Intergenerational transmission of maltreatment: insights from attachment theory and research

The maltreated-maltreating cycle is the most striking example of the psychodynamic notion that early relationship experiences are carried forward and reenacted in subsequent relationships. Bowlby's attachment theory proposes that transmission of patterns of relating across generations, including maltreatment, is mediated by an individual's internal working models. Recent research that operationalizes working models in infants and in adults provides preliminary support for the congruence of working models across generations. Results from these investigations suggest that the maltreated-maltreating cycle should be redefined. Instead of specific types of maltreatment, an organizing theme of the parent-child relationship and an associated internal working model that provides a way of experiencing that theme are transmitted and later reenacted. In this paper, preliminary data implicating rejection, role-reversal and fear as themes organizing maltreating relationships are reviewed and directions for further research are discussed.