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Does the Type of Abuse Matter? Study on the Quality of Child Attachment Narratives in a Sample of Abused Children

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Abstract

Child abuse has been associated with the development of insecure-disorganized patterns of attachment. However, the way in which different types of abuse relate to variations in attachment representations is not entirely clear. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the relationship between three types of abuse (sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect) and the quality of child attachment representation, as assessed through attachment narratives. The results indicate that abuse in general, as well as each of its typologies in particular, is associated with insecure-disorganized attachment narratives. No differences were observed in the association between each individual type of abuse and the quality of attachment narratives, as well as between the number of abuse experiences and the quality of attachment. The findings are discussed from attachment theory and the literature on child development and maltreatment.

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Acknowledgements

This article was supported by a grant from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT N°1140391), and from the Convenio de Desempeño para el Desarrollo y Fortalecimiento de las Artes, Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (TAL0901) and the support of SENAME and the collaboration of CRATE Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Talca, 2 norte 685, Talca, Chile

    Andrés Fresno, Rosario Spencer & Camila Espinoza

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  1. Andrés Fresno
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  2. Rosario Spencer
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  3. Camila Espinoza
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Correspondence to Andrés Fresno.

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Andrés Fresno declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Rosario Spencer declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Camila Espinoza declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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This article was supported by a grant from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT N°1140391), and from the Convenio de Desempeño para el Desarrollo y Fortalecimiento de las Artes, Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (TAL0901).

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Fresno, A., Spencer, R. & Espinoza, C. Does the Type of Abuse Matter? Study on the Quality of Child Attachment Narratives in a Sample of Abused Children. Journ Child Adol Trauma 11, 421–430 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-017-0182-8

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