An Assessment of the Brothers` ACE Score and ACE that Might Indicate Future-Offending Behaviour
ACE, also known as Adverse Childhood Experiences denotes to the stressful situations that young children encounter as they grow. The child can be either directly hurt through abuse or indirectly regarding the environment, which they are situated (Baglivio et al. 2015, p. 234). Regarding the case study, the two brothers J1 and J2 encountered Adverse Childhood Experiences. J1 and J2 are part of the seven brothers that face suffering while in the care of their parents. They face physical abuse from their father, a violent alcoholic who beats his children with golf clubs in the name of instilling discipline. Besides, the two brothers do not receive care and love from their mother who receives assault from the husband and is both dependent on drugs and depressed. As such, the ACE of J1 and J2 is likely to be high.
The ACE score for the two brothers ranges at eight, which is an extremely high score. The ACE score is evidenced by the shocking, excessive and deep-rooted lousy behaviour that the two boys adopt from home. First, at home, the children experience physical abuse and neglect. The parents exposed the children to drugs and violence while at home. J1 and J2 are described as boys that have neither regard for themselves nor other people. After the two brothers were put in a child protection plan, they went ahead to assault other children causing grievous body harm thus depicting high levels of unmanaged stress (Anda et al. 2010, p. 96). Such toxic stress among youngsters interferes with their brain development causing them to act unremorseful in whatever they do.
Survey on ACE shows that children who are exposed to an environment with domestic violence have high chances of trauma. The neglect and abandonment of both J1 and J2 can be viewed as the reason as to why the children are violent to the society since they were deprived attachment in the course of their development. Besides, exposure to drugs interfered with their development and personality leading them to commit heinous acts. Normally, when a child is exposed to stressful issues during their growth, they react by seeking survival mechanisms such as engagement in crime (Shonkoff 2010, p. 361).
The two boys are likely to experience ACE in the future. They are not close to their parents, which is a form of maternal deprivation. It is not possible that the two brothers will stop criminal activities in the future since the boys` caregivers did not nurture their children with positive values at home such as respect. Considering that the boys engaged in crime even after they were put under a foster family and a child protection plan, it is unlikely that they will stop committing a crime in the future (Nakazawa 2015, p. 102). Moreover, after the assault they committed on V1 and V2 the boys are likely to be detained although the sentence may not solve their behaviour in the future. They lack an intrinsic and enduring emotional bond with other people across space and time and most likely, the problem may run through their teenage life (Harris 2018, p. 49).
References
Anda, R. F., Butchart, A., Felitti, V. J., " Brown, D. W. (2010). Building a framework for global surveillance of the public health implications of adverse childhood experiences. American journal of preventive medicine, 39(1), 93-98.
Baglivio, M.T., Wolff, K.T., Piquero, A.R., and Epps, N., 2015. The relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and juvenile offending trajectories in a juvenile offender sample. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(3), pp.229-241.
Harris, N.B., 2018. The deepest well: healing the long-term effects of childhood adversity. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Nakazawa, D.J., 2015. Childhood disrupted: How your biography becomes your biology, and how you can heal. Simon and Schuster.
Shonkoff, J. P. (2010). Building a new biodevelopmental framework to guide the future of early childhood policy. Child development, 81(1), 357-367.
How Lack of Secure Base Experiences Impact Emotion Regulation Regarding the Subjects of the Case Study
Bowlby in his research regarding the attachment theory concluded that children have a universal need to seek for proximity to their parents or caretakers when threatened by issues that cause stress and emotional turmoil. Children will often be close to their caregivers for survival benefits. Therefore, a secure base is significant to the emotional regulation of a youngster. The quality of association between a youngster and the caregiver is essential to the juvenile`s mental health, development of self, and ability to relate with other people appropriately (Howe 2011, p. 14).
Secure base experiences refer to the feelings of attachment and connection that a child needs with attachment figures such as caregivers and to whom they can turn to as a haven of safety, especially when stressed. In reference to the subjects of the case study of J1 and J2, it is evident that the two brothers lack secure base experiences considering that their childhood is characterised by a poor relationship between their father and mother. The two brothers received little affection from their parents. As such, they have no one to run to when faced by emotional challenges (Harvey et al. 2015, p. 74).
