Four decades of research demonstrates that infant-caregiver attachment has important implications for subsequent socio-emotional functioning, with attachment security predictive of a wide range of positive outcomes, and attachment insecurity—and the insecure-disorganized pattern in particular—predictive of later difficulties. This early risk can be ameliorated with early prevention, yet effective prevention depends on a more thorough understanding of the etiology of attachment disorganization. Because measures of caregiver behaviors shown to predict infant-caregiver attachment yield modest to moderate effect sizes, some researchers have suggested the field refocus on understanding the caregiver cognitive processes that underlie infant-caregiver attachment. In an effort to better understand these cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of infant-caregiver attachment disorganization, a previous study by the current author found that compared to women who go on to have a secure attachment relationship with their infant, those who go on to have a disorganized attachment relationship identified more infant faces as expressing anger and fewer as expressing sadness. The current study aimed to expand on this research linking specific patterns of caregiver recognition of negative infant affect with subsequent caregiver-infant attachment outcomes. More specifically, I expected the above findings would generalize to a postnatal (non-exclusively primiparous) sample. I also tested whether these hypothesized effects were unique or overlapping with two existing predictors of attachment—i.e. the Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (George and Solomon, 2011) and Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985). Counter to hypotheses, I did not find that maternal recognition of infant anger or sadness predicted infant-mother attachment. I did, however, find that maternal helplessness predicted attachment categorization, and that compared to the mothers who went on to have secure attachment relationships with their infants, those who went on to have disorganized attachment relationships labeled more ambiguous infant faces as surprised. The other two facets of caregiver helplessness (caregiver and child fright and child caregiving) and overall unresolved State of Mind scores did not significantly predict infant-caregiver attachment outcomes, nor did adding these predictors to a model including emotion recognition predictors change the pattern of results. Limitations that may explain these null results and future directions are discussed.

Barn som växer upp med våld i hemmet är inte ovanligt. Under 2015 gjordes 4070 anmälningar om fysiskt våld mot barn Brottsförebyggande rådet (BRÅ). Betydligt fler barn än så utsätts för psykisk misshandel genom att bland annat bevittna våld mot sina omsorgspersoner. Både fysisk och psykisk misshandel kan få allvarliga konsekvenser för barnets utveckling och de barn som är drabbade utgör också en riskgrupp vad gäller att hamna snett längre fram i livet. Syftet med studien är att få ökad kunskap om upplevelser och konsekvenser av att på nära håll leva med våldet under uppväxten. Studien är kvalitativ med en abduktiv ansats med viss induktiv inriktning, där datainsamlingen gjorts genom intervjuer av fyra, idag vuxna personer utifrån deras utsatthet av våld under uppväxten. Till intervjun användes en intervjuguide med fyra rubriker. Under varje rubrik fanns några uppföljningsfrågor som ansågs svara mot syfte och frågeställningar. Materialet har analyserats med konventionell kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Det studien visat är att isolering av känslor och otrygghet blir konsekvenser av att växa upp med våld i hemmet. Slutsatserna i studien visar att känslor som funnits under uppväxten omformas och till viss del präglar det vuxna livet.

Background: Developing a well-adept social competence in preschool years is considered important and seems to play a pivotal role in later social functioning like school readiness and academic competence. Due to the individual development in children, establishing potential early markers of early social problems has been difficult. Although parent, peer, and contextual factors may be important to children’s development of social competence, the present study addressed the range of individual differences in children that may facilitate or impede social skills development. Method: The paper is based on data from the comprehensive longitudinal Trondheim Early Secure Study (TESS) of a screen-stratified community sample of 2475 children who were assessed at 4 year of age (T1) and followed up at the age of 6 (T2) (n=797). General linear modeling weighting data back to yield true population estimates of the predictive value of Social Competence, Gender, Negative Affectivity, Surgency, Effortful Control, Inattention, Hyperactivity, Impulsivity, Peer Problems, Disorganized Attachment and Callous-Unemotional traits assessed at T1 in predicting Social Competence at T2, when adjusting for Social Competence at T1. Results: Analysis indicates that Social Competence, Surgency, Inattention, Peer Problems high levels of Callous-Unemotional traits and Disorganization were unique predictors of Social Competence when adjusting for all variables. Negative Affectivity failed to predict Social Competence. Conclusions: Beyond a sizable continuity in social competence a range of child characteristics may enhance social skills development in young children . The identification of such child factors, when controlling for other potential factors, may inform health promotion efforts towards increasing young children’s social competence.

