Journal article

Social Functioning in Individuals Affected by Childhood Maltreatment: Establishing a Research Agenda to Inform Interventions

PSPE

  • Pfaltz, Monique C. Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund. Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Halligan, Sarah L. ORCID Department of Psychology, University of Bath, UK. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Haim-Nachum, Shilat School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
  • Sopp, Marie R. School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Saarland University, Germany
  • Åhs, Fredrik Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund
  • Bachem, Rahel Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Bartoli, Eleonora Faculty of Psychology, Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany
  • Belete, Habte Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia
  • Belete, Tilahun Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia
  • Berzengi, Azi University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
  • Dukes, Daniel ORCID Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Department of Special Education, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Essadek, Aziz Interpsy EA4432, University of Lorraine, France
  • Iqbal, Naved Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia islamia, New Delhi, India
  • Jobson, Laura School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, ACT, Australia
  • Langevin, Rachel Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Levy-Gigi, Einat School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
  • Lüönd, Antonia M. ORCID Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Martin-Soelch, Chantal ORCID Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Michael, Tanja Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Saarland University, Germany
  • Oe, Misari Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Kurume University, Japan
  • Olff, Miranda Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience and Public Health, The Netherlands. ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands
  • Ceylan, Deniz Department of Psychiatry, Koç University School of Medicine, Turkey
  • Raghavan, Vijaya Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai, India
  • Ramakrishnan, Muniarajan Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund
  • Sar, Vedat ORCID Department of Psychiatry, Koç University School of Medicine, Turkey
  • Spies, Georgina Department of Psychiatry ; DSI/NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative in PTSD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University. South African Medical Research Council/Stellenbosch University Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town
  • Wadji, Dany Laure Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Department of Psychology, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon
  • Wamser-Nanney, Rachel Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri St. Louis, USA
  • Fares-Otero, Natalia E. ORCID Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Biomedical Research Networking Centre for Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), August Pi I Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), Spain. Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg (MSH), Germany
  • Schnyder, Ulrich Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Seedat, Soraya Department of Psychiatry ; DSI/NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative in PTSD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University. South African Medical Research Council/Stellenbosch University Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town
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  • 2022
Published in:
  • Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. - S. Karger AG. - 2022, vol. 91, no. 4, p. 238-251
English Childhood maltreatment (CM) is linked to impairments in various domains of social functioning. Here, we argue that it is critical to identify factors that underlie impaired social functioning as well as processes that mediate the beneficial health effects of positive relationships in individuals exposed to CM. Key research recommendations are presented, focusing on: (1) identifying attachment-related alterations in specific inter- and intrapersonal processes (e.g., regulation of closeness and distance) that underlie problems in broader domains of social functioning (e.g., lack of perceived social support) in individuals affected by CM; (2) identifying internal (e.g., current emotional state) and external situational factors (e.g., cultural factors, presence of close others) that modulate alterations in specific social processes; and (3) identifying mechanisms that explain the positive health effects of intact social functioning. Methodological recommendations include: (1) assessing social processes through interactive and (close to) real-life assessments inside and outside the laboratory; (2) adopting an interdisciplinary, lifespan perspective to assess social processes, using multi-method assessments; (3) establishing global research collaborations to account for cultural influences on social processes and enable replications across laboratories and countries. The proposed line of research will contribute to globally develop and refine interventions that prevent CM and further positive relationships, which – likely through buffering the effects of chronic stress and corresponding allostatic load – foster resilience and improve mental and physical health, thereby reducing personal suffering and the societal and economic costs of CM and its consequences. Interventions targeting euthymia and psychological well-being are promising therapeutic concepts in this context.
Faculty
Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines
Department
Département de Psychologie
Language
  • English
License
CC BY-NC
Open access status
hybrid
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/336382
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