RR4.1: Traumatic Experiences during Childhood Cause Lifetraps
Our own research, consistent with the findings of others, has found that frustrative and traumatic experiences during childhood are associated with the development of lifetraps.[i] In turn, lifetraps are related to the development of other dysfunctions, such as a tendency to: be victimized or aggressive;[ii] have depression and anxiety;[iii] have an increase in body mass index;[iv] be involved in conflict;[v] and be affected by adulthood attachment issues.[vi]
[i] Hartt, J., & Waller, G. (2002). Child abuse, dissociation, and core beliefs in bulimic disorders. Child Abuse and Neglect, 26, 923-938.
[ii] Crawford, E., & O’Dougherty Wright, M. (2007). The impact of childhood psychological maltreatment on interpersonal schemas and subsequent experiences of relationship aggression. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 7, 93-116.
[iii] Cukor, D., & McGinn, L. K. (2006). History of child abuse and severity of adult depression: the mediating role of cognitive schema. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 15, 19-34; Harris, A. E., & Curtin, L. (2002). Parental perceptions, early maladaptive schemas, and depressive symptoms in young adults. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26, 405-416; Shah, R., & Waller, G. (2000). Parental style and vulnerability to depression: The role of core beliefs. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 188, 19-25; Wright, M. O., Crawford, E., & Del Castillo, D. (2009). Childhood emotional maltreatment and later psychological distress among college students: the predicting role of maladaptive schemas. Child Abuse and Neglect, 33, 59-68.
[iv] van Hanswijck de Jonge, P., Waller, G., Fiennes, A., Rashid, Z., & Lacey, J. H. (2003). Reported sexual abuse and cognitive content in the morbidly obese. Eating Behaviors, 4, 315-322.
[v] Messman-Moore, T. L., & Coates, A. A. (2007). The impact of childhood psychological abuse on adult interpersonal conflict: the role of early maladaptive schemas and patterns of interpersonal behavior. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 7, 75-92.
[vi] Cecero, J. J., Nelson, J. D., & Gillie, J. M. (2004). Tools and tenets of schema therapy: toward the construct validity of the early maladaptive schema questionnaire-research version (EMSQ-R). Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 11, 344-357.