Risk and protective factors in the assessment of families supported by Social Services: An intergenerational retrospective study

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Martina Cattani
Publishing Year 2022 Issue 2022/2 Language Italian
Pages 24 P. 63-86 File size 306 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2022-002005
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The main interest of this study is to understand the presence and the impact of specific as-pects of interpersonal trauma (maltreatment, neglect, and domestic violence) in the parent-ing assessment of families taken into care by Child Protection Services. For this aim, psy-chosocial records of 65 families were investigated. Once the descriptive analytics were per-formed, analyses were conducted in searching for possible distribution differences of each factor included in the Risks and Protective factors Protocol (Di Blasio, 2005), in families assessed as at high risk or low risk. The impact of specific factors upon the parenting re-coverability level, both for mothers and fathers, has been investigated. Results show that the Protocol application in assessing parenting can discriminate between families at high vs low risk, and its application highlights how specific factors impact parental skills recovera-bility, such as adverse childhood experiences in parents’ personal history, conflicting or difficult relationships with the family of origin and/or partner’s family and a meaningful relationship with a member from the original family. In this last analysis, differences were found between mothers and fathers of the sample.

Keywords: intergenerational trauma, risk factors, protective factors, parenting assessment.

  1. Allen, J. G. (2013). Il mentalizzare nello sviluppo e nel trattamento psicoterapeutico dell’attaccamento traumatico. In V. Caretti, G. Craparo, & A. Schimmenti (Eds.), Memorie traumatiche e Mentalizzazione. Teoria, ricerca e clinica. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  2. Assink, M., Spruit, A., Schuts, M., Lindauer, R., van der Put, C. E., & Stams, G. J. J. (2018). The intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment: A three-level meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 84, 131-145,
  3. Autorità Garante per l’Infanzia e l’Adolescenza, CISMAI & Terre Des Hommes, (2015). Indagine nazionale sul maltrattamento dei bambini e degli adolescenti in Italia. Risultati e prospettive.
  4. Baldoni, F. (2008). Alle origini del trauma: confusione delle lingue e fallimento della funzione riflessiva. In G. Crocetti & A. Zarri (Eds.), Gli dei della notte sulle sorgenti della vita, il trauma precoce della coppia madre-bambino. Bologna: Pedragon.
  5. Banyard, V. L., Williams, L. M., & Siegel, J. A. (2003). The impact of complex trauma and depression on parenting: An exploration of mediating risk and protective factors. Child Maltreatment, 8(4), 334-349, DOI: 10.1177/1077559503257106
  6. Beebe, B., & Lachmann, F. M. (1998). Co-constructing inner and relational processes: Self and mutual regulation in infant research and adult treatment. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 15, 480-516, DOI: 10.1037/0736-9735.15.4.480
  7. Belsky, J. (1993). Etiology of Child Maltreatment: A Developmental-Ecological Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114(3), 413-434, DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.114.3.413
  8. Berthelot, N., Ensink, K., Bernazzani, O., Normandin, L., Luyten, P., & Fonagy, P. (2015). Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment in Abused and Neglected Mothers: the Role of Trauma-specific Reflective Functioning. Infant Mental Health Journal, 36(2), 200-212,
  9. Bonura, M. L. (2018). Che genere di violenza: conoscere e affrontare la violenza contro le donne. Edizioni Centro Studi Erickson.
