Child Maltreatment and Psychological Disorders The Moderating and Mediating Roles of Attachment

Introduction 1.1. Overview of Chapters The current study explores the mediating and moderating influence of attachment dimensions on the development of obsessive-compulsive and somatic symptoms in adults survivors of childhood maltreatment. This first chapter introduces the essential factors which this study aims to research. It also showcases the prevalence of child maltreatment in India, where a comprehensive review from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, India, published in 2007, has revealed the data. Chapter 1 consists of an introduction to the present study, description of child maltreatment and attachment, established associations between the two, description of somatic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and their associations with child maltreatment. Chapter two focuses on the literature in the field of child maltreatment and psychological outcomes. It begins by presenting the various outcomes of child maltreatment, including the adverse psychological consequences, then continues by discussing the development of attachment, going through the factors associated with it. It showcases the pathways to develop insecure or secure attachment. It continues to explore the consequences of child maltreatment on the development of attachment and the impact each type of abuse has. Literature regarding researched variables such as depression, dissociation, borderline personality disorder, and the quality of adult relationships has also been discussed. Lastly, the chapter concludes by offering a rationale for the study and research objectives followed by the current study's research hypothesis. Chapter three describes the research methodology and discusses the research design employed, the sample collected, measures used, the procedure, and the ethical consideration. Chapter four looks at the preliminary statistical analyses conducted and the results of the various statistical analyses performed on the data - descriptive,