Teresa Jacobsen

A Longitudinal Study of the Relation between Representations of Attachment in Childhood and Cognitive Functioning in Childhood and Adolescence.

Eighty-five Icelandic children (41 girls and 44 boys) participated in a study on the relations among attachment representations, self-confidence, and cognitive functioning in childhood and adolescence. Attachment representations and self-confidence were assessed at age 7 on the basis of childrens responses to a separation story and observations made by independent observers. Cognitive functioning was measured at ages 7, 9, 12, 15, and 17 years based on a battery of Piagetian tasks assessing concrete and formal reasoning. Children with a secure attachment representation were favored in their cognitive performance in childhood and adolescence. Children with an insecure-disorganized attachment representation were particularly disadvantaged on deductive reasoning tasks. Self-confidence played a significant but varying role in mediating the effects of attachment representations on cognitive functioning

Children's attachment representations : Longitudinal relations to school behavior and academic competency in middle childhood and adolescence

A longitudinal study examined childrens (N = 108) attachment representations in relation to behavior and academic competency at school during middle childhood and adolescence. Attachment representations were assessed from childrens responses to a separation story at age 7 years. At ages 9, 12, and 15, teachers rated children on four dimensions of school behavior: attention-participation, extroversion, disruptive behavior, and insecurity about self. Childrens grade point average (GPA) in school was also examined. Childrens attachment representations (secure vs. insecure) did not predict either disruptive behavior or extroversion, but they were significantly linked to attention-participation, insecurity about self, and GPA, with secure representations being associated with more favorable outcomes. The study controlled for social class, gender, IQ, perspective-taking ability, and prior competency.

Children's Ability to Delay Gratification: Longitudinal Relations to Mother—Child Attachment

Concurrent and longitudinal mother-child attachment qualities were studied in relation to childrens ability to postpone gratification at age 6 years. A sample of 32 children (at ages 12 months and 18 months) and their mothers participated in the strange situation procedure. At age 6 years, they were observed in an attachment situation and administered a standard delay of gratification task. The length of time that children were able to delay gratification at age 6 was predicted both by concurrent attachment quality and by a longitudinal attachment measure. Children with secure attachment were able to wait the longest periods of time, whereas those with insecure-disorganized attachment had the most difficulties in waiting. The effects of longitudinal, but not concurrent, attachment quality on childrens total waiting time remained significant when other important variables were considered, including gender and childrens cognitive functioning. An interactive effect was found between attachment quality and cognitive functioning. Insecure-avoidantly attached children with high cognitive functioning did not differ in their overall waiting times from securely attached children, but insecure-avoidantly attached children with average or low cognitive functioning did have shorter waiting times. The study provides a basis for the further investigation of mother-child attachment quality as a factor that is linked to childrens delay behavior.

Assessing parenting competency in individuals with severe mental illness: A comprehensive service

Determining the parenting capabilities of individuals with severe mental disorders who are alleged perpetrators of child abuse or neglect is a profoundly difficult task. This article discusses the methodological shortcomings of some widely used assessment strategies and outlines the components of a comprehensive parenting competency evaluation for individuals with severe mental illness. Procedures identifying both risk factors associated with abuse or neglect and protective influences against child maltreatment are summarized. These procedures are illustrated by describing a Chicago-based parenting assessment team for parents with severe mental disorders.

A three-generational study of transmission of risk for sexual abuse.

This intergenerational study investigates histories of both attachment relationships and abusive experiences and domains of current functioning that distinguish families of sexually abused children from families of nonabused children. The participants included (a) 199 nonoffending African American mothers of whom approximately half had children with documented sexual abuse histories and half had children with no documented abuse histories and (b) 106 maternal grandmothers of these children; approximately half had sexually abused grandchildren and half had grandchildren with no documented abuse. The children were 4 to 12 years old. Histories of abuse and attachment experiences and current functioning of the grandmother and mother were evaluated. Logistic regression analyses revealed that sexual abuse in a child was best predicted by 3 factors: maternal problems in adult functioning, a currently negative relationship between the grandmother and mother, and a disrupted pattern of caregiving during the mothers childhood. The findings underscore that troubled intergenerational attachment relationships in families can significantly heighten the risk of a child being sexually abused.

Maternal Expressed Emotion Related to Attachment Disorganization in Early Childhood: A Preliminary Report

Using a longitudinal sample of children, this study examined the relation between maternal Expressed Emotion (EE) and mother-child attachment disorganization at age 6 years. A nonclinical sample of 33 children (at ages 12 months and 18 months) from Berlin, Germany participated with their mothers in Ainsworths Strange Situation. Thirty-two children were again observed with their mothers at age 6 years in a standard laboratory attachment observation. At the time of the 6-year assessment, maternal EE was assessed based on a Five-Minute Speech Sample. Mothers also completed the Life Events Questionnaire, a measure of family stress, and the Present State Examination, a measure of maternal depression. Maternal Expressed Emotion was significantly linked to mother-child attachment security at age 6 years. Further analyses revealed that High EE was most closely linked to the disorganized attachment pattern at age 6 years, an at-risk attachment pattern that has been associated with intrusive and hostile maternal behavior. The relationship was upheld when other relevant variables, including infant attachment disorganization and a measure of perceived family stress, were simultaneously considered. The study provides independent validation of Expressed Emotion as a measure of relationship quality in early childhood. It also provides a basis for the further investigation of the nature of the relation between maternal Expressed Emotion and attachment disorganization.

Case Study: Is Selective Mutism a Manifestation of Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Selective mutism is a rare psychiatric disorder that usually has its onset in early childhood. This case study describes a patient in whom selective mutism developed in adolescence. It was later discovered that he had dissociative identity disorder. The study documents his history, which included violence, abuse, and threats to keep silent. The study suggests that in cases presenting with significant trauma or abuse, selective mutism may be a manifestation of dissociative identity disorder.

Assessing children's representational attachment models : Links to mother-child attachment quality in infancy and childhood

The authors examined whether the finding of a correspondence between specific behavioral patterns of attachment in infancy and childhood and specific representational patterns in childhood could be replicated using childrens responses to a story depicting an imagined parent-child separation experience. The participants were 33 German mothers and their children (16 girls, 17 boys). Attachment quality was assessed via standard and exploratory attachment observations at ages 12 months, 18 months, and 6 years. Chi-square analyses indicated that there was a good level of concordance between the behavioral and representation attachment patterns in infancy and childhood.

Serotonin and Human Violence

The purpose of this chapter is to review evolving evidence for the possibility of environmental mediators of relationships between serotonin and violence in human children and adolescents. This chapter does not ask whether there are environmental mediators of violence - a variety of evidence suggests that environmental mediation of violence occurs (Tolan & Guerra 1994) and that interactions between biology and environmental events increase the risk of crime (Raine et al., 1994, 1996). Rather this paper focuses upon the possibility of environmental mediators of the relationship between serotonin and violence.

Children of Parents With Mental Illness

Many psychiatrically ill women bear and raise children. An extensive literature has documented the potential effects on children resulting from exposure to parental mental illness. Negative outcomes may also result from children’s genetic vulnerabilities, exposure to environmental stressors, and maladaptive parenting styles. Parents’ psychiatric symptoms can affect their parenting behavior and interfere with their awareness of their children’s needs. This chapter reviews the effects of parental mental illness on children and discusses various interventions that can help minimize adverse outcomes. It also addresses ethical and legal issues that arise when working with mentally ill parents.