from emotional abuse in childhood to psychopathology in adulthood

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From Emotional Abuse in Childhood to Psychopathology in Adulthood: A Path Mediated by Immature Defense Mechanisms and Self-esteem Ricky Finzi-Dottan, Ph.D. 1 Toby Karu, M.A. 2 Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 2006 Aug; 194 (8):616-210 Correspondence: Ricky Finzi-Dottan, Ph.D. Geha Mental Health Center Petah Tiqva, P.O.B. 102, Israel (49100). Fax: 972-3-9258456 e-mail: [email protected] Running head - Childhood Emotional Psychopathology in Adulthood 1 Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tiqva, P.O.B. 102, Israel (49100); School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, (52900). 2 School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, (52900).

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From Emotional Abuse in Childhood to Psychopathology in Adulthood: A

Path Mediated by Immature Defense Mechanisms and Self-esteem

Ricky Finzi-Dottan, Ph.D.1

Toby Karu, M.A.2

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 2006

Aug; 194 (8):616-210

Correspondence: Ricky Finzi-Dottan, Ph.D. Geha Mental Health Center Petah Tiqva, P.O.B. 102, Israel (49100). Fax: 972-3-9258456 e-mail: [email protected]

Running head - Childhood Emotional Psychopathology in Adulthood

1 Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tiqva, P.O.B. 102, Israel (49100); School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, (52900). 2 School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, (52900).

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 1

From Emotional Abuse in Childhood to Psychopathology in Adulthood: A Path

Mediated by Immature Defense Mechanisms and Self-esteem

ABSTRACT

Objective: Examination of the course traveled from childhood emotional abuse to

adulthood psychopathology.

Method: one hundred and ninety six undergraduate students, aged 20-45 (M=27;

sd=8.17), answered self-report questionnaires that estimate emotional abuse in

childhood (CTQ), parental attitudes (PBI), psychopathological symptomatology (BSI),

self esteem (RSE), and defense mechanism organization (DSQ).

Results: Reported psychopathological symptomatology highly exceeded the Israeli

norm. Structure Equation Modeling provided a statistically significant explanation

(52%) of the target variable: psychopathology symptomatology. According to the path

model, emotional abuse in childhood and perceptions of controlling and non-caring

parents had an indirect effect on the psychopathology. This was mediated by immature

defenses and low self-esteem.

Conclusions: The manifested psychopathology among adults who underwent emotional

abuse in childhood is produced by the detrimental effect of abuse on personality and

takes the form of immature defense organization and damaged self-representation.

Key Words: Emotional abuse; Perception of parental attitudes; Psychopathological

symptomatology; Defense mechanisms; Self-esteem

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 2

INDODUCTION

In the last decade, research into childhood emotional abuse has produced a consensus

about its adverse psychological and social consequences in adulthood (Varia & Abidin,

1999). However, despite the abundance of research on the various types of abuse, few

studies have examined the long-term consequences of emotional abuse, and most of

these are clinical reports. There has been no study examining empirically the

psychodynamic processes that underline the psychopathology reported by adults who

have been victims of childhood emotional abuse.

Emotional abuse, defined as “soul murder” (Garbarino, Guttman & Seeley, 1987),

consists of recurrent parental critical attacks, rejection, devaluation, contempt and

ignoring the child, all of which undermine the child’s emerging identity. The parents

preserve their harsh control over the humiliated child by presenting their critical and

devaluing attacks as caring and protecting the child's welfare (Thompson & Kaplan,

1996). Research points to the psychopathogenic impact of emotional abuse (Gibb, et al,

2001; Simeon et al., 2001). Empirical research dealing with the consequences of

childhood emotional abuse on adult functioning is scarce, and relates mostly to low

self-esteem, impaired interpersonal relationships, negative perception of the world,

depressive moods, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, eating disorders, and overall psychiatric

symptomatology (Bifulco et al., 2002; Doyle, 2001; Ferguson & Dacey, 1997; Gibb et

al, 2001; Grilo & Masheb, 2002; Hart, Brassard & Karlson, 1996; Mazzeo & Espelage,

2002; Palmer et al, 2001; Portwood, 1999; Rich, Gingerich & Rosen, 1997; Spertus et

al., 2003; Thompson & Kaplan, 1996).

