Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Compulsive compliance: The development of an inhibitory coping strategy in infancy

Compulsive compliance: The development of an inhibitory coping strategy in infancy This study explored the development of young children's behavioral strategies for coping with child abuse. It was hypothesized that infants exposed to the controllingness and harshness of interaction with an abusive mother would first learn to inhibit behavior disagreeable to the mother and later learn to comply with maternal demands. It was expected that this developmental change in abused children's behavior would be adaptive in the short term because it would reduce the probability of continued abuse. In the long term, however, compulsive compliance was expected to be maladaptive because it distorted the child's perception of, and response to, reality. In addition, it was hypothesized that the compliant behavior pattern would be used only with controlling interactants during the first 3 years of life. In other words, the descriptions of defensive patterns of behavior applied indiscriminantly by older abused children were not expected to apply to infants and toddlers. Both hypotheses were supported using data drawn from videotapes of mother- child and other adult- child interaction. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Springer Journals

Compulsive compliance: The development of an inhibitory coping strategy in infancy

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/compulsive-compliance-the-development-of-an-inhibitory-coping-strategy-5qobQCTzoS

References (36)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright
Subject
Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Neurosciences; Public Health
ISSN
0091-0627
eISSN
1573-2835
DOI
10.1007/BF00914268
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This study explored the development of young children's behavioral strategies for coping with child abuse. It was hypothesized that infants exposed to the controllingness and harshness of interaction with an abusive mother would first learn to inhibit behavior disagreeable to the mother and later learn to comply with maternal demands. It was expected that this developmental change in abused children's behavior would be adaptive in the short term because it would reduce the probability of continued abuse. In the long term, however, compulsive compliance was expected to be maladaptive because it distorted the child's perception of, and response to, reality. In addition, it was hypothesized that the compliant behavior pattern would be used only with controlling interactants during the first 3 years of life. In other words, the descriptions of defensive patterns of behavior applied indiscriminantly by older abused children were not expected to apply to infants and toddlers. Both hypotheses were supported using data drawn from videotapes of mother- child and other adult- child interaction.

Journal

Journal of Abnormal Child PsychologySpringer Journals

Published: Dec 15, 2004

There are no references for this article.