Pandemic Outcomes: The Intimacy Variable (From Out of the Darkness: Contemporary Perspectives on Family Violence, P 49-57, 1997, Glenda K. Kantor, Jana L. Jasinski, eds. - See NCJ-171756)

• NCJ Number: 171759
• Author(s): E Becker-Lausen; S Mallon-Kraft
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examines the relationships among childhood maltreatment, depression, and interpersonal difficulties.

Abstract

The study proposes a unifying theoretical construct for the maladaptive outcomes experienced by abuse survivors. The construct of impaired intimacy captures the wide-ranging problems experienced by abuse survivors in the realms of parent-child relations, friendships, teen pregnancy, and romantic and sexual bonds. Intimacy dysfunction, defined as a generalized expectancy that relationships will not be satisfying, was a frequent outcome of child maltreatment. This lack of faith in others may cause some persons to become overly intrusive in relationships or avoidant; they may engage in externalizing or internalizing behavior. The construct intimacy, i.e., "a close, familiar and affectionate personal relationship," provides a useful umbrella for understanding a variety of negative consequences for survivors of child maltreatment. Note, figures, references