"Safety First" Childhood Maltreatment, Attachment, and Cognitive Processing: A Mediation Model.

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment is a pervasive problem, with severe developmental consequences across multiple domains. A growing body of empirical evidence indicates that there are critical periods in childhood during which the experience of maltreatment has a profound impact on the developing brain. The developing brain drives cognitive, emotional, social, and psychological development and functioning; thus, understanding the relationship among environmental interactions and the subsequent impact on childhood neurodevelopment can provide insights into how the maltreated child self-regulates social and emotional experiences (such as attachment and interpersonal relationships) and processes information (such as auditory verbal information within social and therapeutic relationships). Those insights can inform the design of more effective treatment approaches for maltreated children that promise to more effectively reduce the long-term impact of the multiple developmental sequelae associated with maltreatment. This dissertation investigates the interface between childhood relational maltreatment, attachment, and cognitive processing, specifically: auditory and language processing. A sample of 117 incarcerated male adolescents, mean age of 17, from a Midwestern detention center participated in a survey study. The central hypothesis of this study was that attachment acts as a mediator between early relational maltreatment and later deficits in cognitive processing, deficits that then have negative consequences to the social and emotional functioning. A Structure Equation Modeling strategy was utilized to examine the role of attachment and cognitive processing deficits in child relational maltreatment. A significant relation was revealed between attachment on auditory processing as well as internalizing and externalizing behaviors including withdrawal, anxiety, social problems, and aggression. However, when attachment was held constant, the relation between child relational maltreatment and auditory processing became significant in its influence on withdrawal, anxiety, social problems and aggression indicating support for a partially mediated model. The current study supports the need for multi-model intervention approach when working with maltreated children and youth.