False belief understanding in maltreated children

Abstract

False belief understanding was investigated in maltreated (N = 203), low socioeconomic status (SES) nonmaltreated (N = 143), and middle SES nonmaltreated (N = 172) 3- to 8-year-old children. Contrasts among the three groups provided an opportunity to examine the impact of family contextual influences on theory of mind development. Specifically, child maltreatment served as an “experiment of nature” in order to elucidate theory of mind abilities. Two false belief tasks and language assessments were administered. Among children with a verbal mental age of 49 months or greater, maltreatment was related to delays in the development of theory of mind, beyond the influence of chronological age and SES. The occurrence of maltreatment during the toddler period, onset during the toddler years, and physical abuse were features of maltreatment associated with delay in the development of theory of mind. Findings are discussed in terms of the influence of harsh caregiving on the development of theory of mind. Implications for the understanding of normal developmental processes are highlighted.

Mentalization Mediates the Relationship between Early Maltreatment and Potential for Violence in Adolescence

“…Consistent with this, Bouchard et al [51] found a significant correlation between attachment security and mentalization as operationalized by reflective functioning (RF), and Simons et al [52] found low attachment security to be associated with low self-esteem and reduced mentalization. Childhood maltreatment was also associated with delayed theory of mind development, which can be seen as a prerequisite for mentalization [53] and low RF [20]. Deficient mentalization capabilities are associated with behavioral disorders, antisocial behavior, and increased externalizing behavior, specifically aggressive behavior [13,51,54,55,56].…”

Fact or fiction? A longitudinal study of play and the development of reflective functioning

“…Play is also affected in the context of traumatic experience (Alessandri, 1991;Cunningham, Fill, & Al-Jamie, 1999;Fonagy & Target, 2000). In addition, abuse and neglect are associated with a range of sociocognitive difficulties, including deficits in theory of mind and emotional understanding (Cicchetti, Rogosch, Maughan, Toth, & Bruce, 2003;de Rosnay et al, 2008), as well as with a reduced lexicon for describing internal states (Beeghly & Cicchetti, 1994). It is likely that the neurophysiological effects of trauma, including hypervigilance and the activation of primitive prementalizing systems developed to detect potential threat, undermine mentalization and cognitive development.…”

Childhood trauma and functional disability in psychosis, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder: a review of the literature

“…There is increasing evidence from both clinical and nonclinical samples that adverse childhood experiences are associated with deficits in social cognitive processes such as emotion perception and theory of mind (Barahal et al 1981;Cicchetti et al 2003;Pears & Fisher, 2005;Koizumi & Takagishi, 2014). Social cognitive deficits are a core impairment of borderline personality disorder and are thought to be worsened by childhood maltreatment (Roepke et al 2013).…”