Dissociation and Traumatic Effects of a Disturbing Child Environment

Dissociation and Traumatic Effects of a Disturbing Child Environment

 

 

Introduction

When a person who is experiencing a traumatic event is in danger of being overwhelmed by too many intense feelings that cannot be processed at the time. The ego defends itself from complete disorganization by instituting the defense of dissociation, which distracts from the reality of the experience by allowing detachment. According to Spiegel and Cardena (1991), dissociation is a psychological state in which thoughts, emotions, identity, and/or memory are not integrated within the self. The continuation of this defense mechanism after the trauma, in order to ward off re-experiencing the feelings associated with the traumatic event, may result in a reduced capacity for feeling, thinking, remembering, or being (Varvin, 1998). The symptoms of flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts are the result of the ego’s attempt to facilitate integration of the feelings with the physical experience.

This phenomenon of affective and cognitive avoidance has been commonly observed following a trauma and is hypothesized to be motivated by self-preservation. Cardena and Spiegel (1993) classified three types of responses to trauma. These includes a detachment from others and the physical environment; alterations in perceptions; and impairments in cognitive functioning. The concept of the dissociative phenomenon is congruent with Horowitz’s (1986) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) model of normal and pathological phases of posttraumatic stress. According to the model, normal responses to trauma are expressed in two predominant phases: the intrusive state, characterized by unbidden ideas and feelings and even compulsive action, and the denial state, characterized by emotional numbing and constriction of ideation. In the pathological response, these states continue to be used as a response to all stress, because the original feelings of loss and grief have been repressed. Within this model, the terms dissociation, denial, and emotional numbing all can refer to the same phenomenon (Horowitz, 1993).

Dissociation is a symptom of trauma that cuts across diagnostic boundaries as classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994). Dissociative symptoms may be present in a number of diagnostic categories as well as PTSD, including panic, borderline personality disorder, somatization, and eating disorders. Dissociative identity disorder is the most extreme example of dissociative psychopathology (Braun, 1993).

Furthermore, Sanders (1986) defined dissociation as a multidimensional construct that is characterized by blocking of connections between affects, cognitions, and voluntary control of behaviors. Dissociative phenomena are thought to occur along a continuum from normal, such as fantasy, absorption, and daydreaming, to pathological in which the dissociative episodes are involuntary and often involve negative consequences for the individual (Braun, 1985; Kluft, 1985). Most contemporary etiological models of dissociative disorders postulate that dissociation is a normal defense mechanism available to individuals in varying degrees during overwhelmingly frightening, stressful, or painful situations. It also suggests that individual differences in dissociative ability are, in part, biologically/genetically based. Moreover, the capacity to dissociate is greatest during childhood and particular family relationship patterns can foster an enhanced ability to dissociate or an over reliance on dissociation.

Consistent with these suppositions, Braun and Sachs (1985) proposed that a child’s biological and psychodynamic substrates of dissociation interact with family dynamics to form a predisposition to later dissociative episodes or disorders. In particular, an inconsistent family environment, in which the child is given affection and punishment at different times for the same behavior, creates intense stress and confusion which influences dissociative tendencies. Similarly, Beahrs (1982) and Spiegel (1986) emphasized the necessity of both an innate dissociative ability and parental inconsistency or double-binds in the formation of multiple personality disorder (MPD). In Kluft’s (1984) four-factor theory, multiple personality disorder is conceptualized as the final common pathway from many distinct etiological agents. Family factors such as family chaos, contradictory parent demands or reinforcement systems, identification with a dissociative parent, and inadequate nurturance or soothing are all thought to contribute to the development of MPD. In support of his model, Kluft (1987) reported that most mothers with MPD are extremely inadequate or abusive parents.

Drawing on recent research in infant emotional regulation, Putnam (1991) proposed that the discrete behavioral states observed in infants and toddlers (Wolff, 1987) serve as foundations for later dissociative states. Attentive, nurturant parenting helps the child to gain control over behavioral states whereas detached, nonresponsive, rejecting, or inconsistent parenting impairs the child’s ability to modulate behavioral states. Poor control over behavioral states may result in decreased stabilization of the child’s baseline state of consciousness (Tart, 1975), thus facilitating switching or dissociative processes. Putnam also speculated that parental dissociation might contribute to child dissociation through genetic transmission or through abusive parenting that may be common among highly dissociative parents. Moreover, dissociative experiences (e.g., amnesia, loss of time) may interfere with a parent’s ability to act consistently and attentively.

Finally, Barach (1991) proposed that MPD and other dissociative disorders can be meaningfully conceptualized as disorders of attachment. In Bowlby’s theory of attachment (Bowlby, 1988), children attempt to elicit care-taking behaviors from their primary attachment figure when frightened or upset. Parental emotional unavailability or neglect creates a great deal of distress for children who will initially engage in behaviors to reestablish attachment with the parent. If the neglect persists, however, the child is thought to defend against feelings of abandonment and fear by becoming detached and disinterested in the attachment figure. Barach (1991) proposed that this detached state is, in fact, a type of dissociation. Consequently, it is parental emotional neglect and nonresponsiveness that leads to defensive detachment and dissociation in the child.

Based on the discussions, one could surmise that family factors may influence child dissociation in a number of ways. First, high levels of dissociation in a parent may increase a child’s dissociative tendencies through genetics, behavioral modeling, or introjection. Second, highly inconsistent parenting practices create high levels of stress and may lead to habitual dissociation in a child with nascent dissociative tendencies. Third, unresponsive or rejecting parenting may interfere with children’s ability to stabilize a baseline state of consciousness that is adaptable in most contexts (e.g., school, peers) and may lead to defensive detachment and dissociation. High dissociative ability, then, presumably operates as a risk factor for dissociative psychopathology. Based on the discussions above, traumatic events on a child’s environment will more or less provide adverse effects on the future actions of the child. This study intends to determine the primary causes of dissociation and trauma particularly during childhood.

 

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