[Life events and trauma in chronic negligent mothers]

The present study examines more closely the chronic behaviors of maltreating mothers. Events that these mothers have experienced during childhood are examined, experiences including abuse, placement, separation, bereavement, rejection, neglect, lack of love and role reversal. Signs of unresolved trauma found in the discourse of mothers, such as dissociation, are also studied. It is proposed that negligent mothers from the chronic group will evoke more negative experiences and/or more intense negative experiences which occurred during childhood than the mothers from the transitory group. The chronic group will also show more signs of dissociation. From a six years follow-up study, a sample of 20 mothers was recruited from the Child Protection Services, including the cases of 10 chronic maltreating mothers and 10 transitory maltreating mothers. Two main measures were used: the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI) and the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) (Main et Goldwyn, 1998). The experiences from childhood and complete discourse in AAI were analysed with the method used by Main et Goldwyn (1998). Non parametric analysis indicate that mothers from the chronic group evoke more negative and very negative childhood experiences than the mothers from the transitory group. Content analysis show that chronic maltreating mothers relate having gone through more potentially traumatic events such as foster care placements, separations and abuse. The analysis of the Adult Attachment Interview according to Main and Goldwyn's system demonstrate that the majority of the chronic maltreating mothers have two times more unresolved traumas.