  10. Bowlby, J. (1989). Una base sicura. Applicazioni cliniche della teoria dell’attaccamento. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  11. Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., & Di Blasio, P. (2016). Families with distinct levels of marital conflict and child adjustment: Which role for maternal and paternal stress?. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(3), 733-745,
  12. Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., Di Blasio, P., & Feinberg, M. (2019). Coparenting mediates the influence of marital satisfaction on child adjustment: The conditional indirect effect by parental empathy. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(2), 519-530,
  13. Camisasca, E., Procaccia, R., Miragoli, S., Valtolina, G. G., & Di Blasio, P. (2017). Maternal mind-mindedness as a linking mechanism between childbirth-related post-traumatic stress symptoms and parenting stress. Health Care for Women International, 38(6), 593-612, DOI: 10.1080/07399332.2017.1296840
  14. Caretti, V., & Craparo, G. (Eds.) (2008). Trauma e psicopatologia. Un approccio evolutivo-relazionale. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  15. Caretti, V., Craparo, G., & Schimmenti, A. (Eds.) (2013). Memorie traumatiche e Mentalizzazione. Teoria, ricerca e clinica. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  16. Cicchetti, D. (1984). The emergence of developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55(1), 1–7, DOI: 10.2307/1129830
  17. Cicchetti, D. (2016). Socioemotional, Personality, and Biological Development: Illustrations from a Multilevel Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Child Maltreatment. Annual Review of Psychology, 2016:67, 187-211,
  18. Cirillo, S. (2005). Cattivi genitori. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  19. Cummings, E. M., Davies, P. T., & Campbell, S. B. (2000). Developmental psychopathology and family process: Theory, research, and clinical implications. New York: Guilford Press.
  20. Di Blasio, P. (2005). Tra rischio e protezione. La valutazione delle competenze parentali. Milano: Unicopli.
  21. Di Blasio, P., Camisasca, E., & Procaccia, R. (2007). Fattori di Mediazione dell’Esperienza Traumatica nei Bambini Maltrattati. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’infanzia, 9(2), 1-27, DOI: 10.1400/93105
  22. Fonagy, P. (1999). Attachment, the development of the self, and its pathology in personality disorders. In J. Derksen, C. Maffei, & H. Groen (Eds.), Treatment of personality disorders, Kluwer Academic Publishers,
  23. Fonagy, P. (2000). Attacchment and Borderline Personality Disorder. In V. Caretti & G. Craparo (Eds.) (2008), Trauma e psicopatologia. Un approccio evolutivo-relazionale. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  24. Fonagy, P., Steel, M., & Steele, H. (1991). Maternal Representations of Attachment during Pregnancy Predict the Organization of Infant-Mother Attachment at One Year of Age. Child Development, 62, 891-901.
  25. Fonagy, P., Steele, M., Steele, H., & Target, M. (1992). The Theory and Practice of Resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35(2), 231-257,
  26. Stover, C. S., & Kiselica, A. (2015). Hostility and substance use in relation to intimate partner violence and parenting among fathers. Aggressive Behavior, 41(3), 205-213,
  27. Fournier, S., Terradas, M. M., & Guillemette, R. (2019). Traumas Relationnels Précoces, Représentations D’attachement Et Mentalisation Chez L’enfant: Mise À Jour Des Connaissances Et Application Au Contexte De Protection De La Jeunesse. La Psychiatrie de l’Enfant, 62, 431-451, Presses Universitaires de France.
