The development of dissociation in maltreated preschool-aged children

Dissociation reflects disruptions in the integration of memories, perceptio n, and identity into a coherent sense of self, and may develop following ch ildhood maltreatment. The preschool years were identified as an important p eriod for the development of dissociation. However, prior research has not examined the development of dissociation during this time. In order to addr ess this gap, evidence of dissociation in 45 maltreated children, assessed for sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect, was compared with dissociati on in 33 nonmaltreated children. Rather than depend on adult observer repor ts of behavior, the study sought to gain an understanding of dissociation f rom the child's own point of view. Because self-reports have limitations wi th such young children, a measure of dissociation evidenced in children's n arrative story-stem completions was utilized. Maltreated children, especial ly physically abused children and sexually abused children, demonstrated mo re dissociation than did nonmaltreated children. Moreover, during the presc hool period maltreated and nonmaltreated children followed different trajec tories such that dissociation increased for maltreated children but did not do so for nonmaltreated children. Findings suggest that although the self is normatively integrated during the preschool period, it becomes increasin gly fragmented for some maltreated children. Results are discussed in terms of cascading effects of maltreatment throughout development, and the impor tance of developmentally sensitive interventions.