NCJ Number
226401
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: January-February 2009 Pages: 6-23
Date Published
January 2009
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study sought to investigate the relationship between unresolved attachment and behavior in a sample of adolescents with a history of maltreatment, in order to better understand the impact of unresolved segregated systems on executive cognitive processes.
Abstract
The findings suggest that the presence of an ‘unresolved’ state of mind in regards to attachment might place maltreated adolescents at greater risk for the development of deficiencies in certain cognitive processes. Maltreated adolescents who were labeled as ‘unresolved’ had lower scores on broad attention, cognitive efficiency, and working memory than their peers who were ‘resolved’. In addition, these results suggest that some cognitive processes may show more long-term, pervasive impairment in ‘unresolved’ individuals, regardless of whether the attachment system is activated or not. A central premise of attachment theory is that the child’s early experiences with a primary caregiver impact on the child’s interpersonal relationships as well as emotional regulation across the lifespan. This exploratory investigation sought to gain a better understanding of the mental representation of attachment in maltreated adolescents, and how, if at all, ‘unresolved’ attachment representations were related to cognitive processes in adolescents. Participants were 38 adolescents with a history of maltreatment who were referred to a mental health clinic for a psychological evaluation. The adolescent participants were administered the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System, an assessment tool. Tables and references