Trauma and maternal representations of the child in mothers with low reflective function in South Africa
Date
2017
Authors
Meyer, Kerry
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Abstract
Primary objective: The primary objective of this study was to explore trauma and maternal representations of the child in a select group of South African mothers with low reflective functioning. The qualitative approach selected endeavoured to obtain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of these phenomena. Research design: A psychoanalytic, multiple case study approach was adopted in order to perform an in-depth inquiry, facilitating an awareness of unconscious processes and the use of inferences. Theoretical framework: The study adopted an integrative approach, incorporating both psychoanalytic and attachment theory Methods and procedures: Four participants were selected from a previous, South African study (Bain, Dawson, Esterhuizen, Frost, & Pinninski, 2016) in which reflective function was measured. Mothers scoring low in reflective function were approached and asked to voluntarily participate in this study. The data was analysed using the combined methods of thematic and narrative analysis (Cartwright, 2004; Braun & Clarke, 2006; 2013), with particular attention paid to the mothers’ histories of trauma and their maternal representations of their children. Main outcomes and results: This research identified the nature of the trauma in mothers with low reflective function in South Africa; namely loss and abandonment of primary caregivers, physical and sexual abuse, HIV / AIDS and deprivation. It revealed that these mothers showed patterns of idealising and devaluing their children and perceived their children as comforters and saviours at times, and as persecutors at other times. In times of heightened emotions in interactions with their children, the mothers showed lapses in their ability to reflect as the unbearable feelings elicited were reminiscent of her own traumatic experiences. In these moments the mothers’ representations of their children became more profoundly distorted and they reported hitting their children and showing contradictory behaviours towards them. Most significantly this study highlighted that the Western psychoanalytic concepts of reflective function and maternal representations appear to have relevance in the South African context. The study also identified that further research is required to explore how the gender of the child, when intersected with trauma, affects maternal representations.
Description
A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA Clinical Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 10 March 2017