Independent influences upon mother–toddler role reversal: infant–mother attachment disorganization and role reversal in mother's childhood

Macfie, Jenny; Fitzpatrick, Katie L.; Rivas, Elaine M.; Cox, Martha J.

doi:10.1080/14616730701868589

Cited by 42 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…Further, mothers at high-risk for abuse were significantly less likely to successfully repair with their children once a rupture had occurred. These findings converge with other studies of parenting-at-risk that have observed patterns of role reversal in maltreating and other at-risk parent-child dyads, whereby children act in a caregiver role with their parents (e.g., Dean, Malik, Richards, & Stringer, 1986; Macfie et al, 2005, 2008). Others have observed that depressed mothers make infrequent efforts to repair following their toddlers’ interactive ruptures (e.g., Jameson et al, 1997; Rocissano et al, 1987).…”

Section: Studysupporting

confidence: 89%

Differentiation, self–other representations, and rupture–repair processes: Predicting child maltreatment risk.

Skowron¹,

Kozlowski²,

Pincus³

2010

Journal of Counseling Psychology

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This set of studies was designed to examine the relational underpinnings of child abuse potential in a sample of 51 urban families. In Study 1, lower maternal differentiation of self-most notably, greater emotional reactivity and greater emotional cutoff-along with self-attacking introjects, together distinguished mothers at higher risk (vs. lower risk) for child maltreatment (CM). In Study 2, patterns of interactive rupture and repair were examined in a subsample of n = 15 families and found to vary as a function of risk for CM. Specifically, SASB coding (Benjamin, 1996(Benjamin, , 2003 of mother-children interactions during two moderately stressful lab tasks revealed higher rates of interactive mismatch and mother-initiated ruptures, and fewer successful repairs in families at higher-risk-for-CM, relative to families at lower-risk. Implications for counseling and directions for further translational research are discussed. KeywordsChild maltreatment; parenting; differentiation; SASB; relationship rupture Differentiation, self-other representations, and rupture-repair processes: Predicting child maltreatment-riskChild abuse affects almost 1 million children each year, and estimates indicate that roughly 80% of perpetrators are parents (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth, & Families, 2006). The effects of CM constitute a serious public health problem in the United States, with both short and long-term adverse consequences for psychological, behavior, and social outcomes. CM is associated with alterations in fear-stress physiology and brain development (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000;Gunnar & Donzella, 2002), and impairments in self and emotion regulation (Rogosch, Correspondence may be sent to the first author in the Counseling Psychology Program, Department of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services, 330 Cedar Building, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801-3110 or eas14@psu.eduM. Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/COU. NIH Public AccessAuthor Manuscript J Couns Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 July 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript Cicchetti, & Aber, 1995) and school-readiness, with significant long-term consequences into adolescence and adulthood (e.g., NIMH, 2000; Kolko, 2002;Mulvihill, 2005;Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992).CM represents a complex, multi-determined phenomenon resulting from a constellation of risk factors present in the i...

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Section: Studysupporting

confidence: 89%

Differentiation, self–other representations, and rupture–repair processes: Predicting child maltreatment risk.

Skowron¹,

Kozlowski²,

Pincus³

2010

Journal of Counseling Psychology

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“…Interventions designed specifically for mothers with BPD and their children do not exist. However, authors have made general recommendations favoring attachment therapies (c.f., Macfie, Fitzpatrick, Rivas, & Cox, 2008), especially during infancy through the preschool period and/or psychoeducation-based interventions (c.f. Gunderson, Berkowitz, & Ruiz-Sancho, 1997) for family members of those with BPD.…”

Section: Current Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children of mothers with borderline personality disorder: Identifying parenting behaviors as potential targets for intervention.

Stepp¹,

Whalen²,

Pilkonis³

et al. 2012

Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment

136

156

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Children of mothers with BPD should be considered a high-risk group given the wide array of poor psychosocial outcomes that have been found in these children. This paper describes the parenting strategies that might explain the transmission of vulnerability from mothers with BPD to their offspring, from infancy through adolescence. We conclude that oscillations between extreme forms of hostile control and passive aloofness in their interactions with their children may be unique to mothers with BPD. We provide an overview of interventions that are currently recommended for mothers and family members with BPD, namely attachment therapy and psychoeducational approaches. Based on an integration of the empirical findings on parenting and child outcomes as well as from the review of current approaches to intervention, we conclude with recommendations for treatment targets. We argue that mothers with BPD need psychoeducation regarding child development and recommended parenting practices and skills for providing consistent warmth and monitoring, including mindfulness-based parenting strategies.

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“…The infant is unable to find security in the relationship, and is caught between approach and avoidance and disorganizes under stress. To gain some feeling of security in the relationship, this child may develop a parent–child role reversal that has thus far been observed both in the toddler period (Macfie, Fitzpatrick, Rivas, & Cox, 2008) and at age 6 (Main et al, 1985). Moreover, role reversal in the toddler period in turn predicts behavior problems in kindergarten (Macfie, Houts, McElwain, & Cox, 2005) and is transmitted intergenerationally (Macfie, McElwain, Houts, & Cox, 2005).…”

Section: Internal Working Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Representations of the caregiver–child relationship and of the self, and emotion regulation in the narratives of young children whose mothers have borderline personality disorder

Macfie

Swan

2009

Dev Psychopathol

Self Cite

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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) represents a severe distortion in the development of attachment, self, and emotion regulation. Study of children at high risk of developing BPD may inform precursors to BPD. In a low socioeconomic status sample of 30 children aged 4–7 whose mothers have BPD and 30 normative comparisons, representations of the caregiver–child relationship and of the self, and emotion regulation were assessed with a story-stem completion measure. In contrast to comparisons and controlling for major depressive disorder, children whose mothers have BPD told stories with the following: (a) more parent–child role reversal, more fear of abandonment, and more negative mother–child and father–child relationship expectations; (b) more incongruent and shameful representations of the self; and (c) poorer emotion regulation indicated by more confusion of boundaries between fantasy and reality and between self and fantasy, more fantasy proneness, less narrative coherence, and marginally more intrusion of traumatic themes. In the sample as a whole, (a) a maladaptive caregiver–child relationship composite was associated with maternal identity disturbance and self-harm; (b) a maladaptive self-composite was associated with maternal self-harm; and (c) a maladaptive emotion regulation composite was associated with maternal identity disturbance, negative relationships, and self-harm. Results are discussed in terms of putative precursors to BPD and preventive interventions.

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Independent influences upon mother–toddler role reversal: infant–mother attachment disorganization and role reversal in mother's childhood

Cited by 42 publications

References 35 publications

Differentiation, self–other representations, and rupture–repair processes: Predicting child maltreatment risk.

Differentiation, self–other representations, and rupture–repair processes: Predicting child maltreatment risk.

Children of mothers with borderline personality disorder: Identifying parenting behaviors as potential targets for intervention.

Representations of the caregiver–child relationship and of the self, and emotion regulation in the narratives of young children whose mothers have borderline personality disorder

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