Abuse or neglect in childhood in the original family is a relational trauma where parents or guardians are, for various reasons, unable or do not know how to adequately respond to a child's needs, which can result in a lasting or even lifelong negative impact on a person in different areas of his or her life. An inappropriate relationship with the parents lays down specific foundations of the child's intrapsychic world, part of which is the relation to his or her own body; in adulthood, these effects of trauma are often overlooked, or are treated only in a fragmentary way. In the doctoral thesis “Attitude towards the body in adults abused in the original family and its changes in Relational Family Therapy”, we wanted to study in more detail the attitude towards one's own body in adulthood in people with the experience of abuse or neglect in childhood in the original family, and achieve changes within Relational Family Therapy that would allow the them to efficiently cope with their burden. The introductory, theoretical part of the dissertation presents specific forms of abuse and neglect in childhood, their connection with numerous problems in different areas in adulthood, and the multidimensional construct of attitude towards one's body. Then it addresses all major aspects that constitute attitude towards one's body affected by abuse or neglect in the original family, namely the physical, perceptual, emotional, cognitive and behavioural aspect, as well as the more common manifestations of dysfunctional and negative attitude toward one's own body in adults with the experience of childhood abuse or neglect. The final part of the theoretical introduction briefly presents Relational Family Therapy in theory and practice.
The second part of the thesis is empirical. In the first, quantitative part, involving 350 participants, we were interested in whether there were links between antipathy and neglect and negative attitudes toward one's own body in adulthood, and whether there were differences in one's attitudes toward one's own body between the physically or sexually abused in the primary family and those who were not. We compared five aspects of individuals’ relation to their own bodies (Appearance Orientation, Appearance Evaluation, Body Areas Satisfaction, Overweight Preoccupation, and Self-Classified Weight). The analysis of the results revealed the following: in all aspects except in Self-Classified Weight, antipathy is statistically significantly associated with a negative attitude towards one's body in adulthood; childhood neglect is statistically significantly associated with a negative attitude towards one's body in adulthood only in Appearance Evaluation and Body Areas Satisfaction; between those who experienced physical abuse in childhood and those who did not experience it, there are statistically significant differences in all aspects of their relationship with their own body except Appearance Orientation; between those who experienced sexual abuse and those who did not experience it, there are statistically significant differences in all aspects of their relationship with their own bodies in adulthood. In all these cases, there is a trend, mostly small to moderate, that confirms this. The second, largely qualitative part of the survey involved seven participants who experienced various forms of abuse or neglect in the original family. We observed links between attitudes toward one's own body in adulthood and abuse or neglect in the original family, and monitored changes in their attitudes toward one's own body during adulthood in Relational Family Therapy. Data were collected during 27 therapy sessions. Based on all participants' reports, we have found that body-related thinking, emotions and behaviours serve as a means of regulating unprocessed traumatic memories and that a negative attitude toward one's own body is often an affective psychic construct. The majority of participants reported that they were experiencing positive changes in individual segments of attitudes toward their own bodies (cognitive, emotional, behavioural and physical), which was also reflected in their self-assessment, the fulfilment of physical needs, and giving up harmful practices. After the therapy, the majority of them were more aware of their body messages than they had been before, they better understood them and interpreted and reacted to them more appropriately. The majority of participants no longer dealt with their distress to such extent as prior to therapy by abusing and neglecting their own bodies, which was most evident in discontinuing excessive workload, setting boundaries with others, respecting their own boundaries, and giving up food addiction.
In the interpretation of the results, limitations should also be taken into account, notably methodological problems, unrepresentative sample, and the subjectivity aspect in reporting the changes. However, the research does make an important contribution to a deeper understanding of the connection between childhood abuse and neglect and attitudes on one hand, and changes in one's own body in adults with childhood abuse or neglect experiences that may occur in Relational Family Therapy.
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