Association between childhood maltreatment and attachment disorganization in young adulthood: The protective role of early mother-child interactions

Abstract

Background: Individuals who experience chronic relational trauma within the parent-child relationship are at risk of developing disorganized representations of attachment relationships in the form of Hostile-Helpless (HH) states of mind. While this association is well recognized theoretically, few studies to date have empirically tested predictors of HH states of mind.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether retrospective self-reports of maltreatment and the quality of mother-child affective communication assessed in childhood predict HH states of mind in young adulthood.

Methods: The sample was composed of 66 young adults from a low-income community sample, who had been taking part in a longitudinal project since they were preschoolers.

Results: Results indicate that childhood maltreatment experiences significantly predict HH states of mind and that the quality of mother-child affective communication serves a protective role in the association between childhood maltreatment severity and adult attachment disorganization.

Conclusion: This study is one of the first to prospectively examine how the quality of mother-child affective communication in childhood relates to attachment disorganization in young adulthood. Our results highlight the importance of providing support to families in which the child is at risk of experiencing relational trauma, with a particular focus on improving the quality of parent-child interactions.

Keywords: Attachment disorganization; Childhood maltreatment; Hostile-helpless states of mind; Mother-child interactions.