Représentations d'attachement, traits de personnalité limite en émergence et comportements extériorisés d'enfants maltraités et issus de la population générale

Introduction

Abused children, especially those in residential care, show more externalized behaviors than children from the general population. These externalized behaviors may be a developmental consequence of different forms of abuse perpetrated by the parent, whose role is to support the child. Child maltreatment can also result in emerging borderline personality features (EBPT) related to socio-cognitive, emotional, relational, behavioral, and identity deficits.

Objective

The main objective of this research is to explore the links between the child's representations of maternal support and the presence of EBPF and externalized behaviors.

Method

Thirty-three foster care children and 40 children from the general population (7 to 12 years old) participated in the study. A semi-structured play activity measuring the child's representations of maternal support and a questionnaire assessing EBPF were administered to the children. The adult responsible for the child completed a questionnaire evaluating externalized behaviors.

Results

Mean comparisons confirm an increased presence of externalized behaviors and EBPF among the children in residential care. Representations of the mother as being unsupportive are associated with more EBPF. The increased presence of EBPF is linked to more externalized behaviors. Regression analysis attests to the mediating role of EBPF in the relationship between children's representations of maternal support and externalized behaviors.

Conclusion

These findings underscore the role of the mother-child relationship in personality development. An altered mother-child relationship appears to lead to deficits, particularly in the child's ability to manage situations that arouse aggression.