Poster #52 - Association of Maternal Emotion Regulation and Dissociation with the Emergence of Early Child Dissociative Behaviors.

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Dissociation is a psychological phenomenon characterized by a lack of integration between thoughts, feelings, identity, and/or physical sensations into the stream of consciousness (American Psychological Association, 2013). While most commonly identified in adults, the emergence of dissociative behaviors is believed to occur early in development, particularly for children in at-risk environments. Dissociation may serve as a type of emotional regulation (ER) strategy employed to protect children psychologically from a threatening or chaotic environment. Over time though, dissociative behaviors are associated with the onset of mental health problems. The empirical literature on the development of dissociation has predominately examined adults who have experienced chronic childhood trauma (Hulette, Freyd, et al., 2008), however, dissociation occurs across a continuum and can develop due to a range of factors and experiences that are not always associated with childhood trauma. One potential factor that has yet to be examined in relation to child dissociative behaviors is parent’s ER abilities and dissociative tendencies. Parents serve as a model to children such that their own ER abilities and dissociative tendencies increase the likelihood children develop similar behavioral patterns. Furthermore, a parent with difficulties in ER may contribute to an unpredictable home environment in which child dissociative behaviors develop in order to cope with the environment which may seem chaotic or unsafe. In the present study we aimed to provide initial evidence on the relevance of parental ER to child dissociative behavior by a) describing the overall changes in child dissociative behavior from the preschool to early school age years, b) examining the cross-sectional correspondence between maternal ER and dissociation with child dissociative behaviors, and c) testing if maternal ER during the preschool period is associated with child dissociative behaviors over time.

We recruited 68 mother-preschooler dyads in which we oversampled for mothers with emotion dysregulation difficulties. At T1 (children 3-4 years) and T2, (children 5-6 years) maternal ER was measured with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and at T2, maternal dissociation was measured with the Dissociative Experiences Scale. At both times points, mothers also rated their children’s dissociative behaviors with a subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist.

Overall, child dissociation mean levels did not significantly change across time points. At T1, maternal ER and child dissociation were associated, r = .46, p<0.001. This correspondence was even stronger at T2, r = .63., p<0.001. At T2, maternal dissociation and child dissociation were also strongly associated, r = .60, p<0.001. Finally, controlling for child gender and age, a multiple linear regression showed that T1 mother’s emotion dysregulation was associated with T2 child dissociative symptoms, even after controlling for T1 child dissociation, F(4,31)=4.61, p=0.005. These results provide novel findings on the influence of parental factors on the development of dissociative behaviors in children and emphasize the important role that parental ER may play in childhood mental health and development. Furthermore, this study is one of the first to examine childhood dissociation in the preschool years and provides new information on factors influencing the development of dissociative phenomenon.

Authors

• Jennifer Lewis, University of Oregon
  Presenting Author

• Madeline C Rogers, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Grace Binion, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nicole Diane Musser, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maureen Zalewski, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author