  28. Ghezzi, D. (2012). La valutazione della recuperabilità genitoriale: una via per la cura dei genitori maltrattanti. Minorigiustizia, 2012(1), 129-140, DOI: 10.3280/MG2012-001010
  29. Grumi, S., Milani, L., & Di Blasio, P. (2017). Risk assessment in a multicultural context: Risk and protective factors in the decision to place children in foster care. Children and youth services review, 77, 69-75,
  30. Guarino, S., Petrocchi, M., & Ammaniti, M. (2013). La trasmissione intergenerazionale del rischio: la relazione madre-bambino in donne con esperienze infantili di maltrattamento. In V. Caretti, G. Craparo, & A. Schimmenti (Eds.) (2013), Memorie traumatiche e Mentalizzazione. Teoria, ricerca e clinica. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  31. Herman, J. L. (1992). Complex PTSD: A Syndrome in Survivors of Prolonged and Repeated Trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5(3), 377-391,
  32. Hsiao, C., Koren-Karie, N., Bailey, H., & Moran, G. (2015). It takes two to talk: longitudinal associations among infant–mother attachment, maternal attachment representations, and mother-child emotion dialogues. Attachment & human development, 17(1), 43-64, DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2014.981671
  33. Liotti, G. (2008). Trauma e dissociazione nella prospettiva dell’intersoggettività: il contributo della teoria dell’attaccamento. In V. Caretti & G. Craparo (Eds.), Trauma e psicopatologia. Un approccio evolutivo-relazionale. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  34. Liotti, G., & Monticelli, F. (2013). I sistemi motivazionali nella risposta ai traumi. In V. Caretti, G. Craparo, & A. Schimmenti (Eds.), Memorie traumatiche e Mentalizzazione. Teoria, ricerca e clinica. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  35. Luyten, P., Nijssens, L., Fonagy, P., & Mayes, L. C. (2017). Parental Reflective Functioning: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 70(1), 174-199, DOI: 10.1080/00797308.2016.1277901
  36. Lyons-Ruth, K., & Jacobvitz, D. (2008). Attachment disorganization: Genetic factors, parenting contexts, and developmental transformation from infancy to adulthood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications, 666-697. New York: The Guilford Press.
  37. Malacrea, M., (2012). Le conseguenze traumatiche del maltrattamento infantile: la diagnosi per la cura. Minorigiustizia, 2012(1), 44-63, DOI: 10.3280/MG2012-001003
  38. Manzano, J., Palacio Espasa, F., & Zilkha, N. (2001). Scenari della genitorialità. La consultazione genitori-bambino. Raffaello Cortina Editore, Milano.
  39. Masten, A. S. (2016). Resilience in developing systems: the promise of integrated approaches, European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13(3), 297-312, DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2016.1147344
  40. Milani, L., Grumi, S., Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., Traficante, D., & Di Blasio, P. (2019). Familial risk and protective factors affecting CPS professionals’ child removal decision: A decision tree analysis study. Children and Youth Services Review, 109, 1-8,
  41. Milani, L., Miragoli, S., Grumi, S., & Di Blasio, P. (2020). A Multi-method Assessment of Risk and Protective Factors in Family Violence: Comparing Italian and Migrant Families. In N. Balvin, & D.J. Christie (Eds.), Children and Peace. From research to action, 3-23,
  42. Milligan, K., Meixner, T., Tremblay, M., Tarasoff, L. A., Usher, A., Smith, A. & Urbanoski, K. A. (2020). Parenting interventions for mothers with problematic substance use: a systematic review of research and community practice. Child Maltreatment, 25(3), 247-262, DOI: 10.1177/1077559519873047
  43. Miragoli, S., Camisasca, E., Di Blasio, P., Milani, L., Ionio, C., Gizzi, N., Cammarella, A., & Malagoli Togliatti, M. (2016). Child Abuse Potential Inventory in Italy: A comparative study of abusive and non-abusive parents. Journal of Child Custody, 13(4), 289-306, DOI: 10.1080/15379418.2016.1250145
  44. Miragoli, S., Milani, L., Di Blasio, P., & Camisasca, E. (2020). Difficulties in emotion regulation in Child Abuse Potential: Gender differences in parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106, 104529,
  45. Miragoli, S., & Verrocchio, M. C. (2008). La valutazione del rischio in situazioni di disagio familiare: fattori di rischio e fattori di protezione. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 10(3), 25-43.
  46. Mucci, C. (2014). Trauma e perdono. Una prospettiva psicoanalitica intergenerazionale. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  47. Narayan, A. J., Lieberman, A. F., & Masten, A. S. (2021). Intergenerational transmission and prevention of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Clinical psychology review, 85, 101997,
  48. Ogden, T. H. (2016). Vite non vissute: Esperienze in psicoanalisi. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  49. Riva Crugnola, C. (2012). La relazione genitore-bambino. Fra adeguatezza e rischio. Bologna: il Mulino.
