Post-Traumatic Play in Child Victims of Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Pilot Study with the MCAST-Manchester Child Attachment Story Task and the Coding of PTCP Markers

Background: Play is among the most frequently observed distorted behaviors in victims of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Terr's (1981) studies helped to describe this behavioral distortion as post-traumatic child's play (PTCP). This study aimed to evaluate whether child victims of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) engaging in semi-structured play present the markers of post-traumatic child's play (PTCP) during the administration of the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST), whose playful stories activate the attachment system. Methods: The sample comprised 17 child victims of ACEs (mean age = 6.76). Children were evaluated using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task. Results: The analysis of the play clearly revealed the presence of markers associated with the characteristics of the post-traumatic play described by Terr (1981), namely, repetition, revisiting, hyperarousal, and danger. In particular, the intrusiveness dimension was observed, which can be identified in the post-traumatic play by the presence of recurrent memories, dreams, and dissociative symptoms. Conclusions: Post-traumatic play is characterized by repetition, containing aspects, scenes, or sequences of the traumatic event, expressed explicitly or symbolically.

A Comparison of Attachment representations to Mother and Father using the MCAST

The aim of the current study was to examine the factorial structure of the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST), using a father doll to address the child's attachment representation to father. While the MCAST, a doll story completion task measuring attachment representations in early childhood, has been validated for use with a mother doll, its use for assessing attachment to father is relatively unexplored. Thus, an additional aim was to compare the factorial structure of the child's attachment representation to father and mother, respectively. We analyzed data from 118 first-grade children who underwent counterbalanced administration of the MCAST with a mother and father doll, respectively, within a period of three months. Exploratory factorial analysis revealed similar, three-factor solutions for attachment to father and mother, with a first factor capturing the child's (scripted) knowledge of secure base/safe haven and a second factor reflecting intrusive and conflict behavior. The third factor was different in the father and mother representations, capturing self-care and role-reversal in attachment to father and disorganization in attachment to mother. Findings support the potential usefulness of the MCAST for exploring the father-child relationship and highlight a need for further research on early attachment representations to father.

Associations between early caregiving and rural, low-SES, African-American children's representations of attachment relationships

Little research has examined the legacy of early maternal care for later attachment representations among low-income and ethnic minority school-aged children. Using data from a sample of 276 rural, low-income, African-American families, this study examined associations between maternal care in infancy and children's representations of attachment figures in middle childhood. Maternal care was coded from 10-min home-based observations at 6, 15, and 24 months of age. Representations of attachment figures were assessed using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task at 6 years of age. Sensitive maternal care in infancy was not significantly related to attachment security or episodic disorganized behaviors in children's representations. However, children exposed to more harsh-intrusive parenting during infancy displayed less secure representations of attachment figures in middle childhood and more episodic disorganized behaviors, even after controlling for numerous child and family contextual covariates. Findings inform conceptualizations of attachment formation among rural, low-income, African-American parent-child dyads.