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A deeper look at the association between childhood maltreatment and reflective functioning
Julia Garon-Bissonnette1,2,3,4,5, Karine Dubois-Comtois1,2,5,6, Diane St-Laurent1,2,5,7
1Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, CAN.
Attachment & Human Development
|May 3, 2023
Summary
Childhood maltreatment impairs reflective functioning (RF), specifically how individuals think about mental states, not just how much. Understanding these specific impairments is key to understanding RF development.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Attachment Theory
Background:
- Childhood maltreatment is theorized to hinder reflective functioning (RF).
- Previous research shows inconsistent or weak associations between childhood maltreatment and RF.
- Specific ways individuals fail to mentalize may explain these inconsistencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between childhood maltreatment and specific categories of impaired reflective functioning.
- To differentiate between types of non-mentalizing in relation to childhood trauma.
Main Methods:
- 116 pregnant women retrospectively reported childhood abuse/neglect (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire).
- Adult Attachment Interviews were coded using the Reflective Functioning Scale.
- Participants with poor RF were categorized into 'disavowal-distancing' or 'distorted-inconsistent' groups.
Main Results:
- No association found between childhood maltreatment and overall RF when controlling for education.
- Childhood maltreatment strongly predicted disrupted, over-analytical, and inconsistent reflection (a specific RF impairment).
- Low education, not maltreatment, predicted a tendency to discourse little about mental states.
Conclusions:
- Childhood maltreatment leads to specific impairments in reflective functioning, particularly in the quality of mental state reflection.
- Considering the *how* of mentalizing failures is crucial for understanding RF and its links to childhood maltreatment.
- Previous research may have masked strong associations by not differentiating types of RF deficits.
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