Lifetime trauma, adversity and emotional disorder in older age women

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Antonia Bifulco, Catherine Jacobs, Andrea Oskis, Francesca Cavana , Ruth Spence
Publishing Year 2019 Issue 2019/2
Language English Pages 15 P. 29-43 File size 213 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2019-002003
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.

Childhood matreatment and adult trauma were studied in relation to emotional disorder in older women, with insecure attachment style as a trauma impact. Eighty mothers aged 50-85 (average 64.5) were selected from a GP-screened community-based sample. A lifespan interview included the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse, the Adult Life Phase Interview and the Attachment Style Interview with SCID-DSM-IV for lifetime depression and anxiety. Logistic regression showed that childhood and adult trauma, but not attachment style, provided the best model for recurrent emotional disorder. Lifetime trauma thus has a major and cumulative impact on disorder in later life. This allows for a better understanding of the psychological burden in older age, with implications for possible psychological treatments.

Keywords: Older age; child trauma; adult adversity; partner violence; emotional disorder.

  1. Ansara, D. L., & Hindin, M. J. (2011). Psychosocial consequences of intimate partner violence for women and men in Canada. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 1628-1645. DOI: 10.1177/088626051037060
  2. Avdibegović, E., & Sinanović, O. (2006). Consequences of domestic violence on women’s mental health in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatian Medical Journal, 47, 730-741.
  3. Babcock, J. C., Jacobson, N. S., Gottman, J. M., & Yerington, T. P. (2000). Attachment, Emotional Regulation, and the Function of Marital Violence: Differences Between Secure, Preoccupied, and Dismissing Violent and Nonviolent Husbands. Journal of Family Violence, 15, 391-409. DOI: 10.1023/A:1007558330501
  4. Bartholomew, K., Henderson, A., & Dutton, D. G. (2001). Insecure attachment and abusive intimate relationships. In: Clulow C. (ed), Adult attachment and couple psychotherapy. The secure base in practice and research (pp. 43-61). London: Brunner-Routledge.
  5. Bifulco, A., Bernazzani, O., Moran, P., & Jacobs, C. (2005). The Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q): Validation in a community series. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 563-581. DOI: 10.1348/014466505X35344
  6. Bifulco, A., Bernazzani, O., Moran, P. M., & Ball, C. (2000). Lifetime stressors and recurrent depression: preliminary findings of the Adult Life Phase Interview (ALPHI). Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 35, 264-275.
  7. Bifulco, A., Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (1994). Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA): A retrospective interview measure. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 1419-1435.
  8. Bifulco, A., Brown, G. W., Lillie, A., & Jarvis, J. (1997). Memories of childhood neglect and abuse: Corroboration in a series of sisters. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 365-374.
  9. Bifulco, A., Brown, G. W., Moran, P., Ball, C., & Campbell, C. (1998). Predicting depression in women: The role of past and present vulnerability. Psychological Medicine, 28, 39-50.
  10. Bifulco, A., Kwon, J. H., Moran, P. M., Jacobs, C., Bunn, A., & Beer, N. (2006). Adult attachment style as mediator between childhood neglect/abuse and adult depression and anxiety. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 41, 796-805.
  11. Bifulco, A., & Moran, P. (1998). Wednesday’s Child: Research into women’s experience of neglect and abuse in childhood and adult depression. London, New York: Routledge.
  12. Bifulco, A., Moran, P. M., Ball, C., & Bernazzani, O. (2002). Adult attachment style I:Its relationship to clinical depression. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37, 50-59.
  13. Bifulco, A., Moran, P. M., Ball, C., & Lillie, A. (2002). Adult attachment style II: Its relationship to psychosocial depressive-vulnerability. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37, 60-67.
  14. Bonomi, A. E., Thompson, R. S., Anderson, M., Reid, R., Carrell, D., Dimer, J. A., & Rivara, F. P. (2006). Intimate partner violence and women’s physical, mental, and social functioning. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 30, 458-466.
  15. Bowlby, J. (1977). Aetiology and psychopathology in the light of attachment theory. British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 201-210.
  16. Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B., & Gotlib, I. H. (1993). Psychopathology and early experience: A reappraisal of retrospective reports. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 82-98. DOI: 10.1037//0033-2909.113.1.82
  17. Brieding, M. J., Smith, S. G., Basile, K. C., Walters, M. L., Chen, J., & Merrick, M. T. (2014). Prevalence and characteristics of sexual violence, stalking and intimate partner violence victimisation. National Intimate Parent and Sexual Violence Survey, United States 2011. -- Text available at the website www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6308a1.htm 15th May 2017.
  18. Campbell, J. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. Lancet, 359, 1331-1336.
  19. Chen, P. H., Rovi, S., Vega, M., Jacobs, A., & Johnson, M. S. (2009). Relation of domestic violence to health status among Hispanic women. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 20, 569-582.
  20. Conradi, H. J., & de Jonge, P. (2009). Recurrent depression and the role of adult attachment: A prospective and a retrospective study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 116, 93-99.
  21. Dillon, G., Hussain, R., Loxton, D., & Rahman S. (2013). Mental and Physical Health and Intimate Partner Violence against Women: A Review of the Literature. International Journal of Family Medicine, 1-15. DOI: 10.1155/2013/313909
  22. Eshelman, L., & Levendosky, A. A. (2012). Dating violence: mental health consequences based on type of abuse. Violence and Victims, 27, 215-228. DOI: 10.1891/0886-6708.27.2.215
