Internal Working Models as Predictors of Social Information Processing in Maltreated Children.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether children’s internal working models predict their social information processing with their peers. Specifically, the study examined if the self representations, parent representations, and attachment themes of maltreated children predicted their attributions of intent or response generation. Participants were a sample of 65 maltreated children who were in preschool, kindergarten, or first grade at the time of the assessment. The MacArthur Story Stem Battery was used to assess children’s internal working models and the Home Interview with Children was used to assess social information processing. A number of significant correlations were found between children’s representations of themselves, their parents and their expressed attachment themes. Findings also indicated that only children’s positive self representations predicted their response generation, in that children who represented themselves positively had fewer aggressive responses. However, negative self representations, parent representations and attachment themes did not significantly predict attributions of intent or response generation.