Lack of secure base experiences has led to the brother being unable to control their emotions. They engage in high profile crime that is intolerable in the society. J1 and J2 did not receive the necessary attention from their parents hence they still have separation distress. The poor proximity maintained between the brothers and their parents does not provide ample time for emotional development. Similarly, the actions of the father training his children how to fight and the mother calming the children with cannabis disorient the boys on proper and amicable approaches of controlling their emotions when stressed (Riggs 2010, p.14). Their continuation with crime even after being placed under foster parents and child protection unit symbolizes inability to control themselves. The weak relationship with their parents makes it difficult for them to overcome the fear of separation thus unsecure base experiences.
Individuals may encounter psychological and mental stress if they are ill-treated in their childhood, a stage where parents should nurture emotional control strategies in their children. In the case of a poor parent-child relationship, the child suffers anxiety, anger, and hatred when faced with unpredictable issues in the course of their lives (Loman and Gunnar 2010, p. 871). Unsecured base experiences are characterised by lack of security, care, and love during childhood. The lack of secure base experiences causes negative thoughts leading to a feeling of helplessness and trauma (Jones et al. 2015, p. 52). High-risk samples of crime are as a result of inadequacy in the much-needed love. Children become depressed and do not know how to relate to members of the public due to the low attachment rate with their parents during childhood.
References
Harvey, J., Rogers, A. and Law, H. eds., 2015. Young people in forensic mental health settings: Psychological thinking and practice. Springer.
Howe, D., 2011. Attachment across the lifecourse: A brief introduction. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Jones, J. D., Cassidy, J., " Shaver, P. R. (2015). Parents' self-reported attachment styles: A review of links with parenting behaviors, emotions, and cognition. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(1), 44-76.
Loman, M.M. and Gunnar, M.R., 2010. Early experience and the development of stress reactivity and regulation in children. Neuroscience " Biobehavioral Reviews, 34(6), pp.867-876.
Riggs, S.A., 2010. Childhood emotional abuse and the attachment system across the life cycle: What theory and research tell us. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment " Trauma, 19(1), pp.5-51.
The Likely Developments of the Inner Working Model in relation to the Subjects of the Case Study
The inner working model is a framework that is used to measures the biological and mental growth of a child`s development in which a child gains an understanding of the world, self, and other individuals. The attachment connection between a child and the immediate caregiver results in the development of the internal working model. Concerning the two brothers in the case study, there is poor development of the inner working model since the interaction between the boys and the primary caretaker is poor (Repovš and Baddeley 2006, p. 13). J1 and J2 are young boys that are engaging in crime at a tender age as a result of the situations at home and life experiences. Their bad behaviour can be associated with their previous experiences in the home environment.
J1 and J2 are mentally disturbed due to growth in a distractive environment. The children witnessed their father beat their mother during their development, a situation that leaves no room for personality development. J1 and J2`s attitude and beliefs towards the world and others have been affected by the poor attention their parents offer. As time goes by, the brothers have developed unstable relationships with other people due to disoriented primary care. According to the tenets of the internal working model, the development of the model allows children to plan for appropriate responses (Delius et al. 2008, p. 401). However, in the case of J1 and J2, they are unable to associate with other people appropriately leading them to engage in assault. The children`s behaviour depicts poor insights into their internal working model thus unsatisfying relationships with the public. Considering that J1 and J2`s father beats them indiscriminately makes the children have the wrong impression about their life.
J1 and J2 are also likely to develop low self-esteem. The father has abused the two brothers through beating them, exposing them to domestic violence, and teaching them to fight as a defensive mechanism. Children that have been abused by their care providers tend to feel a sense of unworthiness (Baddeley et al. 2017, p. 103). As such, they may think that they are not worthy of accessing care. Such an attitude affects how the children anticipate future connections with peers and older adults in society. J1 and J2 demonstrate poor relationship after they assaulted two young victims V1 and V2. The criminal behaviour demonstrates their inability to cope with interpersonal relationships with other people (Zeanah et al. 2014, p. 151).
