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Biomedical subjects

C Feiring

Publications and source records attributed to C Feiring.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Stigmatization and the development of friendship and romantic relationships in adolescent victims of sexual abuse.

This study examines same- and other-sex friendship networks and perceptions of peer competence as functions of stigmatization, defined as shame and a self-blame attributional style. Fifty-six sexually abused adolescents were seen at the time of abuse discovery and 1 year later. Higher self-blame attributional style for the abuse was related to more satisfaction with other-sex friends and less satisfaction with same-sex friends. More shame was related to less satisfaction with same-sex friends and to having a larger number of other-sex friends. Higher self-blame attributional style was related to perceptions of poorer peer acceptance and close friendship and to perceptions of poorer romantic appeal. More shame was related to lower perceptions of peer acceptance and close friendship. The results support the idea that abuse victims who experience higher levels of shame and self-blame attributional style feel less capable of forming satisfying relationships with peers, friends, and potential romantic partners.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Age and gender differences in children's and adolescents' adaptation to sexual abuse.

OBJECTIVE: How children manifest psychological distress following the discovery of sexual abuse requires a better understanding of individual differences in developmental capacities and vulnerabilities. This study examined how age at the time of the abuse discovery and gender of victim are related to psychological distress. METHOD: One hundred and sixty-nine participants (96 children, 73 adolescents) were interviewed within 8 weeks of discovery of the abuse. Multivariate analyses were used to examine how age at discovery, and gender, with abuse characteristics as covariates, were related to shame, attribution style, depression, self-esteem, and traumatic events sequelae. RESULTS: Adolescents compared to children report a higher level of depressive symptoms, negative reactions by others, and lower levels of self-esteem, social support, and sexual anxiety. Girls compared to boys report higher levels of intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, sexual anxiety, personal vulnerability, and perceiving the world as a dangerous place and lower levels of eroticism. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the importance of considering individual differences in age and gender for understanding patterns of symptom expression. Treatment strategies need to reflect these individual differences in adjustment, such as targeting issues of sexual anxiety for girls and self-esteem for adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

A process model for understanding adaptation to sexual abuse: the role of shame in defining stigmatization.

While sexual abuse in childhood places the individual at-risk for a variety of problems, research indicates wide variation in victims' adjustment. Limited work is available that attempts to systematically explain processes by which children adjust to the trauma. Few studies have been undertaken to examine any theory about what causes children to be symptomatic. This article presents a theoretical and testable model that specifies psychological processes related to the traumagenic dynamics of stigmatization in child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse. The model proposes that sexual abuse leads to shame through the mediation of cognitive attributions about the abuse and shame, in turn, leads to poor adjustment. Three factors, social support, gender, and developmental period are hypothesized to moderate the proposed stigmatization process. Developmental and clinical research supporting the model is reviewed, specific hypotheses are made, and the relevance of developmental psychopathology for future theory and research is discussed. Unless future research elucidates the process and circumstances whereby the experience of sexual abuse leads to poor adjustment, little progress will be made toward developing more effective treatments.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1984

Predicting psychopathology in six-year-olds from early social relations.

113 children were seen at 1 and 6 years of age in order to examine the relationship between the quality of the early attachment relationship and later psychopathology. On the basis of scores from the Achenbach and Edelbrock Child Behavior Profile, an outcome measure of psychopathology at 6 years, the results indicated different outcomes for male and female children. For males, attachment classification at 1 year was significantly related to later psychopathology; insecurely attached males showed more psychopathology than securely attached males. No relationship between attachment and later psychopathology was observed for females. Even for males, the attachment classification only partly predicted later behavioral problems. Several other factors, including life-stress events and family demographic variables, appeared to influence the development of psychopathology. The findings suggest that although the child's attachment relationship plays an important role in the development of psychopathology, the child is neither made invulnerable by an early secure attachment nor doomed to psychopathology by an insecure attachment.

Child↗
PubMed1983

Birth of a sibling: effect on mother-first born child interaction.

This study examined the effects of the birth of a sibling on the first born child-mother interaction. First born children-mother dyads were observed in a playroom setting at 12 and 24 months. At 12 months all first born children had no siblings born, while at 24 months a group of children had acquired a sibling. In general, the findings suggested that first born children who acquire a sibling before they are 2 years old show more dependency behavior to mother and are more upset during a free play session than their counterparts of first born children who have not acquired a sibling. Mothers of first borns with a sibling show a tendency to increase their attention to the first born, but exhibit less playful kinds of interaction. These results from a laboratory setting are consistent with the home observations made by others, and suggest that the mother-first born child interaction may temporarily become less playful and more strained after a sibling is born.

Birth Intervals↗
PubMed1979

Sex and age differences in young children's reactions to frustration: a further look at the Goldberg and Lewis subjects.

This study reports 1-year follow-up data on the children originally observed by Goldberg and Lewis in a barrier frustration situation. Changes in reactions to frustration over a 2-year time span were examined for age and sex differences. Regardless of sex, over the first 2 years of life, barrier frustration was responded to with a decrease in stress and an increase in problem-solving behavior. The data suggest that sex differences in success at coping with the frustration may change with age and may be dependent on what behaviors are considered to be more instrumental in solving the frustration. Sex differences related to behavior in the barrier frustration were highly age specific. As previously reported in Goldberg and Lewis, at 1 year of age boys cried less and made more active attempts to get around the barrier than girls. However, at 2 years of age, girls vocalized more for help from the mother and made more attempts at problem solving than boys.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Attachment over time.

Continuity in attachment classification from infancy to late adolescence was examined and related to autobiographical memories of childhood, divorce, and maladjustment. Eighty-four White middle-class children (48 girls) were seen in a modified Strange Situation at 12 months and given the Adult Attachment Interview at 18 years. In addition, data were collected on 13-year-olds' childhood recollections as well as adolescent, mother, and teacher ratings of maladjustment at 13 and 18 years of age. Divorce status of parents also was obtained. Results indicated no continuity in attachment classification from 1 to 18 years of age and no relation between infant attachment status and adolescent maladjustment. Divorce was related to 13-year-olds' childhood recollections as well as to insecure attachment status at 18 years. Eighteen-year-olds with insecure attachment classification were more likely to rate themselves as maladjusted. The results support the idea of attachment as an evolving representation dependent upon the nature of the family environment as indexed by divorce.

Adolescent↗