A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Child Maltreatment

Longitudinal Effects of Early Childhood Maltreatment on Co-Occurring Substance Misuse and Mental Health Problems in Adulthood: The Role of Adolescent Alcohol Use and Depression

“…By including both in the model, we see that each pathway makes a unique contribution to later comorbid substance misuse and mental health problems. This finding is consistent with the ecological-transactional model (Cicchetti & Banny, 2014) in which later developmental outcomes are heavily influenced by the successful or unsuccessful completion of earlier developmental tasks. These results suggest that successful prevention or treatment of adolescent alcohol use and depressive symptoms could mitigate the impact of sexual abuse on adult substance misuse and mental health problems.…”

“…For example, Agnew's strain theory suggests that the experience of being abused leads a child to develop negative emotions (e.g., anger, frustration, shame) that, in turn, lead to depression and/or self-medication in the form of alcohol or other drug use in adolescence (Carson et al, 2008). Cicchetti and colleagues (Cicchetti & Banny, 2014;Cicchetti et al, 2000) describe an ecological-transactional model in which maltreatment is a potent risk factor among many that can influence deviations from normal development. Risks and consequences have been posited to unfold over timelater outcomes are primarily influenced by earlier failure to accomplish the primary tasks of the previous developmental periods.…”

You Learn What You Live: Prevalence of Childhood Adversity in the Lives of Juveniles Arrested for Sexual Offenses

“…Attachment theory proposes that if a child's caretakers are not trustworthy, nurturing, consistent, and responsive to needs, youngsters will have difficulties establishing secure bonds with others across the lifespan (Bowlby, 1977(Bowlby, , 1988. Chaotic home environments can preclude the development of healthy interpersonal skills, and inconsistent or abusive parenting styles may not model empathy (Carlson & Sroufe, 1995;Cicchetti & Banny, 2014;Rutter, Kim-Cohen, & Maughan, 2006). Abused and neglected children are therefore exposed to relationships characterized by betrayal and invalidation, which contributes to distorted cognitive schema, boundary violations, disorganized attachment patterns, personality pathology, and emotional dysregulation (Chakhssi, Ruiter, & Bernstein, 2013;Loper, Mahmoodzadegan, & Warren, 2008;Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003).…”

“…Engaging youths in activities that foster self-efficacy is profoundly important, as they can promote cognitive transformation by which maltreated youths begin to view themselves as competent and worthy of love and respect. Treatment for juveniles who have committed sexual offenses has historically relied heavily on psycho-educational models focused on distorted thinking about sexual abuse and relapse prevention, but should emphasize process-oriented relational interventions that can help youths improve interpersonal skills and alter general maladaptive cognitive schema (Burton et al, 2011;Cicchetti & Banny, 2014).…”

Adopted children and young people's views on their life storybooks: The role of narrative in the formation of identities

“…Looked after children and young people also report the importance of understanding the reasons why they came into care (Children's Commissioner, 2015). Current research suggests that 75% of children who go onto be adopted in England have been maltreated (Selwyn et al, 2015) and this sometimes results in long term trauma with associated risks for maladaptive psychological and biological development (Cicchetti & Banny, 2014). Having a coherent narrative of adverse experiences has been associated with recovery from trauma and PTSD (Adshead, 2012) and, conversely, not having a coherent account is associated with being less able to respond sensitively to one's own children later in life (Kaniuk, Steele, & Hodges, 2004) as well as later mental health problems.…”