OBJECTIVE: This qualitative, case-based study drew on attachment and ethological theories to explore the role of mistrust, a severe attachment attitude, in the development and causation of abusive parenting behavior in mothers with severe, recurrent @entity308 . METHOD: The study analyzed a priori codes from redacted comprehensive assessments of eight @entity1 with @entity308 and @entity1 protective services involvement to explore how mistrust was expressed; its links to extreme defenses and reported childhood experiences; and its consequences for relationships and help seeking. Analyses also identified specific stimuli that elicited abusive parenting behaviors and explored the context of @entity308 in relation to @entity1 's attachment and caregiving histories and mental health care follow-through. RESULTS: Linked to suppressed feelings of vulnerability, mistrust was expressed in suspicions about support and in feelings of abandonment and betrayal. It was associated with an absence of support, family violence, role reversal, and parental @entity1032 . Mistrust affected mothers' ability to maintain supportive relationships and to get help for their @entity308 , which was a persistent part of their lives. A @entity1 's cries, lack of support, partner abuse, and threats of abandonment triggered abusive parenting behavior, likely by tapping into core @entity158 related to unacknowledged longings for support. Unprepared to deal with these feelings, mothers became frustrated and redirected or displaced their anger onto their @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: Mistrust may play a role in the dynamics of abusive parenting in mothers with severe, recurrent @entity308 . Early identification and preventive intervention efforts that address this attitude could be beneficial for parenting.

Dysregulation of the Caregiving System in the Context of Maternal XXXX : The Role of Mistrust in the Development and Causation of Abusive Parenting Behavior.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'children', 'child'] @entity1032 :: ('MESH:D008607', 'Disease') :: ['mental illness'] @entity308 :: ('MESH:D003866', 'Disease') :: ['depression'] @entity158 :: ('MESH:D010146', 'Disease') :: ['attachment pains']
@entity308 :: (MESH:D003866,Disease) :: ['Depression']