The responsiveness of the children is also likely to be barred by the parents' behaviours that are often copied by the children when due care is not provided by the carers. Child J1 and J2 mother is a drug addict. As such, the two brothers are likely to get mental representations that lead to uncouth social behaviour. The children`s conduct is guided by the internal working model. The two boys are unloved and rejected. The rejection is likely to make the boys angry and confused as demonstrated by their future resistance (Marrone 2018, p. 71). J1 and J2`s misconduct only after three weeks of being placed under a child protection program shows resistance that the children have adopted from the weak interaction with their parents.
References
Baddeley, A.D., 2017. The concept of working memory: A view of its current state and probable future development. In Exploring Working Memory (pp. 99-106). Routledge.
Delius, A., Bovenschen, I. and Spangler, G., 2008. The inner working model as a “theory of attachment”: Development during the preschool years. Attachment " human development, 10(4), pp.395-414.
Marrone, M., 2018. Attachment theory and group analysis. In Applications of Group Analysis for the Twenty-First Century(pp. 67-86). Routledge.
Repovš, G. and Baddeley, A., 2006. The multi-component model of working memory: Explorations in experimental cognitive psychology. Neuroscience, 139(1), pp.5-21.
Zeanah, C.H., Stevens, M. and LARRIEU, J.A., 2014. The working model of the child interview. In The Routledge Handbook of Attachment: Assessment (pp. 147-157). Routledge.
An Explanation of the Attachment Style Classification in relation to the Subjects of the Case Study
The attachment style has a considerable impact on the life that people lead. The attachment styles are dependent on several behavioural systems, which include the responsiveness of caretakers to their children, the coping mechanism that the children develop, and physical and emotional availability of the carers. Besides, parents that are sensitive to unwarranted behaviour determine the attachment style that a child adopts (Schimmenti and Bifulco 2015, p. 46). Mostly, people are born with an inherent attachment system, but they also need attachment relationships to realize their attachment needs. Four relationship styles determine the quality of relationship that carers have with their children. Ainsworth, through her research realized the secure, insecure avoidant, insecure ambivalent, and the disorganized styles (Thomas and Bifulco 2012, p. 109).
In the case study, the secure attachment style has not been taken into account. There is no confidence that the carers of J1 and J2 are meeting the needs of their children. The secure attachment style is evident where individuals have positive feelings about themselves and others, thus demonstrating low anxiety in relating to other people. The parents of the two brothers are unresponsive, unavailable and unhelpful towards shaping their lives (Jones et al. 2015, p. 47). The secure attachment is usually protective, and children that are more bonded to their parents are more likely to be law abiding as compared to those with weaker relationships with their caregivers.
Child J1 and J2 exhibit the anxious-avoidant style. The two children`s parents are unhelpful. Their unresponsiveness to their children has resulted in high anxiety and high avoidance of the children. The two siblings are uncomfortable in making social relationships as evident from the criminal activities they engage. The boys’ avoidant character developed right from their childhood when they would hide in the garden to avoid hearing their mother being beaten by their father. Besides, they have negative thoughts about themselves and negative attitude towards the people they associate (Sentino et al. 2018, p. 15).
The insecurity ambivalent style is evident in the case study. The neighbours of child J1 and J2 discovered that the children came out rather cold and unremorseful. Such character denotes avoidant behaviour. Although the two boys were dependent on their mother for protection and calmness after being beaten by their father, they still showed resisted from their mother. Hence, J1 and J2 demonstrate an inconsistent response to their demands from their mother. The decision of J1 and J2`s mother to have the boys taken away for a protection program after the father left demonstrates their resistance to getting attached to their mother. The insecurity ambivalent style explains that children who have adopted the style are difficult to handle and their interaction with the primary caregivers does not comfort them (Gentzler et al. 2015, p.382).
However, the disorganized attachment style is the most prevalent type of attachment in the case study. The parents of child J1 and J2 have no strategy for parenting. The mother is too much depressed and involved in drug abuse that she has no time to advise her children. J1 and J2 express uncontrolled anger and violence. Besides, the boys and their mother have no established and coherent system to deal with separation after the mother abandoned to be taken care of by foster parents (Thomas and Bifulco 2012, p. 114).
