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Cited by 330Attachment and Relationship DynamicsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology ResearchMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Expanding the concept of unresolved mental states: Hostile/Helpless states of mind on the Adult Attachment Interview are associated with disrupted mother–infant communication and infant disorganization

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LYONS–RUTH, KARLEN, YELLIN, CLAUDIA, MELNICK, SHARON, ATWOOD, GWENDOLYN·2005·Development and Psychopathology
DOI 10.1017/s0954579405050017PMC PMC1857275
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Abstract

In a recent meta-analysis, only 53% of disorganized infants were predicted by parental Unresolved states of mind on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). The goal of this study was to identify additional predictors of infant disorganization on the AAI by developing and validating an interview-wide coding system for Hostile/Helpless (H/H) parental states of mind with respect to attachment. Maternal AAIs were collected from 45 low-income mothers with high rates of childhood trauma when their children were age 7; Strange Situation assessments had been collected at 18 months of age. AAIs were independently coded using both the Main and Goldwyn coding system and newly developed codes for H/H states of mind. Results indicated that the H/H coding system displayed discriminant validity in that it did not overlap substantially with the Unresolved, Cannot Classify, or Fearfully Preoccupied by Traumatic Events categories in the Main and Goldwyn coding system. Second, H/H states of mind accounted for variance in disorganized infant behavior not associated with the Unresolved classification. Third, H/H states of mind were significantly related to maternal disrupted affective communication as coded by the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification coding system, and maternal disrupted communication mediated the relations between H/H states of mind and infant disorganization.

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  • Early maltreatment and disrupted parent-infant communication predicted BPD symptoms in one small longitudinal study.

    “In one small longitudinal study, early maltreatment and disrupted parent-infant communication predicted BPD symptoms (Lyons-Ruth et al., 2005)”

    From A developmental, mentalization-based approach to the understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder (2009) · cites this paper as Lyons-Ruth et al., 2005

    The Results (page unavailable) link maternal disrupted communication to infant disorganization, and the Discussion (page unavailable) relates maternal childhood trauma to hostile/helpless states of mind. The study does not report that early maltreatment and disrupted parent–infant communication predicted later BPD symptoms; the Discussion mentions borderline patients in a separate study. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Two longitudinal studies following children from infancy to early adulthood found associations between insecure attachment in early childhood and BPD symptoms on follow-up.

    “Moreover, two longitudinal studies following children from infancy to early adulthood have found associations between insecure attachment in early childhood and BPD symptoms on follow-up (LyonsRuth, Yellin, Melnick, & Atwood, 2005; Rogosch & Cicchetti, 2005; Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005).”

    From A developmental, mentalization-based approach to the understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder (2009) · cites this paper as LyonsRuth, Yellin, Melnick, & Atwood, 2005

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports an association between adult Hostile/Helpless states of mind and borderline personality disorder, but says infant data were not available for those clinical groups. The passages on infant attachment concern different outcomes; our copy does not report the claimed longitudinal association between early insecure attachment and BPD symptoms in early adulthood (searched: borderline, longitudinal follow-up, and early attachment). (LLM, conf=0.77)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Maltreating parents and parents with unresolved trauma often behave in frightening ways with their children.

    “For example, maltreating parents and parents who have experienced unresolved trauma often behave in frightening ways with their children (Lyons-Ruth et al., 2005; Main & Hesse, 1990)”

    From Enhancing Attachment Organization Among Maltreated Children: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial (2012) · cites this paper as Lyons-Ruth et al., 2005

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 18

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Authors
LYONS–RUTH, K., YELLIN, C., MELNICK, S., & ATWOOD, G.
Affiliations
  • Harvard Medical School
  • Boston University (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
Venue
Development and Psychopathology
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2005-03
Volume
17
Issue
1
Pages
1-23
ISSN
  • 0954-5794 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-2198
DOI
10.1017/s0954579405050017
PMC
PMC1857275
OpenAlex
W2130603997
Cited by
330
References
56
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 16
FWCI
14.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 37 d)
Locations
  • Development and Psychopathology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH062030)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Keywords
Adult Attachment Interview, mother-infant communication, childhood trauma, low-income mothers, Strange Situation, discriminant validity
MeSH terms
Adult, Anxiety, Separation, Child, Child Behavior, Communication, Hostility, Humans, Infant, Maternal Behavior, Mother-Child Relations, Object Attachment, Parenting

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