Maternal mental representations of the child in an inner-city clinical sample: Violence-related posttraumatic stress and reflective functioning

Abstract

Parental mental representations of the child have been described in the clinical literature as potentially useful risk-indicators for the intergenerational transmission of violent trauma. This study explored factors associated with the quality and content of maternal mental representations of her child and relationship with her child within an inner-city sample of referred, traumatized mothers. Specifically, it examined factors that have been hypothesized to support versus interfere with maternal self- and mutual-regulation of affect: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and maternal reflective functioning (RF). More severe PTSD, irrespective of level of RF, was significantly associated with the distorted classification of non-balanced mental representations on the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI) within this traumatized sample. Higher Levels of RF, irrespective of PTSD severity, were significantly associated with the balanced classification of maternal mental representations on the WMCI. Level of maternal reflective functioning and severity of PTSD were not significantly correlated in this sample. Clinical implications are discussed.

DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism moderates the association between maternal unresolved loss or trauma and infant disorganization

“…Without candidate risk environments the search for gene -environment interactions is as ineffective as without candidate genes that represent constitutional vulnerabilities in the developing infant. Closing the transmission gap through the study of parenting therefore should be high on the priority list (Fonagy & Target, 2005;Grienenberger, Kelly, & Slade, 2005;Schechter, Coots, Zeanah, Davies, Coates, Trabka, et al, 2005;Slade, Grienenberger, Bernbach, Levy, & Locker, 2005), also in view of effective molecular genetic studies of attachment disorganization.…”

Reflection in thought and action: Maternal parenting reflectivity predicts mind‐minded comments and interactive behavior

“…The constructs of RF and mind-mindedness have received substantial attention in recent years, with publications examining links between these characteristics and later child outcomes (e.g., Meins et al, 2001;Meins et al, 2003;Schechter et al, 2005;Slade et al, 2005). Despite the striking conceptual similarities in these constructs, prior research has not directly examined their association.…”

“…Considering the likely possibility that mental processes assessed from a mother's narrative about parenting may confound her education and verbal fluency with the capacity to mentalize, an additional limitation to several prior studies is that they have relied on samples that are fairly constricted with regards to sociodemographic and psychiatric risks, relying either on low-risk middle-and upper middle-class, highly educated samples (e.g., Slade et al, 2005) or highrisk traumatized, inner city, low educational attainment families (e.g., Schechter et al, 2005). Thus, there remains a need to distinguish the contributions of RF, educational attainment, and psychiatric risk on parenting using a heterogeneous sample reflecting a range of educational backgrounds and mental health status.…”

“…High RF permits individuals not only to respond to others' behavior but also to their perceptions of what beliefs, feelings, wishes, desires, and mental states underlie the others' behavior. The capacity for RF has been coded both from parents' adult attachment narratives as well as from interviews designed to assess the parents' representation of the child, and has been related to concurrent and subsequent infant attachment security Schechter et al, 2005;Slade, Grienenberger, Bernbach, Levy, & Locker, 2005).…”

Prevention of Traumatic Stress in Mothers With Preterm Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Data also suggest that up to 83% of mothers who experience significant trauma also endorse distorted views of their infants. [8][9][10] Parents of preterm infants are more likely to show rigid, intrusive, and, later, overprotective parenting styles. 11 In addition, many preterm infants seem to be less resilient and more dependent on optimal parenting to achieve their full developmental potential compared with term infants.…”