References
Gentzler, A.L., Ramsey, M.A. and Black, K.R., 2015. Mothers’ attachment styles and their children’s self-reported security, as related to maternal socialization of children’s positive affect regulation. Attachment " human development, 17(4), pp.376-398.
Jones, J.D., Cassidy, J. and Shaver, P.R., 2015. Parents’ self-reported attachment styles: A review of links with parenting behaviors, emotions, and cognitions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(1), pp.44-76.
Schimmenti, A. and Bifulco, A., 2015. Linking lack of care in childhood to anxiety disorders in emerging adulthood: the role of attachment styles. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 20(1), pp.41-48.
Sentino, P., Thompson, P.L., Patterson, D. and Freeman, D., 2018. A review of literature: An examination of the correlation between attachment styles and adolescent girls’ sexual behaviors. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, pp.1-18.
Thomas, G. and Bifulco, A., 2012. Understanding adult attachment in family relationships: Research, assessment, and intervention. Routledge.
Experiences within the Secure Accommodation Likely To Bring About Post-Traumatic Growth for the Two Perpetrators Who Double As Victims
Children that are exposed to sexual abuse, violence at home, and assault experience trauma due to such happenings. Research has it that trauma among kids can lead to attachment insecurity. Trauma and attachment insecurity is associated with prevalence in criminal conduct. However, interventions of post-traumatic growth can help to avert the childhood trauma for the benefit of the vulnerable persons. Post-traumatic growth entails a positive psychological transition aimed at helping a person who has experienced traumatic events to rise to high levels of proper functioning. Therefore, the placements of victims or perpetrators in secure accommodation can help the individuals to recover and become better people in society that can establish and maintain robust relationships (Weiss and Berger 2010, p.138). As such, the two victims of child abuse turned perpetrators in the case study can get out of secure accommodations with unique experiences to guide them in leading better lives.
The primary goal of secure accommodation is to reduce the likelihood of perpetrators of crime from committing offences once more upon release. As such, exposure of child J1 and J2 can lead to post-traumatic growth. Secure accommodations are sources of love and affection. The children can experience love from the staff and specialist through involvement in constructive activities such as art. Such an environment offers an offender the chance to realize their inner self, and the different capabilities at their disposal (Safir and Wallach 2014, p. 71). Love and affection experiences can boost the interpersonal relationships of the two brothers so that they can stop avoiding and even hurting their peers.
The two brothers can receive care and attention that their parents had deprived them. Insecure accommodations, the children cannot be exposed to sadistic and violent films. Besides, they cannot be beaten ruthlessly, and they receive individualized attention. Such attention and love experiences can improve the attachment security of the two boys leading to a change in attachment style from the disorganized style to the secure attachment style (Snyder and Lopez 2009, p. 96). The two brothers can be in a better position to handle distressing issues thus making them less anxious about their encounters.
The two boys can receive education within a secure accommodation. J1 and J2 have the opportunity to advance their educational goals to be conversant with multiple disciplines that stand to benefit them in the future. The secure accommodation is not only a residential unit for preventing the perpetrators from harming themselves and others but also an educational facility that the brothers can use to build on their skills and expertise (Kenny 2018, p. 69).
A secure accommodation also provides the experience of a new environment. A new surrounding is beneficial as it is an opportunity for transition through reflection and creating of life goals. Certainly, J1 and J2 are likely to fight the consequences of stress, trauma, and depression due to the changed environment. The new environment limits the two brothers towards engaging in crime due to the restrictions put in place (Calhoun and Tedeschi 2014, p. 21).
References
Calhoun, L.G. and Tedeschi, R.G., 2014. The foundations of posttraumatic growth: An expanded framework. In Handbook of posttraumatic growth (pp. 17-37). Routledge.
Kenny, D.T., 2018. Children, Sexuality, and Child Sexual Abuse. Routledge.
Safir, M.P. and Wallach, H.S. eds., 2014. Future Directions in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Springer.
Snyder, C.R. and Lopez, S.J. eds., 2009. Oxford handbook of positive psychology. Oxford library of psychology.
