Assessing attachment and complex trauma in children

What is it about?

This paper is reporting on a study which took place in a therapeutic residential school for children (5-13) with complex trauma. The data used were educational attainment, psychiatric diagnoses and attachment/regulation strategies. We used the Child Attachment and Play Assessment (CAPA) to review the story stem videos of children six months and then two years into placement. There was a general improvement in education scores but no significant gains were made by children assessed with loss and unresolved trauma. Whilst over half of the children had improved scores in resolving trauma related concerns, those whose scores did not improve were found to have been born to young mothers under the age of twenty or mothers with severe mental health problems, or have a diagnosis of depression or attachment disorder. It is possible that they were affected as babies and that impact of these early life experiences were long lasting. Although those children experiencing depression and/or attachment disorder did not score as if they were making progress, it is probable that they were making use of the therapeutic setting and starting to make sense of their lives. The CAPA is a useful and dynamic way to assess complex trauma.

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Photo by Nakul on Unsplash

Photo by Nakul on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This research is important because children with complex trauma make up a large group of the 'looked after' population. These children’s needs should be a priority as they often have enduring mental health problems in adulthood and they are over represented in the prison population. The CAPA is designed for use with clinical and maltreated populations and has proved reliable and non-intrusive method for examining young children’s mental representations of attachment and relationships. It is a particularly good procedure for assessing the impact of developmental trauma.