ulster.ac.uk

The impact of conflict &

trauma on early attachmentDr. Áine McKenna

Outline

Secure Attachment

Self Regulation

Human Connection

Attachment : Template for human

connection

•Nearly all parents feel love for their offspring

•Temperament and parenting experiences influence attachment

quality (Kagan,1984)

•Self Regulation is the key mediator between genetic

predisposition and wellbeing (Fonagy, 2001).

•Someone with a predisposition to feel intense anger is less likely

to behave anti-socially if they can self regulate (feel compassion

for others, understand that others, just like themselves, are

human (therefore flawed) and prone to making mistakes)

What is Attachment for ?

Reciprocity

Trust Ourselves & Others

Love Ourselves & Others

Cognitive

& Affective

Empathy

Self Regulating

Integrated Sense of

Self & Others

Secure Attachment: Template for Reciprocity

Secure Attachments : Nurture

Humanity

The greatness of humanity is not in being human but in

being humane.

Mahatma Gandhi

What is Self Regulation?Mahatma Gandhi

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the

attribute of the strong.

Mahatma Gandhi

Revenge Cycle Forgiveness Cycle

Hurt, Harm &

Loss

Emotional Pain

Choosing to Harm

&

Rejecting Shared

Humanity

Revenge, Retaliation &

Payback

Violence and

Cruelty

Self Regulation: Mandela’s JourneyNelson Mandela

•Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how

many times I fell down and got back up again.

(self love – integrated sense of self, accepts failures and

mistakes and does not hide them from himself or others)

•As I walked out the door toward the gate that would

lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my

bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.

(he had to self regulate)

What type of contexts facilitate the

acquisition of self regulation?

• Warm, synchronous, interactions; mirroring of

emotions; caregiver acts as mirror & co-regulator

(Fonagy, 2001).

• In order to be able to co-regulate the caregiver

has to be able to self regulate.

How do children learn to hate?

Direct transfer of words and gestures, beliefs and views

Parental use of threats, harsh discipline and punishment with a

focus on obedience

McNally Mc Kenna et al.

Prejudice

Allport (1954)

Trauma Exposures Change

Parenting Behaviours

•Negatively impact on bonding processes

•Poorly regulated children develop internalising/externalising problems (depending on temperament)

•Increases risks for inappropriate behaviour management especially for externalisers (difficult temperament 10%)

•Association between PTSD, domestic violence and aggressive parenting (Roberts et al. 2012; Roth et al. 2014; Sailea et al. 2014; Leen-Feldner et al. 2011; Harkness,1993).

physical abuse sexual abuse neglect parental mental

health

parental substance

abuse

parental criminal

behaviour family violence harsh punishment

Harsh Class (4.4%) 0 0.15064 0 0.2806 0.23967 0.14086 0.25404 0.40089

Maltreatment Class (4.3%) 0.68203 0.16577 0.33595 0.34038 0.15096 0.16098 0.51879 0.94264

Low Risk Class (91.3%) 0.00254 0.00632 0.00245 0.03001 0 0.00294 0.01344 0.10655

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1E

stim

ate

d P

ro

ba

bil

itie

s

Age category Harsh Maltreatment Low Risk

18-34 31(32.2%) 27(32.4%) 441(31%)

35-49 45(42.7%) 31(35.7%) 508(29.1%)

50-64 28(20.6%) 31(27.3%) 452(21.5%)

65+ 7(4.5%) 7(4.6%) 354(18.4%)

4 and a half times more likely

4 and a half times more likely

Teaching Compassion

No one is born hating another person because of the

colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion.

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate,

they can be taught to love, for love comes more

naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

Nelson Mandela

Co-regulation

Self regulated

Child

Social & Emotional

Competence

Achieves potential &

Contributes to Community

Healthy Adult

Can’t Co-

regulate

Unregulated Child

Lacks Emotional & Social

Competence

Does not achieve potential and

cannot contribute to community

Traumatized Adult

Implications for Intervention

•Treat Trauma Related Psychopathology in Parents

•Build their capacities so they can become co-regulators for their infants. This will reduce difficult behaviours and social skill deficits in their children.

•Build Parents capacities so they can become breadwinners and this will facilitate social mobility (Two generation Approaches).

•Support parents to construct age and stage appropriate narratives for explaining their trauma related experiences to their children