Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use
Parental reflective functioning (RF) is often cited as an important domain in which mothers with addictions struggle in their roles as parents, though the links between addiction and RF remain unclear. Exposure to attachment trauma associated with parental mental illness and substance use is commonl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.911069/full |
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| author | Amanda F. Lowell Tal Yatziv Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers Amanda Zayde Amanda Zayde Cindy DeCoste Nancy Suchman Nancy Suchman Thomas J. McMahon Thomas J. McMahon |
| author_facet | Amanda F. Lowell Tal Yatziv Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers Amanda Zayde Amanda Zayde Cindy DeCoste Nancy Suchman Nancy Suchman Thomas J. McMahon Thomas J. McMahon |
| author_sort | Amanda F. Lowell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Parental reflective functioning (RF) is often cited as an important domain in which mothers with addictions struggle in their roles as parents, though the links between addiction and RF remain unclear. Exposure to attachment trauma associated with parental mental illness and substance use is commonly associated with both addiction and lower RF. We thus examined how family history of parental mental illness and substance use may relate to the RF of mothers with addictions. One hundred ninety-four mothers in outpatient substance use treatment completed the Parent Development Interview and provided information about whether their mothers and fathers experienced mental illness or problems with substance use. Univariate ANOVAs revealed an interaction between family history of maternal mental illness and maternal substance use. Among mothers with a history of maternal substance use, those with a history of maternal mental illness had higher RF than those who had no history of maternal mental illness. Among mothers who did not report a family history of maternal mental illness, mothers who had a family history of maternal substance use exhibited significantly lower RF than mothers with no family history of maternal substance use. Exposure to paternal mental illness or substance use was not associated with mothers’ RF. These findings highlight the importance of disentangling the contributions of attachment trauma to mothers’ RF and utilizing interventions that support mothers’ capacity to reflect about how their early experiences of being cared for by a mother with a mental illness or addiction may impact their current caregiving behaviors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:33:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c49caf3d9b534ffe938d5e1935920b3b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:33:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c49caf3d9b534ffe938d5e1935920b3b2022-12-22T04:31:47ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-10-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.911069911069Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance useAmanda F. Lowell0Tal Yatziv1Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers2Amanda Zayde3Amanda Zayde4Cindy DeCoste5Nancy Suchman6Nancy Suchman7Thomas J. McMahon8Thomas J. McMahon9Child Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesChild Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, MA, United StatesMontefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United StatesAlbert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesChild Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesChild Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesParental reflective functioning (RF) is often cited as an important domain in which mothers with addictions struggle in their roles as parents, though the links between addiction and RF remain unclear. Exposure to attachment trauma associated with parental mental illness and substance use is commonly associated with both addiction and lower RF. We thus examined how family history of parental mental illness and substance use may relate to the RF of mothers with addictions. One hundred ninety-four mothers in outpatient substance use treatment completed the Parent Development Interview and provided information about whether their mothers and fathers experienced mental illness or problems with substance use. Univariate ANOVAs revealed an interaction between family history of maternal mental illness and maternal substance use. Among mothers with a history of maternal substance use, those with a history of maternal mental illness had higher RF than those who had no history of maternal mental illness. Among mothers who did not report a family history of maternal mental illness, mothers who had a family history of maternal substance use exhibited significantly lower RF than mothers with no family history of maternal substance use. Exposure to paternal mental illness or substance use was not associated with mothers’ RF. These findings highlight the importance of disentangling the contributions of attachment trauma to mothers’ RF and utilizing interventions that support mothers’ capacity to reflect about how their early experiences of being cared for by a mother with a mental illness or addiction may impact their current caregiving behaviors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.911069/fullmaternal addictionreflective functioningfamily historyattachment traumaearly adversity |
| spellingShingle | Amanda F. Lowell Tal Yatziv Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers Amanda Zayde Amanda Zayde Cindy DeCoste Nancy Suchman Nancy Suchman Thomas J. McMahon Thomas J. McMahon Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use Frontiers in Psychology maternal addiction reflective functioning family history attachment trauma early adversity |
| title | Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use |
| title_full | Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use |
| title_fullStr | Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use |
| title_short | Reflective functioning in mothers with addictions: Differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use |
| title_sort | reflective functioning in mothers with addictions differential relationships involving family history of mental illness and substance use |
| topic | maternal addiction reflective functioning family history attachment trauma early adversity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.911069/full |
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