The Attachment Story Completion Test : analysing the emergent themes and object relations of a South African protocol.

Abstract

Attachment theory has implications for relational functioning across the lifespan. The attachment experience of institutionalised children in South Africa is understudied. Using a psychoanalytic perspective as an addition to thematic analysis of the ASCT, this research aims to add to the functional perspective of attachment, an internal psychic frame of reference with which to view attachment of at risk children in South Africa. Using 58 ASCT protocols, divided between children’s homes and hospitals, stories were analysed using thematic content analysis and discussed with an object relations perspective. Results suggest the inclusion of additional categories of attachment to the current classification system as well as a deeper relational understanding of the experience of insecure attachment. This has implications for the current understanding and classification of attachment.