Resolved or unresolved, that is the question: a case-study approach to discourse about abuse, trauma and maltreatment among mothers with mild intellectual disabilty.

Abstract

Mary Main played a key role for this study, in which we used an idiographic approach to examine discourse about abuse, trauma, and maltreatment (ATM) among eight mothers with a mild intellectual disability (ID), whose children had been assigned a secure (the "B-group") or disorganized (the "D-group") attachment classification. Thematic analysis yielded six ATM discourse themes: openness; coherence; presence of trauma in consciousness; support; agency in response to crisis; and self-concept and caregiving self-efficacy. Mothers in the B-group provided coherent narratives, were open with the interviewer, had memories of seeking and receiving support, and reflected freely and autonomously on their experiences. Contrastingly, the mothers in the D-group expressed a guarded, closed-off stance towards ATM, difficulties seeking support, helplessness in response to crisis, and poor self-concept and -efficacy. Their adverse experiences were nonetheless highly present in consciousness, albeit in unintegrated forms. Our findings suggest that the D-group mothers may be unresolved with respect to loss/abuse.