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 3

All these studies have been carried out within a predominantly direct and linear

design framework. The current research endeavors to go one step further in

understanding the mediating mechanisms that link childhood emotional abuse and

parental upbringing behaviors with adult psychopathology. In this study we focus on

two potential psychodynamic causes for injury to the personality which may lead to

psychopathology in adulthood: self esteem and ego defense mechanisms.

Self esteem - Clinical reports describe the major narcissistic damage to the child’s

personality and the detrimental hindrance to the development of the self, the imprints of

which accompany the child into adulthood (Burland, 1994; McCarthy, 1990; Mrazek &

Mrazek, 1987; Pearce & Pezzot-Pearce, 1997).

Defense mechanism organization is shaped in childhood and adolescence to cope

with inward and outward anxiety. This construct is pertinent to styles of coping which

have been derived from the psychoanalytic theory postulating that these unconscious

psychic processes regulate subjective experiences of painful ideas, affects, and

emotions. Ego mechanisms of defense are conceptually linked to psychological

development, personality traits, and psychopathology (Bond, Paris & Zweiz-Frank,

1994; Hauser & Safyer, 1995), and as such may have an important role in shaping

various psychiatric disorders (Paris et al., 1996). Psychoanalytic theories have claimed

that each type of psychopathological entity is characterized by the use of specific

maladaptive defense mechanisms. Defenses may be ordered hierarchically with respect

to their association with psychosocial maturity and psychopathology (Vaillant, 1992).

Vaillant (1992) divided defense mechanisms according to their level of maturity and

adaptiveness, and hypothesized that defense mechanisms, especially those qualified as

being immature, were indicators of psychopathology. Projection, denial of external

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 4

reality, splitting, and acting out represent immature (or “primitive”) defenses;

displacement, reaction formation, rationalization, undoing, isolation, and repression are

considered neurotic defenses; while sublimation, humor, suppression, and altruism are

considered to be mature defenses.

On this basis our model hypothesized that the immature defensive organization and

injured self-esteem mediate the process that leads from the experience of childhood

emotional abuse and the perception of parental behaviors to psychopathological

symptomatology in adulthood.

METHOD

Participants

We approached two hundred undergraduate students (66.2% women and 31.5% men)

from six academic institutes in Israel. Their age ranged from 20 to 45 years (M=27;

sd=8.17), and 31.5% were married.

One person refused to participate. One hundred and ninety nine participants gave their

written informed consent to take part in the study. One returned the questionnaires

explaining that it was difficult for him to answer the questions. Two subjects were

removed from the sample because we realized that they were over 45 years old. Thus

we were left with one hundred ninety six subjects for the study. A closure sheet attached

to the questionnaires suggested that participants approach the investigator for advice on

emotional counseling in response to painful memories that the questionnaire may have

aroused.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 5

Measures

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein & Fink, 1998), a 28-item

retrospective self-report questionnaire designed to assess five types of negative

childhood experiences. The Emotional Abuse subscale reflects the degree to which

respondents were verbally demeaned or felt humiliated (e.g., "People in my family

called me things like stupid, lazy, or ugly"). The Physical Abuse subscale reflects the

degree to which respondents were physically assaulted in ways that might result in

injury (e.g., "I was punished with a belt, a board, a cord, or some other hard object").

The Sexual Abuse subscale reflects respondents' experiences of coercive sexual contact

(e.g., "Someone tried to make me do sexual things or watch sexual things," "Someone

molested me"). The Emotional Neglect subscale reflects the degree to which

respondents' emotional needs were not met (e.g., "I felt loved" [reverse scored]). The

Physical Neglect subscale reflects the degree to which respondents' physical needs were

not met (e.g., "I didn't have enough to eat"). Each subscale is composed of five items.