  23. Felitti, V. J. (2002). The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences to Adult Health: Turning gold into lead. Zeitschrift fur Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, 48, 359-369.
  24. Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R., & Turner, H. (2007). Re-Victimization Patterns in a National Longitudinal Sample of Children and Youth. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31, 497-502.
  25. First, M., Gibbon, M., Spitzer, R., & Williams G. (1996). Users guide for SCID: Biometrics Research Division.
  26. Fishtein, J., Pietromonaco, P. R., & Barrett, L. F. (1999). The Contribution of Attachment Style and Relationship Conflict to the Complexity of Relationship Knowledge. Social Cognition, 17, 228-244.
  27. Hardt, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: Review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 260-273.
  28. Home Office. (2011). Domestic Violence Disclosure scheme: A consultation. Text available at the website www.gov.uk/government/consultations/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme 16th May 2017.
  29. Jinyao, Y., Xiongzhao, Z., Auerbach, R. P., Gardiner, C. K., Lin, C., Yuping, W., & Shuqiao, Y. (2012). Insecure attachment as a predictor of depressive and anxious symptomology. Depression and Anxiety, 29, 789-796.
  30. Johnson, S. M., Makinen, J. A., & Millikin, J. W. (2001). Attachment injuries in couple relationships: A new perspective on impasses in couples therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 27, 145-155.
  31. Johnson, S. M., & Whiffen, V. E. (2003). Attachment processes in couple and family therapy. New York: Guilford Press.
  32. Lafontaine, M., & Lussier, Y. (2005). Does Anger Towards the Partner Mediate and Moderate the Link Between Romantic Attachment and Intimate Violence? Journal of Family Violence, 20(349).
  33. Loxton, D., Schofield, M., & Hussain, R. (2006). Psychological health in midlife among women who have ever lived with a violent partner or spouse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1092-1107. DOI: 10.1177/0886260506290290
  34. Moran, P., Bifulco, A., Baines, R., Bunn, A., & Stanford, K. (2003). Exploring psychological abuse in childhood I: Developing a new interview scale. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 66, 213-240.
  35. Morgan, H., & Shaver, P. R. (1999). Attachment Processes and Commitment to Romantic Relationships. In: Adams J. & Jones W. (eds), Handbook of Interpersonal Commitment and Relationship Stability. New York: Plenum Publishers.
  36. ONS (2015). Crime Survey England and Wales 2013-14. London: Office for National Statistics.
  37. ONS (2016). Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences: Year ending March 2015. London; Office for National Statistics.
  38. Pietromonaco, P. R., Greenwood, D., & Barrett, L. F. (2004). Conflict in Adult Close Relationships: An Attachment Perspective. In: Simpson W.S. (ed), Adult attachment:New directions and emerging issues. New York: Guilford Press.
  39. Romito, P., Molzan Turan, J., & De Marchi, M. (2005). The impact of current and past interpersonal violence on women’s mental health. Social Science and Medicine, 60, 1717-1727.
  40. Savas, N., & Agridag, G. (2011). The relationship between women’s mental health and domestic violence in semirural areas: a study in Turkey. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 23, 399-407. DOI: 10.1177/101053950934632
  41. Scharfe, E. (2007). Cause or consequence? Exploring causal links between attachment and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26, 1048-1064.
  42. Shaver, P., & Hazan, C. (1993). Adult romantic attachment: Theory and evidence. In Advances in Personal Relationships (Vol. 4, pp. 29-70). London: Jessica Kinsgley.
  43. Shaver, P. R., & Clarke, C. L. (1994). The psychodynamics of adult romantic attachment. In: Masling, J. and Bornstein, R. (eds), Empirical perspectives on object relations theories (pp. 105-156). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  44. Simonelli, L. E., Ray, W. J., & Pincus, A. L. (2004). Attachment Models and Their Relationships with Anxiety, Worry, and Depression. Counseling and Clinical Psychology Journal, 1, 107-118.
  45. Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring Intrafamily Conflict and Violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales. Journal of Marriage and Family, 41, 75-88. DOI: 10.2307/351733
  46. Vos, T., Astbury, J., Piers, L. S, Magnus, A., Heenan, M., Stanley, L., Walker, L. & Webster, K. (2006). Measuring the impact of intimate partner violence on the health of women in Victoria, Australia. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 84, 739-744.
  47. Wei, M., Mallinckrodt, B., Larson, L. M., & Zakalik, R. A. (2005). Adult Attachment, Depressive Symptoms, and Validation From Self Versus Others. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 368-377. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.52.3.368

  • Historical child abuse and intergenerational transmission: Experiences of midlife women and their older-age mothers Antonia Bifulco, Catherine Jacobs, Elena Carraro, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 3/2019 pp.23
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2019-003003
  • Assessing physiological autonomic reactivity and appraisal in psychogenic pseudosyncope: Preliminary evidence from a pilot study with two single-cases Davide Crivelli, Michela Balconi, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 1/2020 pp.55
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-001005
  • Trauma and syncope: Which relationship do they share? Davide Crivelli, Michela Balconi, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 1/2020 pp.35
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-001004
  • Abuse, emotion regulation, and interoception: What can studies on the brain-body interaction tell us? Laura Angioletti, Michela Balconi, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 1/2020 pp.9
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-001002

Antonia Bifulco, Catherine Jacobs, Andrea Oskis, Francesca Cavana , Ruth Spence, Lifetime trauma, adversity and emotional disorder in older age women in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 2/2019, pp 29-43, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2019-002003