Problèmes de comportement chez l’enfant victime d’agression sexuelle: Le rôle de l’attachement.

Zephyr, Lory; Cyr, Chantal; Hébert, Martine; Bernier, Annie; Beaudoin, Geneviève

doi:10.1037/a0037592

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…In sum, these findings based on child self-reports are consistent with prior work with community samples. However, whereas in prior studies of CSA-exposed preschoolers and adolescents, secure attachment was a mediator or moderator of adjustment (Jardin et al, 2017; Zephyr et al, 2015), in the present study, only attachment and not CSA was associated with child-reported distress symptoms. This finding extends previous work by indicating that for children of this age, attachment is of fundamental importance.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

“…Along similar lines, attachment insecurity accounts for the association between sexual trauma and later adjustment difficulties (Limke et al, 2010;Roche et al, 1999). Similar findings emerge from studies of preschool children, with findings showing that the more securely attached CSA victims are to their parents, the less internalizing and externalizing problems they manifest (Zephyr, Cyr, Hébert, Bernier, & Beaudoin, 2015), while disorganized attachment partially mediates the relation between CSA and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems 1 year later (Charest et al, 2018). Furthermore, in adolescents receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment, attachment security moderates the association between CSA and trauma symptoms (Jardin et al, 2017), such that adolescents with both insecure attachment and CSA exposure show significantly greater trauma symptoms.…”

Section: Sexual Abuse Attachment and Psychopathologysupporting

confidence: 66%

“…However, the results of a handful of studies of adults suggest that attachment security may protect against the negative CSA AND ATTACHMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD 8 impact of sexual trauma on psychological adjustment (Aspelmeier, Elliott, & Smith, 2007) and that attachment insecurity explains the association between sexual trauma and adjustment (Limke, Showers, & Zeigler-Hill, 2010;Roche, Runtz, & Hunter, 1999). One study to date examined the associations between attachment insecurity within a sample of preschoolers who had been exposed to CSA, finding that within this population, insecurity conferred risk for internalizing and externalizing difficulties (Zéphyr et al, 2015). To our knowledge, only a single study has tested the contributions of both CSA and attachment to youth's psychological adjustment; Jardin et al found that among adolescents receiving inpatient psychiatric care, attachment security moderates the association between CSA and trauma symptoms (Jardin, Venta, Newlin, Ibarra, & Sharp, 2015), such that adolescents with insecure attachment and CSA exposure showed significantly greater trauma symptoms.…”

Section: Attachment Sexual Abuse and Psychopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Childhood sexual abuse and attachment insecurity: Associations with child psychological difficulties.

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Borelli²,

Normandin

et al. 2020

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

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Although research documents that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and insecure attachment are associated with psychopathology in children, to date no studies have delineated the unique and interactive contributions of these two risk factors. The aims of this study were to examine attachment in sexually abused children and a comparison group and to assess the contributions of each risk factor to child psychological difficulties. Participants were 111 children aged 7-13, of which 43 were CSA victims. In addition, in the service of enhancing understanding regarding CSA, we sought to compare among children experiencing different subtypes of CSA-children whose abusers were members of the family (intrafamilial CSA) versus outside of the family (extrafamilial CSA). We anticipated that intrafamilial CSA would be associated with greater psychopathology risk given that it may involve disruption in children's primary attachment relationships as well as trauma exposure. Children completed an attachment interview and reported on their depressive symptoms. Their mothers reported on children's externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, dissociation, and sexualized behaviour. The findings indicate that, as hypothesized, children with (intrafamilial or extrafamilial) CSA were more likely to be classified as insecure and disorganized. In general, children experiencing intrafamilial CSA showed the most compromised psychological adjustment, followed by children experiencing extrafamilial CSA and then the comparison group. More fine-grained analyses revealed that CSA history was uniquely associated with children's externalizing problems, sexualizing problems, and dissociation, whereas insecure attachment was uniquely associated with child-reported depressive symptoms. Insecure attachment appeared to be protective for internalizing symptoms in the context of CSA, while generally associated with greater risk for psychopathology. Patterns of psychopathology symptoms differed among children exposed to intrafamilial CSA. Public Policy Relevance: Both childhood sexual abuse and insecure and particularly disorganized attachment are associated with enhanced risk for psychopathology in childhood, CSA AND ATTACHMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD 3 rendering treatment decision-making difficult for children presenting with multiple sources of risk. The findings of this study suggest that children presenting with sexual abuse histories are more likely to have insecure or disorganized attachment. Further, when children have experienced CSA, particularly CSA that has been perpetrated by a family member, their risk for psychopathology is higher regardless of attachment. Policy makers should prioritize the prevention or treatment of insecure/disorganized attachment among samples of non-abused youth, and the prevention or treatment of trauma-related symptoms among abused children.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

Section: Sexual Abuse Attachment and Psychopathologysupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Attachment Sexual Abuse and Psychopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Childhood sexual abuse and attachment insecurity: Associations with child psychological difficulties.

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Borelli²,

Normandin

et al. 2020

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

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“…More disorganized attachment representations at T1 were associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T2, 1 year later. These results are consistent with previous studies in suggesting that disorganized attachment in CSA victims can act as a risk factor for the development of various negative outcomes (Beaudoin et al, 2013; Zéphyr, Cyr, Hébert, Bernier, & Beaudoin, 2015) and provide more convincing evidence for this link due to the study's longitudinal design. Moreover, disorganized attachment was found to partially mediate the relation between CSA and both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems 1 year following the first assessment.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Behavior problems in sexually abused preschoolers over a 1-year period: The mediating role of attachment representations

et al. 2018

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According to the developmental psychopathology framework, adverse childhood experiences, including child sexual abuse (CSA), may alter the course of normal development in children. Attachment security has been identified as a protective factor against psychopathology and may thus play a critical role in predicting victims' adaptation. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the mediating effect of attachment representations in the relation between CSA and behavior problems over a 1-year period. The sample consisted of 391 children (251 sexually abused) aged 3.5 to 6 years. The Attachment Story Completion Task and the Child Behavior Checklist were used. Disorganized attachment partially mediated the relation between CSA and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems 1 year following the initial assessment. This mediation effect was not found for ambivalent nor secure attachment dimensions. Child gender was found to moderate the association between CSA and disorganization, with larger effects of CSA among boys. These findings underscore the importance of considering attachment representations in treatment programs for preschool victims. Evidence-based practice focusing on trauma could be combined with an attachment-based intervention targeting the parent-child relationship. Moreover, interventions should be gender sensitive, as CSA appears to affect boys and girls differently.

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A longitudinal study of emotion regulation among sexually abused preschoolers

Séguin‐Lemire

Hébert

Cossette

et al. 2017

Child Abuse & Neglect

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Problèmes de comportement chez l’enfant victime d’agression sexuelle: Le rôle de l’attachement.

Cited by 3 publications

References 62 publications

Childhood sexual abuse and attachment insecurity: Associations with child psychological difficulties.

Childhood sexual abuse and attachment insecurity: Associations with child psychological difficulties.

Behavior problems in sexually abused preschoolers over a 1-year period: The mediating role of attachment representations

A longitudinal study of emotion regulation among sexually abused preschoolers

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