Three additional items assess tendencies to minimize or deny abuse. Respondents rate

the truth of each item on a scale of 1 to 5, from "Never true" to "Very often true" when

they were growing up. Thus, scores range from 5 to 25 for each abuse type. The CTQ

has demonstrated reliability and validity, including test-retest reliability coefficients

ranging from .79 to .86 over an average of 4 months, internal consistency reliability

coefficients ranging from α=.66 to α=.92 across a range of samples (Bernstein & Fink,

1998), convergent validity with ratings of childhood maltreatment of both clinicians and

therapists, and a consistent five-factor structure (Bernstein & Fink, 1998; Bernstein et

al., 1997; Fink et al., 1995; Scher et al., 2001).

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 6

In the current study high internal reliability was found in all the sub-scales (emotional

abuse - α=.83; physical abuse - α=.80; sexual abuse - α=.81; emotional neglect - α=.88;

physical neglect - α=.82]. The correlations between emotional neglect and emotional

abuse was found to be high (r=.72; p<.001).

Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker et al., 1979), a 25 item self-report measure

designed to assess adults’ perceptions of their parents' bonding behavior during the first

16 years of life. Subjects were asked to complete the questionnaire twice, once with

reference to their mother, once to their father. Each item describes a type of parental

behavior, and subjects are asked to indicate the degree to which it applies to the parent

in question on a 4-piont Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (very much like my

mother/father) to 4 (very unlike my mother/father). The PBI consists of two subscales:

Care and Overprotection. The Care subscale contains 12 items that measure

“care/involvement versus indifference/rejection” (Parker et al., 1979, pp. 2-3). The

Overprotection subscale contains 13 items that measure “control/over-protection versus

encouragement of independence” (Parker et al., 1979, p. 3). Ideal parenting is

represented by a low score on 'Overprotection' and a high score on 'Care'.

The PBI has been used in many psychological and psychiatric studies and has been

found to possess a robust factor structure and a high test-retest reliability (Parker, 1990).

Furthermore, support for the construct and predictive validity of the PBI has been found

in clinical samples (Parker, 1989, 1993; Wilhelm & Parker, 1990; Zweig-Frank & Paris,

1991) and in previous studies among Israeli adults and adolescents (Bachar, Canetti,

Galilee-Weisstub et al., 1998). In the present study, the Care and Overprotection scales

had high internal consistency: Cronbach's alpha was .92 for maternal care, .94 for

paternal care, .85 for maternal overprotection, and .89 for paternal overprotection.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 7

Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE, Rosenberg, 1979), consisting of 10 items with

ranges from 1–4, with higher scores indicating higher self-esteem. The RSE has high

internal consistency (α- .88-.92), high test-retest validity (r = .85), and high levels of

validity when compared with other scales and with reports of interviewed raters (r=.67-

.56) (Corcoran & Fischer, 1987). The present study found high internal consistency - α

=.90.

Defense Style Questionnaire -(DSQ; Bond, 1986), a self-rating scale with 88 items,

rated on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree).

Statements represent the following defense mechanisms, clustered into four defense

styles ordered hierarchically according to their adaptiveness and ego maturity:

maladaptive, image-distorting, self sacrificing and adaptive. Maladaptive defenses

(regression, acting out, projection, withdrawal, and inhibition) consist of mechanisms

that interfere with the individual's ability to take constructive action on his/her own

behalf. Image-distorting defenses (omnipotence, splitting, and primitive idealization)

consist of mechanisms that interfere with interpersonal relationships by splitting images

of self and others into good and bad. These two scales reflect immature- primitive

defenses (Sammallahti, Komulainen & Aalberg, 2003; Vaillant, 1992) Self-sacrificing

defenses (reaction formation and pseudoaltruism) reflect a need to perceive oneself as

kind, helpful, and not angry. Adaptive defenses (suppression, sublimation, and humor)

reflect a constructive mastery of conflict.

The DSQ has good test-retest reliability and has been cross-validated by correlations

with other instruments measuring defenses (Ego Function Questionnaire; Bond et al.

1983; Defense Mechanism Rating Scales–DMRS; Bond, Perry, & Gautier, 1989;

Hersoug, Sexton & Hoglend, 2002). Studies have also reported on its ability to

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 8

discriminate among patients at different levels of functioning (Bond & Vaillant, 1986;

Bond, Perry, & Gautier, 1989).