Abstract : Complex Trauma (CT) refers to the exposure to chronic or prolonged experiences of maltreatment that often occur in the context of a caregiving relationship. This concept also refers to the numerous sequelae that CT can have on the child’s functioning, including dissociation. Dissociation reflects a continuum of behaviours and processes that range from normative (e.g., daydreaming) to pathological (e.g., amnesia). The majority of children in the child welfare system have been victim to experiences of chronic maltreatment, which represents an important precursor in the development of disorganized attachment (DA). As such, many authors highlight the importance of assessing for CT exposure and associated sequelae given the pathological trajectories that are associated to these, including DA and the development of dissociative symptoms. The MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB; Bretherton, Oppenheim, Buschbaum, Emde, & the MacArthur Narrative Group, 1990) is a narrative task whose purpose is to activate children’s attachment representations. The Attachment-Focused Coding System for Story Stems (AFCS; Reiner & Splaun, 2008) is a valid coding system which uses four stories (out of the 14 available) from the MSSB that are considered more likely to activate the child’s attachment system. However, this system differs in that it is quicker to administer and to code, making it more accessible to researchers and clinicians. The AFCS screens for the majority of sequelae associated to CT but does not consider dissociation. The first theoretical article outlines the current state of knowledge surrounding child dissociation, as well as how this concept relates to DA and exposure to CT. This article also explores difficulties related to the assessment of dissociation symptoms in maltreated children and argues the relevance of using a narrative task like the MSSB to do so. The second empirical article aims to develop a child dissociation assessment system which examines   the verbal and non-verbal manifestations of children that emerge during the MSSB stories selected for use with the AFCS. The Child Dissociation Assessment System (CDAS) is composed of two complementary measures, the Child Dissociation Code (CDC), which screens for dissociative symptoms, and the Child Dissociation Tool (CDT), which then assesses how these symptoms affect several domains of functioning, should this be necessary. The CDAS is a response to the current lack of child dissociation instruments available and takes limitations identified amongst existing measures into account. Through this exploratory study, the authors sought to obtain interrater agreement, with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.75. To achieve this, 20 MSSB protocols of children between 6 and 12 years old (10 from a clinical sample and 10 from a non-clinical sample) were scored using the CDAS. The Mann-Whitney statistical test was then applied to the CDC to compare the average scores obtained on this measure by both groups of children to verify whether it discriminated between a clinical and non-clinical population. Preliminary results indicated that the CDAS possesses adequate to excellent inter-reliability and that the CDC discriminated between a clinical and non-clinical sample of children, highlighting the relevance of using the CDAS and of pursuing a validation study. / Les traumatismes complexes (TC) décrivent l’exposition à de multiples événements de vie traumatiques qui se produisent de manière répétée et prolongée et dont la figure parentale est souvent l’auteur. Cette nomenclature réfère également aux multiples impacts des TC sur le fonctionnement de l’enfant, dont la dissociation. La dissociation reflète une gamme de comportements et de processus allant de normaux (p. ex., rêverie) à pathologiques (p. ex., amnésie). La majorité des enfants suivis par la protection de la jeunesse (PJ) ont été victimes de maltraitance chronique, qui constitue l’un des principaux précurseurs de l’attachement désorganisé (AD). Ainsi, plusieurs auteurs notent l’importance d’évaluer l’exposition aux TC et leurs séquelles compte tenu des trajectoires pathologiques qui y sont associées, dont l’AD et le développement de symptômes dissociatifs. Le MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB; Bretherton, Oppenheim, Buschbaum, Emde, & the MacArthur Narrative Group, 1990) est une tâche narrative qui vise à activer les représentations d’attachement chez les enfants. L’Attachment-Focused Coding System for Story Stems (AFCS; Reiner & Splaun, 2008) est un système de codage se voulant simple et accessible pour les