Early childhood trauma and maternal childrearing attitudes: Their contributions to object representations in delinquent and nondelinquent adolescent boys

摘要

Juvenile delinquency has become a major economic and sociological problem. Delinquent youth are a perplexing, treatment-resistant population who present mental health professionals with increasing demands for services. Prevailing theories have been unable to explain the interrelationships among the numerous etiological factors found to contribute to delinquency. Attachment theory postulates that based upon experiences in early childhood, particularly relationships with early caregivers, individuals develop internal representations of themselves and others which organize subsequent interpersonal behavior. Those individuals who experience parenting which does not adequately meet their emotional or physical needs, or who experience early childhood trauma develop internal representations of others as hurtful and unavailable and are likely to react with hostility and aggression toward others.;This study utilizes attachment theory to understand previous findings and investigates the relative contributions of early childhood trauma and maternal childrearing attitudes to the object representations of delinquent and nondelinquent adolescent boys as measured by the Rorschach Inkblot Test. Delinquent boys experienced more frequent and more severe early childhood trauma than nondelinquent boys. Within the subgroup of majority boys, delinquent boys' mothers endorsed more harsh, abusive attitudes towards childrearing; for the subgroup of minority boys, nondelinquent boys' mothers endorsed the harsher childrearing attitudes. No significant differences were found between delinquent and nondelinquent boys on Rorschach variables which reflect object representations or on a measure of boys' perceptions of their attachment relationships with their mothers. Observed results from the Rorschach Inkblot Test suggest that urban adolescents in general are more alienated and detached than previously thought. Nondelinquent adolescents were found to have better verbal skills, more responsive mothers, and to have experienced less early trauma, factors which may prevent engagement in delinquent behavior.