In this study we clustered the defense styles according to their maturity level (Vaillant,

1992): immature-primitive, neurotic, and mature defenses. Internal consistency yielded

good reliability for the immature-primitive defenses (α=.83), moderate for the neurotic

defenses (α=.75), and low for the mature defenses (α=.54). Because the main goal of

the study was to examine the association between the use of immature-primitive

defenses and the impact in adulthood of childhood emotional abuse, we used only the

scale of these defenses, comprised of 34 items; a higher score indicates salient use of

immature defenses.

Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Spencer, 1982; Derogatis & Melisaratos,

1983), a screening instrument that measures psychiatric symptomatology and consists of

53 items that elicit perception of symptoms in the last month. BSI assesses

psychopathological symptomatology and measures the global severity index (GSI) as

well as nine subscales: somatization, obsessive-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity,

depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoia, ideation, and psychotism.

The scale is used to assess the mental health of several populations (Canetti, Shalev &

Kaplan De-Nour, 1994). All subscales range from 0–4, with higher scores indicating

more mental health problems. The current study found high internal reliability for the

General Severity Index (α= .96), and moderate internal reliability for the nine sub-

scales (α= .62–.84).

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 9

RESULTS

Prevalence of Childhood Emotional Abuse

31.2% of the participants reported never having experienced emotional abuse, 47.7%

reported single episodes, 14.6% reported that they experienced emotional abuse

occasionally, 5.5% reported frequent occurrences, and 1% reported that they

experienced parental emotional abuse very often. Among those who reported emotional

abuse in retrospect, 69.31% reported that it was accompanied by other experiences of

abuse (physical, sexual, or neglect) while 30.69% reported experiencing only emotional

abuse.

Descriptive Statistics

Table 1 presents the means and sd's of the research variables as measured by the CTQ,

PBI, DSQ, RSE and BSI questionnaires. As can be seen from the table the parental care

and control scores in our study exceeded those reported among adolescents from intake

families. The self esteem scores exceeded those reported by Gross and Keller (1992),

that stemmed from adults who underwent childhood emotional abuse. The reported

psychopathological symptomatology, the target variable, exceeded the rates of the

Israeli norm (GSI - M=1.86; sd=.60, compared to the norm .75, sd=.50; Canetti,

Shalev & Kaplan De-Nour, 1994) as well as the norm obtained from an American

sample by the instrument's developers (.83, sd=59; Derogatis & Spencer, 1982).

Insert Table 1 about here

Pearson’s correlations between the independent and dependent variables, presented in

Table 2, show that the more severe the experience of childhood emotional abuse the

higher the levels of immature defense mechanisms and psychopathological

symptomatology. Similarly, the lower the level of self-esteem; and the more controlling

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 10

and non-caring the parents the higher the levels of immature defense mechanisms and of

psychopathological symptomatology, and the lower the level of self-esteem.

Insert Table 2 about here

Examination of the research model

Our research model assumes that the experience of childhood emotional abuse and

parental attitudes (controlling and caring) have an indirect effect on psychopathological

symptomatology in adulthood, mediated by the immature organization of defense

mechanisms and low self esteem.

We used structural equation modeling by LISREL (8.0) to examine the research model.

The exogenous variables were emotional abuse and parental care and control; the

mediating variables were immature defense mechanisms and self-esteem; and the

dependent variable was psychopathological symptomatology.

As shown in Figure 1, the analysis yielded high adjusted goodness of fit .93 - χ2=19.50;

df=14; p=.15; RMR=.032 (RMR= Root Mean Square Residual). Figure 1 presents only

the arrows that represent significant (p<.05 and higher) results, therefore the “paternal

care” variable whose contribution was insignificant (r=.08; p=.09) is not shown.

The figure shows that emotional abuse contributed most in predicting the mediating

variables (immature defense mechanisms and self esteem), and a minor but still

significant contribution to maternal control, to maternal care and to paternal control.

Thirty percent of the variance of self-esteem was explained by emotional abuse, by

parental (both maternal and paternal) control and by maternal care, and 29% of the

variance of the immature defense mechanisms was explained by emotional abuse,

maternal care and maternal control. The β coefficient indicated that the level of

immature defenses increases with the reported amount of experiences of emotional

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 11

abuse and controlling parenthood, and in reverse ratio to the experience of caring

motherhood. Conversly, the less the reported amount of emotional abuse and controlling

parenthood and the more caring the mother, the higher the level of self esteem.