chercheurs et les cliniciens, qui est appliqué à quatre histoires du MSSB (sur 14) jugées plus susceptibles d’activer l’attachement de l’enfant. L’AFCS tient compte d’indices reflétant la majorité des séquelles engendrées par les TC mais ne considère pas la dissociation. Le premier article théorique vise à dresser un portrait de l’état des connaissances au sujet de la dissociation telle qu’elle se manifeste chez les enfants, son lien avec l’AD et avec l’exposition aux TC. L’article explore également les difficultés liées à l’évaluation des symptômes de dissociation chez les enfants et discute de la pertinence d’évaluer ceux-ci en utilisant une tâche narrative telle que le MSSB. Le deuxième article empirique vise à développer un système d’évaluation de la   dissociation chez l’enfant à partir des manifestations verbales et non-verbales de la dissociation qui émergent lors des histoires du MSSB sélectionnées par l’AFCS. Le Child Dissociation Assessment System (CDAS) est composé de deux outils complémentaires, soit le Child Dissociation Code (CDC), qui permet un dépistage de symptômes dissociatifs, et le Child Dissociation Tool (CDT) qui dans un deuxième temps précise les domaines de fonctionnement atteints par ces symptômes, le cas échéant. Le CDAS répond à un manque actuel d’instruments pour évaluer la dissociation infantile et comble les limites identifiées parmi ceux qui existent. À travers cette étude exploratoire, les auteurs visent un accord inter juges satisfaisant pour le CDAS, soit un coefficient de corrélation interclasse (CIC) de 0,75 ou plus. Pour ce faire, 20 protocoles du MSSB d’enfants âgés de 6 à 12 ans (10 issus d’une population clinique et 10 d’une population non-clinique) ont été codés à l’aide de ce nouveau système de dissociation. Ensuite, le test statistique de Mann-Whitney a été appliqué au CDC afin de comparer la moyenne des scores de dissociation obtenus par les deux groupes d’enfants pour vérifier si cet outil discrimine entre la population clinique et non-clinique. Les résultats préliminaires indiquent que le CDAS possède un taux d’accord inter juges adéquat à excellent et que le CDC discrimine entre des enfants issus d’une population clinique et non-clinique. Ces résultats soulignent la pertinence du CDAS et justifient la poursuite d’un travail de validation.

[pt] O presente trabalho apresenta um modelo etiológico para a dissociação patológica a partir do referencial conceitual da teoria do apego. Sob esta perspectiva, processos de desorganização do apego e da intersubjetividade são considerados como um trauma oculto . A teoria do apego vem sendo ampliada, a partir de novas ideias e pesquisas sobre intersubjetividade. Nesta ampliação, a teoria passa a enfatizar o papel central de processos intersubjetivos de comunicação afetiva na organização, não apenas do sistema de apego, mas também do self. Estudos longitudinais prospectivos recentes mostram uma relação significativa entre apego desorganizado no bebê e dissociação patológica na vida adulta. Os resultados destas pesquisas, analisados à luz da teoria do apego, sustentam uma proposta de redefinição do trauma nos primeiros anos de vida. As pesquisas atuais sugerem que o estresse gerado por mecanismos sutis de comunicação afetiva disruptiva na díade bebê-cuidador pode gerar processos de desorganização do sistema de apego e do self. Tais processos podem dar início a uma trajetória de desenvolvimento em direção à dissociação patológica. / [en] This dissertation presents an etiological model for pathological dissociation based on attachment theory. From this perspective, attachment and intersubjective disorganization processes may be considered a hidden trauma . The new ideas from intersubjectivity theory and research has widened the scope of attachment theory. This widened version of attachment theory stresses the central role of intersubjective processes, not only in the organization of the attachment system, but also in the organization of the self. Longitudinal prospective studies show a remarkable relation between infant disorganized attachment and pathological dissociation in young adults. The results from these studies, analyzed from an attachment theory perspective, support a proposition for redefinition of early trauma. Current studies suggest that the stress generated by subtle parent-infant disruptive affective communication mechanisms may give rise to disorganization processes that affect the development of the attachment system and of the self. Such processes may be the beginning of a developmental trajectory towards pathological dissociation.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal