Child Maltreatment, Attachment Security, and Internal Representations of Mother and Mother-Child Relationships

• NCJ Number: 235173
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2011 Pages: 137-145
• Author(s): Erin Pickreign Stronach; Sheree L. Toth; Fred Rogosch; Assaf Oshri; Jody Todd Manly; Dante Cicchetti
• Date Published: May 2011
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): 90CA1585-02
• Sponsoring Agency: Spunk Fund Inc.; Monroe Cty Dept of Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the relationships between child maltreatment, and attachment security among pre-schoolers.

Abstract

Attachment security and internal representations of mothers, and of the motherchild relationship, were examined in an ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged sample of maltreated (N = 92) and nonmaltreated (N = 31) preschool-aged children. Maltreated preschoolers had lower rates of secure attachment and higher rates of disorganized attachment than did nonmaltreated preschoolers. Maltreatment also was associated with less positive global representations of the motherchild relationship relative to the nonmaltreated comparison group. Analyses were conducted to determine whether maltreatment characteristics such as subtype, chronicity, severity, and frequency were associated with attachment organization and with internal representations. Implications of these results for developmental theory and intervention with maltreated children are discussed. (Published Abstract)