  50. Riva Crugnola, C., Ierardi, E., Bottini, M., Verganti, C., & Albizzati, A. (2019). Childhood experiences of maltreatment, reflective functioning and attachment in adolescent and young adult mothers: Effects on mother-infant interaction and emotion regulation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 93, 277-290,
  51. Roscoe, J. N., Lery, B., & Chambers, J. E. (2018). Understanding child protection decisions involving parents with mental illness and substance abuse. Child abuse & neglect, 81, 235-248,
  52. Rutter, M. (1989). Pathways from childhood to adult life. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 23–51,
  53. Sameroff, A. (2000). Developmental Systems and Psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 297-312. Cambridge University Press.
  54. Saunders, R., Jacobvitz, D., Zaccagnino, M., Beverung, L. M., & Hazen, N. (2011). Pathways to earned security: The role of alternative support figures. Attachment & Human Development, 13(4), 403-420, DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2011.584405
  55. Schimmenti, A. (2013). Trauma evolutivo: origini e conseguenze dell’abuso e della trascuratezza nell’infanzia. In V. Caretti, G. Craparo, & A. Schimmenti (Eds.), Memorie traumatiche e Mentalizzazione. Teoria, ricerca e clinica. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  56. Schimmenti, A., & Bifulco, A. (2008). Quando i genitori maltrattano i figli: le radici psicopatologiche dello sviluppo affettivo. In V. Caretti & G. Craparo (Eds.), Trauma e psicopatologia. Un approccio evolutivo-relazionale. Roma: Casa Editrice Astrolabio, Ubaldini Editore.
  57. Sheridan, M. J. (1995). A proposed intergenerational model of substance abuse, family functioning, and abuse/neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(5), 519-530,
  58. Spinazzola, J., van der Kolk, B., & Ford, J. (2018). When Nowhere Is Safe: Interpersonal Trauma and Attachment Adversity as Antecedents of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Developmental Trauma Disorder. Journal of traumatic stress, 31, 631-642,
  59. Sroufe, L. A. (1997). Psychopathology as an Outcome of development. Development and Psychopathology, 9, 251-268, Cambridge University Press.
  60. Tambelli, R., Odorisio, F. & Simonini, C. (2013). La trasmissione intergenerazionale dell’attaccamento nella prima infanzia: uno studio sull’attaccamento madre, padre e bambino in una prospettiva interculturale. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 40(4), 785-811, DOI: 10.1421/76947
  61. Tani, F. (2011). I legami di attaccamento tra normalità e patologia: aspetti teorici e di intervento. Psicoanalisi Neofreudiana, 1(1), 1-31.
  62. Tenuta, F., Bartolo, M. G., Diano, D., & Costabile, A. (2020). Maltrattamento e abuso: una rassegna su definizioni, tipologie e interventi per la tutela dei soggetti a rischio. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 22(2), 85-106, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-002005
  63. Testa, M. F., & Smith, B. (2009). Prevention and drug treatment. The Future of Children, 147-168,
  64. Ullman, E., & Hilweg, W. (1999). Childhood and Trauma: Separation, Abuse, War. Ashgate, Aldershot,
  65. van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). Il corpo accusa il colpo. Mente, corpo e cervello nell’elaborazione delle memorie traumatiche. Raffaello Cortina Editore, Milano.
  66. Verrocchio, M. C., & Miragoli, S. (2008). Traiettorie di rischio: studi e ricerche su fattori di rischio e di protezione. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 10(3), 45-71.
  67. Zaccagnino, M., Cussino, M., Saunders, R., Jacobvitz, D. & Veglia, F. (2014). Alternative Caregiving Figures and their Role on Adult Attachment Representations, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 21, 276-287,

Martina Cattani, Fattori di rischio e di protezione nella valutazione di famiglie in carico ai Servizi Sociali: uno studio retrospettivo intergenerazionale in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 2/2022, pp 63-86, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2022-002005