Attachment and loss in the context of US immigration: caregiver separation and characteristics of internal working models of attachment in high school students.

Attachment affects a child's well-being across their lifespan. This study aimed to describe internal working models of attachment in immigrant adolescents - an often overlooked population that frequently experiences caregiver separation. Data were collected from a high school for recently immigrated youth. Attachment was assessed using the Child Attachment Interview (CAI; = 35) and personal experiences of separation from caregivers were assessed using a semi-structured interview ( = 31). Findings indicated 62.1% of respondents experienced the migration of one of their caregivers. Separation from mothers was linked to lower maternal attachment security. Descriptive data supported this result. Despite a small sample size, the current study utilized interview-based methods to provide in-depth characterizations of parental separation and adolescent attachment in an understudied population. Finally, the current study has implications for public policy debates regarding immigrant families, which have recently surged.