Weiss, T. and Berger, R., 2010. Posttraumatic growth and culturally competent practice: Lessons learned from around the globe. John Wiley " Sons.
References
Anda, R. F., Butchart, A., Felitti, V. J., " Brown, D. W. (2010). Building a framework for global surveillance of the public health implications of adverse childhood experiences. American journal of preventive medicine, 39(1), 93-98.
Baddeley, A.D., 2017. The concept of working memory: A view of its current state and probable future development. In Exploring Working Memory (pp. 99-106). Routledge.
Baglivio, M.T., Wolff, K.T., Piquero, A.R. and Epps, N., 2015. The relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and juvenile offending trajectories in a juvenile offender sample. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(3), pp.229-241.
Calhoun, L.G. and Tedeschi, R.G., 2014. The foundations of posttraumatic growth: An expanded framework. In Handbook of posttraumatic growth (pp. 17-37). Routledge.
Delius, A., Bovenschen, I. and Spangler, G., 2008. The inner working model as a “theory of attachment”: Development during the preschool years. Attachment " human development, 10(4), pp.395-414.
Gentzler, A.L., Ramsey, M.A. and Black, K.R., 2015. Mothers’ attachment styles and their children’s self-reported security, as related to maternal socialization of children’s positive affect regulation. Attachment " human development, 17(4), pp.376-398.
Harris, N.B., 2018. The deepest well: healing the long-term effects of childhood adversity. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Harvey, J., Rogers, A. and Law, H. eds., 2015. Young people in forensic mental health settings: Psychological thinking and practice. Springer.
Howe, D., 2011. Attachment across the lifecourse: A brief introduction. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Jones, J. D., Cassidy, J., " Shaver, P. R. (2015). Parents’ self-reported attachment styles: A review of links with parenting behaviors, emotions, and cognitions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(1), 44-76.
Jones, J.D., Cassidy, J. and Shaver, P.R., 2015. Parents’ self-reported attachment styles: A review of links with parenting behaviors, emotions, and cognitions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(1), pp.44-76.
Kenny, D.T., 2018. Children, Sexuality, and Child Sexual Abuse. Routledge.
Loman, M.M. and Gunnar, M.R., 2010. Early experience and the development of stress reactivity and regulation in children. Neuroscience " Biobehavioral Reviews, 34(6), pp.867-876.
Marrone, M., 2018. Attachment theory and group analysis. In Applications of Group Analysis for the Twenty-First Century(pp. 67-86). Routledge.
Nakazawa, D.J., 2015. Childhood disrupted: How your biography becomes your biology, and how you can heal. Simon and Schuster.
Repovš, G. and Baddeley, A., 2006. The multi-component model of working memory: Explorations in experimental cognitive psychology. Neuroscience, 139(1), pp.5-21.
Riggs, S.A., 2010. Childhood emotional abuse and the attachment system across the life cycle: What theory and research tell us. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment " Trauma, 19(1), pp.5-51.
Safir, M.P. and Wallach, H.S. eds., 2014. Future Directions in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Springer.
Schimmenti, A. and Bifulco, A., 2015. Linking lack of care in childhood to anxiety disorders in emerging adulthood: the role of attachment styles. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 20(1), pp.41-48.
Sentino, P., Thompson, P.L., Patterson, D. and Freeman, D., 2018. A review of literature: An examination of the correlation between attachment styles and adolescent girls’ sexual behaviors. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, pp.1-18.
Shonkoff, J. P. (2010). Building a new biodevelopmental framework to guide the future of early childhood policy. Child development, 81(1), 357-367.
Snyder, C.R. and Lopez, S.J. eds., 2009. Oxford handbook of positive psychology. Oxford library of psychology.
Thomas, G. and Bifulco, A., 2012. Understanding adult attachment in family relationships: Research, assessment and intervention. Routledge.
Weiss, T. and Berger, R., 2010. Posttraumatic growth and culturally competent practice: Lessons learned from around the globe. John Wiley " Sons.
Zeanah, C.H., Stevens, M. and LARRIEU, J.A., 2014. The working model of the child interview. In The Routledge Handbook of Attachment: Assessment (pp. 147-157). Routledge.