The target variable was psychopathology symptomatology. Its explained variance was

high, standing at 52%. Only immature defenses and self esteem showed a direct effect

on psychopathology symptomatology, with the contribution of immature defenses

higher than that of self esteem. According to the path model, childhood emotional

abuse, perceptions of maternal care and control and of paternal control had an indirect

effect on psychopathology and was mediated by immature defenses and self esteem.

Insert Figure 1 about here

DISCUSSION

The results of our study, especially those of the Structure Equation Modeling (SEM)

analysis, portray a trajectory from emotional abuse in childhood, harshly controlling

parents and non-caring bonding behaviors to psychopathological symptoms in

adulthood explained by the immature defense organization and damaged self-esteem.

Our findings are consistent with clinical descriptions of developmental and personality

damage caused by parental emotional abuse (e.g., McCarthy, 1990) as well as with

empirical research describing psychopathological consequences in adulthood, especially

low self esteem (Gross & Keller, 1992; Loos & Alexander, 1997; Rich, et al, 1997).

Emotionally abused victims may adopt a negative self-image (Frankel, 2002) and may

believe that they are not good enough to warrant the parent’s attention (Loos &

Alexander, 1997) through introjecting the injurious parents’ criticism and insults.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 12

High scores of parental care were significantly negatively correlated with parental

control (r=-.42). These findings might support those of Varia and Abidin (1996) that

identified a group of “minimizers” who minimized their parents' emotional abuse.

Burland (1994) and McCarthy (1990) suggested that in order to survive, the victims

deny and isolate themselves from the abusive relationships by splitting their parents'

images.

Studies show the predictive power of defenses for mental health; immature defenses

are linked to poor psychological adjustment and the presence of psychopathological

symptoms (Cramer & Block, 1998; Muris & Merckelbach, 1996; Watson, 2002).

Relying on immature defenses in adulthood may be an indication of psychological

difficulties at the age when these defenses were developmentally predominant (e.g.,

denial in early childhood). In an attempt to protect against excessive anxiety and

maintain self-esteem, the young child makes strong use of the defenses available at that

time. As a consequence of overuse, the defenses remain a prominent feature of the

individual's personality, continuing to function long past the developmentally

appropriate age (Cramer & Block, 1998). Massive and long-term overuse of these

immature defenses might be a risk factor in the development of personality disorders in

adulthood, particularly borderline personalities (Armelius & Granberg, 2000; Bond, et

al, 1994; Grilo & Masheb, 2002; Paris, 1997; Paris et al. 1996; Zweig-Frank & Paris,

1991; Zanarini et al., 1997). Bond, et al (1994), and Paris et al. (1996) support

Kernberg's (1976) view of immature defenses as one of the indicators of borderline

personality disorder by reporting that borderline personality disorder was linked with

more maladaptive and image distorting defenses (immature-primitive defenses) than

adaptive defenses.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 13

The Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis indicates that contrary to maternal

care, paternal care has a non-significant contribution to immature defenses and self-

esteem, suggesting that paternal care is less influential. This outcome may stem from

the fact that mothers are generally considered to be the more nurturing parent and

indeed often play more of a nurturing role than fathers (Varia & Abidin, 1999). These

results are consistent with those of Paris et al.(1996) who reported that only maternal

control was a risk factor in predicting immature defenses. Self esteem however, is

impacted by both parents. Thus controlling and domineering methods of parenthood by

either mothers or fathers can have a detrimental effect on the self-esteem. Similar results

were found by Loos and Alexander (1997), who reported that both maternal and

paternal verbal aggression and emotional neglect predict low self-esteem and loneliness

in adulthood.

Limitations

The study has several limitations that must be considered when interpreting the data.

The study was based on retrospective self-labeling of the subjects, as being emotionally

abused in childhood, without objective verification. The passage of time and distance

from childhood experiences may have blurred the reported abuse. Other personality

characterizations (like temperament), and present psychiatric diagnoses (like

depression) which may have contributed to the perceived childhood abuse were not

examined. Additionally, participants who have immature defense styles and certain

forms of psychopathology may have distorted memories of earlier experiences.

