Connections between Trauma and Safe Attachments
By:
THEODORE MILLON and
Seth Grossman
Carrie Millon
Sarah Meagher
Rowena Ramnath
Risk
factors that differentiate borderline patients usually include loss, histories
of sexual and physical abuse, severe neglect or emotional abuse, being witness
to domestic violence, and parental substance abuse or criminality (Guzder,
Paris, Zelkowitz, & Marchessault, 1996; Laporte & Guttman, 1996;
Zanarini et al., 1997).
Of
these, many studies suggest an especially significant relationship between
childhood sexual abuse and the development of the borderline personality (see
Paris, 1994b; Sabo, 1997; Zanarini & Frankenburg, 1997).
To
unravel factors that might contribute to abuse, Silk, Lee, Hill, and Lohr
(1995) constructed an index of the severity. Cases were coded in terms of who
abused the subject, how long the subject was abused, and whether penetration
occurred.
Results
showed that ongoing sexual abuse in childhood was the best predictor of the
severity of borderline symptoms, including parasuicide, chronic hopelessness
and worthlessness, transient paranoia, regression in therapy, and an
intolerance of being alone.
The
authors speculate that severe, continuous sexual abuse affects the child’s
capacity to form satisfying, safe attachments. Children come to believe that
others are “unsafe and interested only in their own gratification,” leading to
“a belief in a malevolent object world” (p. 1062).
Sadly,
Michael Stone’s (1981) words still ring true today, almost two decades later:
I
suspect there is another and purely psychogenic factor contributing to the
excess of females among
groups of borderline patients . . . the occurrence of incestuous experiences during childhood or adolescence. . . .
Chronic victimization of this sort, by a father or an uncle, cannot help but have damaging
effects upon the psychic development of a young girl. These effects will generally consist
of impaired relationships with men, mistrust of men, inordinate preoccupation with sexual
themes, impulsivity in the area of sex, and often enough, depression. (p. 14)
References
Personality Disorders in Modern Life,
second edition, 2000, 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment