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Moral reasoning about violence and conflict among young mothers who were maltreated as children
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand how the interaction between maltreatment and attachment patterns in childhood affects moral reasoning about violence and conflict in adulthood. The ways in which attachment patterns are internalized under conditions of stress and adversity, and the ways in which these attachment patterns influence and shape moral thought and action were investigated. Ten young mothers were given the Attachment and Abuse Interview and the Moral Reasoning about Violence Interview. These interviews were supplemented with questionnaires about childhood abuse and current child abuse potential. Using an attachment coding scheme designed for this study, the cases were organized according to the primary attachment category: anxious, avoidant, fearful/mixed anxious and avoidant, fearful/anxious, and fearful/avoidant. In each case study, attachment strategies and dilemmas were related to moral dilemmas and moral orientation. The moral orientations of care and justice were significantly related to attachment styles. Neither moral orientation nor attachment style appeared related to current potential for child abuse. The major themes discussed in the Attachment and Abuse Interview centered around identification with the attachment figures as victim and/or aggressor, the lack of maternal protection from abuse, and a preoccupation with maternal rejection. Themes from the Moral Reasoning About Violence interview translated these attachment dilemmas into the moral domain. The women articulated how their identification with the victim motivated moral concern, how their identification with the aggressor either compelled them to repeat abusive behavior despite their wish not to do so, or, in several cases, how an identification with the aggressor was turned to moral good through learning a responsible use of power. The ways in which severe abuse can paralyze moral thought and action, and the role of maternal practice in breaking through this paralysis and aiding in the development of the self as moral agent were explored.
Subject Area
Clinical psychology|Personality psychology|School counseling
Recommended Citation
Black, Marcia Gail, "Moral reasoning about violence and conflict among young mothers who were maltreated as children" (1993). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9329572.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9329572