Moreover, participants who have maladaptive defense systems may engage in mutually

provocative interactions with parents, may perceive their childhood negatively and may

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 14

suffer from adult psychopathology. We should consider the possibility that some reports

of parental abuse were the product of other personality disturbances which distorted the

perceptions of parental behavior.

We included in the study subjects who reported exclusive emotional abuse (30.69%)

together with those who reported emotional abuse accompanied by other experiences of

abuse (69.31%) and we found statistically significant correlations between emotional

abuse and emotional neglect. These correlations may point to an adulteration of the

“pure” psychopathological impact of the experience of emotional abuse. Several

researches (e.g., Hamarman, & Bernet, 2000; Iwaniec, 1996) suggest that the difficulties

in segregating emotional abuse from other types of abuse, especially emotional neglect,

which Garbarino [1987) views as tangential to emotional abuse, is one reason for the

paucity of research into this type of abuse.

Yet another methodological limitation concerns the measurement of defense

mechanisms. Following Vaillant (1992), who grouped defense mechanisms according to

their degree of maturation, we confined our focus to immature defenses. By overlooking

the more mature mechanisms, we deprived ourselves of a comparison between the

immature and the more mature mechanisms and, implicitly, of a richer picture of the

participants’ use of defense mechanisms.

Conclusions

The contribution of this study is the empirical examination of widely held

psychodynamic notions that abusive methods of parenthood can have a detrimental

effect on the development of personality organization, particularly with regard to

defensive organization which manifests itself in psychopathology in adulthood.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 15

The distribution of the reported childhood emotional abuse resembles the "normal

curve". This is a distressing finding since emotional abuse is difficult to quantify and

investigate and therefore often remains underreported, leaving most of the victims

unprotected and untreated (Hamarman, & Bernet, 2000; Gracia, 1995).

The retrospective nature of our study leads to confined conclusions. A retrospective

study from childhood and adolescence into adulthood in warranted in order to

strengthen our findings. Further studies are needed to identify profiles of defenses

resulting from emotional abuse combined with physical or sexual abuse or neglect.

Longitudinal studies could clarify whether the effect of emotional abuse is more

detrimental at a young age or during adolescence when the major developmental task is

to consolidate a firm sense of identity.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 16

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Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 21

Table 1: Means and sd of the CTQ, PBI, DSQ, RSE and BSI questionnaires

M sd Other studies

Emotional abuse 15.1 6.9 10.61

Maternal care 34.4 5.9 30.12

Maternal control 18.20 5.2 10.52

Paternal care 31.5 7.5 27.72

Paternal control 16.8 5.7 8.22

Immature defense

mechanisms

3.22 .96 *

Self esteem 33.0 5.5 32.43

Psychopathological

symptomatology

(GSI)

1.86 .60 .754

.835

1Bernstein & Fink, 1998 (among college undergraduates). 2Canetti et al., 2000 (intact families) 3Gross & Keller, 1992 4Canetti et al., 1994 5Derogatis & Spencer, 1982 * The immature defense scale was derived from the DSQ items according to Vaillant’s (1992) categories of defenses by maturity levels.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Psychopathology in Adulthood 22

Table 2: Pearson’s correlations between the research variables

Emotional

abuse

Maternal

care

Maternal

control

Paternal

care

Paternal

control

Emotional abuse 1.000 -.60*** .29*** -.54*** .54***

Immature defense

mechanisms

.47*** -.40*** .32*** -.27*** .28***

Self esteem -.44*** .42*** -.34*** .30*** -.33***

Psychopathological

symptomatology

.48*** -.35*** .38*** -.30*** .40***

p<.001***

Figure 1: Path model for predicting psychopathological symptomatology

PsychopathologicalSymptomatology

Emotional abuse

Maternal control

Maternal care

Paternal control

R2=.52***Immature defensemechanisms

Self esteem

R2=.30***

R2=.29*

.39***

-.32***

.54***

-.27***

.14*

-.13*

-.16*

.20*

-.13*

-.52***

.30

-.57***

. 51***

.37*** -.42***

*p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.001

-.22**