Babies become attached to caregivers and in turn caregivers become attached to the babies. This study explored the implications of such attachments. Naturalistic inquiry made the web of relationships surrounding infant/toddler caregivers apparent. In conversational interviews, caregivers spoke deeply of the complexities and demands of their work with babies and their families. Their voices were eloquent, thoughtful and reflective. The data consist of lengthy initial interviews, follow-up conversations, and observations. The researcher's own education and experience informed the data gathering and interpretation. Seven caregivers in four different centres were interviewed. Each had her Under Age Three Certificate and worked in a licensed centre. Each of these centres used some degree of primary caregiving. The interviews were informal, based on a list of questions used to encourage conversation and narrative. Observations offered an opportunity to understand the context of each caregiver and prompt further conversation. Analysis was a process of analyzing the interviews for themes and ideas in light of the observations. The picture that emerged illustrates the complexity inherent in the work of caring for babies. Caregivers spoke of their relationships as sources of satisfaction and frustration. In a dynamic, ongoing process of engaging with babies, families, co-workers, and selves, caregivers must negotiate these multiple relationships using skills of empathy and thoughtfulness. The Early Childhood Education and Care literature discusses toddlers' struggle with separation anxieties. Not well articulated in the literature, but evident in the data, is the grief of the caregivers. Each woman spoke of her own sadness at the loss of her relationship with a baby or toddler when that child left the centre. Relationship with all its intensity and tensions was central to the professional experience of these women. Each of the four most experienced caregivers accented a different aspect of caregiving: a) the sensual aspects of caring for babies, b) the intellectual possibilities of caregiving, c) caring as a spiritual practice, and d) the need for attentive care for one's self. The particular centre and context of each caregiver influenced the care she provided; without a supportive environment it is difficult to provide respectful and responsive care. The participants discussed the need for adequate time to establish and maintain relationships; time was also necessary to meet and discuss concerns. Caregivers needed time for reflection to keep multiple perspectives in mind. Time is an important and often scarce resource for caregivers. Caregiving is a web of relationships. This research was reflective of and ethically responsive to the caregiving relationship. Paying attention to the multiple pulls experienced as an insider, I used trust, respect, responsiveness, and responsibility to guide the research process. Two women, whom I called peer reviewers and who had both worked in the field, but were now a step removed, discussed with me general topics raised by the interviews and listened for the "ring of truth". Listening to the seldom heard voices of the caregivers and their emphasis on the process of building and maintaining relationships suggests possible directions for supervision of centres, guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care education, and development of licensing policies. The caregivers' focus on relationship challenges the centrality of child development in the organization of practice. Supporting, honouring, and building on caregivers' connections with the babies in their care, the families, the staff, and with themselves will enhance the practice of infant and toddler care. / Graduate

The overall objective of this study was to delve into the intricacies of the therapeutic process and the therapeutic relationship from an attachment perspective. A single retrospective child case study was conducted, which entailed the construction of a narrative synopsis of the process. The hermeneutic approach of a Reading Guide Method was applied, and through a repeated re-reading of the narrative, pertinent themes emerged that shed light on therapy as a process in motion. Specifically, the motion of the therapeutic process manifested through a scrutiny of the therapeutic relationship in view of the participant’s attachment style. The results of this study revealed the capacity of the participant to move away from an avoidant and somewhat ambivalent organisation of defences by virtue of establishing a secure base and exercising her faculty for emotional and self-expression. Accordingly, it can be established that in view of psychotherapy from an attachment perspective, the seemingly imperceptible vicissitudes of change are indeed appreciable.

Although there has been an abundance of research on attachment, few studies have researched the treatment of attachment difficulties or have used qualitative methods. This study explores how older adoptive/foster children with attachment difficulties form attachments with their adoptive/foster parents. The method of inquiry is fictional stories. I show how children in the context of new relationships with healthy attachment figures who do not abandon or hurt them, modify their inferred internal constructions of attachment figures. This study has four parts: In the first part, I introduce the subject of attachment and the research method of fiction. In the second part, I discuss how I came to choose fiction as the method of inquiry. I explore the matter of the ethics of doing research with children, including the difficulty of gaining informed consent and the inherent dangers of a dual relationship of counsellor-researcher. I deconstruct the authority of the Human Research Ethics Committee and explore the relationship of fiction to truth in terms of the assumptions that there is no one true set of facts, but rather multiple constructed realities or “fictions”. In part 3, I present 5 fictional stories, featuring composites of various children with attachment difficulties I have worked with as a psychotherapist. They are all children who have been able to overcome many internal barriers to attach to their parents. There is a first person account of an 11 year old adoptive child who spent his infancy in a Romanian orphanage; a radio play of a 5 year old black child who spent part of his infancy in an orphanage in Haiti; a didactic-descriptive account of a foster parent as attachment figure with 4 hard-to-reach youth; a short story of a 15 year old adopted teenager who rejects her adoptive parents and later, returns to them; and a fairy tale depicting a lonely, distancing 8 year old girl who connected with her rejecting mother. Interspersed throughout these stories are my own poetry and prose that offer other perspectives on the topic of attachment. Part 4 is the discussion and interpretation of the underlying issues raised by the text, presented in the multivocal style of a T.V. show. Topics include the adoptive/foster child's torturous ambivalence toward the attachment figure/parent; a period of rejection of the parent; the child's fear and pain associated with his/her own unfulfilled longing; and the child's re-enactment of the trauma. The implications for Child Welfare practice, training of child care workers and counsellors are discussed. The relevancy of these children's inner conflicts regarding attachment to our own struggles with love individually and as a society is mentioned. / Graduate