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Cited by 83Attachment and Relationship DynamicsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology ResearchMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Unresolved trauma in mothers: intergenerational effects and the role of reorganization.

Open access
Iyengar, Udita, Kim, Sohye, Martinez, Sheila, Fonagy, Peter, Strathearn, Lane·2014·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00966PMC PMC4150444
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Abstract

A mother's unresolved trauma may interfere with her ability to sensitively respond to her infant, thus affecting the development of attachment in her own child, and potentially contributing to the intergenerational transmission of trauma. One novel construct within the Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) coding of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is "reorganization," a process whereby speakers are actively changing their understanding of past and present experiences and moving toward attachment security. We conducted a study of mothers with unresolved trauma, exploring their own attachment classification, attachment outcomes of their children, and the potential effects of reorganization on child attachment. Forty-seven first-time mothers participated in the AAI during pregnancy, and returned with their child at 11 months to assess child attachment using the Strange Situation Procedure. Mothers with and without unresolved trauma were compared. We found that mothers with unresolved trauma had insecure attachment themselves and were more likely to have infants with insecure attachment. However, the one exception was that all of the mothers with unresolved trauma who were reorganizing toward secure attachment had infants with secure attachment. These preliminary findings suggest that mothers who are reorganizing may be able to more sensitively respond to their child's cues, contributing to the development of secure attachment. While our results need to be replicated in a larger cohort, this study is the first to explore the construct of reorganization and its potential relationship with child attachment. If confirmed in future studies, it may provide clinical insight into the intergenerational transmission of insecure attachment within the context of unresolved trauma.

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  • Children of substance using women can be attached securely, indicating the potential to break the cycle of insecure attachment transmission across generations.

    “Furthermore, children of substance using women can be attached securely, indicating the potential to break the cycle of insecure attachment transmission across generations (120).”

    From Mothering, Substance Use Disorders and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission: An Attachment-Based Perspective (2019) · cites this paper as [120]

    The Discussion reports that mothers reorganizing toward secure attachment were more likely to have securely attached children, supporting the possibility of interrupting insecure attachment across generations. But the study concerns mothers with unresolved trauma, not specifically substance-using women; the Participants section does not identify substance use as a studied characteristic. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • Mothers with unresolved trauma, but whose attachment pattern was reorganizing toward security, were more likely to have children with secure attachment.

    “One recent study revealed that mothers with unresolved trauma, but whose attachment pattern was reorganizing toward security, were more likely to have children with secure attachment (Iyengar et al., 2014).”

    From The maternal brain and its plasticity in humans (2016) · cites this paper as Iyengar et al., 2014

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Bowlby J. (1984). Attachment and Loss. London: Penguin Books
  2. Shah P. E. Strathearn L. (2014). Similarities and differences of the ABCD model and the DMM classification systems for attachment: a practitioner's guide, in The Guidebook to Attachment Theory and Interventions, eds Holmes P. Farnfield S. (London: Routledge), 73– 88

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Authors
Iyengar, U., Kim, S., Martinez, S., Fonagy, P., & Strathearn, L.
Affiliations
Baylor College of Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Strathearn, Lane
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2014-09-01
Volume
5
Pages
966-966
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00966
PMC
PMC4150444
OpenAlex
W2123531847
Cited by
83
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2012: 1
FWCI
6.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (NF-SI-0510-10228)
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA026437, R01DA026437)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K23HD43097)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K12-HD-41648, R01HD065819, K23HD43097, K12HD041648, HD41648, K23HD043097)
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
unresolved trauma, mothers, intergenerational trauma, restructuring, attachment security, insecure attachment, child attachment, Adult Attachment Interview, maternal sensitivity, primiparous women, Strange Situation Procedure

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