Assessing for Dissociation in Maltreated Children: The Theoretical and Clinical Relevance of Narrative Story Stems

Dissociation reflects disruptions in the integration of memories, perception, and identity into a coherent sense of self, and may develop following childhood maltreatment. The preschool years were identified as an important period for the development of dissociation. However, prior research has not examined the development of dissociation during this time. In order to address this gap, evidence of dissociation in 45 maltreated children, assessed for sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect, was compared with dissociation in 33 nonmaltreated children. Rather than depend on adult observer reports of behavior, the study sought to gain an understanding of dissociation from the child's own point of view. Because self-reports have limitations with such young children, a measure of dissociation evidenced in children's narrative story-stem completions was utilized. Maltreated children, especially physically abused children and sexually abused children, demonstrated more dissociation than did nonmaltreated children. Moreover, during the preschool period maltreated and nonmaltreated children followed different trajectories such that dissociation increased for maltreated children but did not do so for nonmaltreated children. Findings suggest that although the self is normatively integrated during the preschool period, it becomes increasingly fragmented for some maltreated children. Results are discussed in terms of cascading effects of maltreatment throughout development, and the importance of developmentally sensitive interventions.

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Romanian Children’s Representations of Negative and Self-Conscious Emotions in a Narrative Story Stem Technique

Europe’s Journal of Psychology ◽

10.5964/ejop.v10i2.704 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 318-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Loredana Apavaloaie ◽

Timothy Page ◽

Loren D. Marks

Keyword(s):

Middle Childhood ◽

Negative Emotions ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Future Research ◽

Homogeneous Sample ◽

Narrative Story ◽

Children's Narratives ◽

Story Stems ◽

Emotional Representations

This research uses children’s story-stem play narratives to investigate dimensions of negative emotional expression. Fifty-one Romanian children between 6 and 11-years old participated in the study. Children’s narratives were coded for three basic negative emotions and five self-conscious emotions. Parents completed a general questionnaire for demographic data and the amount of time they spent with their children. Differences were found for frequencies of negative emotional representations in relation to the specific story-stems in which they occurred. Girls were more likely than boys to enact in their narratives guilt feelings coupled with apology following some wrongdoing. Children who spent more time with parents enacted significantly less anger and fear. Simultaneous expressions of multiple negative emotions were observed in the narrative responses of these middle childhood-aged Romanian children. While findings should be viewed with caution, owing to the small and homogeneous sample, new directions for future research with this assessment method are indicated.

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The use of a narrative story stem technique with maltreated children: Implications for theory and practice

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579400004892 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 603-625 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

Helen K. Buchsbaum ◽

Sheree L. Toth ◽

Robert B. Clyman ◽

Dante Cicchetti ◽

Robert N. Emde

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Moral Development ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Coping Styles ◽

Conduct Disorders ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Maltreated Children ◽

Case Examples ◽

Narrative Story ◽

High Risk Situation

AbstractMaltreatment can impact the earliest stages of development during which time patterns of emotion regulation and attachment begin to be established (Carlson, Cicchetti, Barnett, & Braunwald, 1989b; Cicchetti, Ganiban, & Barnett, 1991). These disruptive patterns are problematic for early moral development and are likely to play a role in the development of conduct disorders (Aber & Cicchetti, 1984). Thus, maltreated children are clearly in a high-risk situation. To examine emotion regulation, internal representations of relationships, and early moral development, the use of a play narrative story stem technique (Bretherton, Ridgeway, & Cassidy, 1990; Buchsbaum & Emde, 1990) with maltreated children and a nonmaltreated disadvantaged comparison group of children is described. Representative case examples from each group are used to illustrate the effectiveness of this technique for eliciting themes about family relationships, conflicts, and their resolution or lack thereof as well as defenses and coping styles. The potential usefulness of this paradigm for clinical assessment and intervention are discussed.

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Selected Abstracts of Recent Research in Stuttering

Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders ◽

10.1044/ffd9.1.5 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 5-6

Author(s):

Carrie Bain ◽

Nan Bernstein Ratner

Keyword(s):

Large Volume ◽

Clinical Relevance

Due to the large volume of fluency-related publications since the last column, we have chosen to highlight those articles of highest potential clinical relevance.

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