Abstract
The aim of this paper is to present preliminary results of a study analyzing the effects of physical abuse onthe quality of attachment representations in children. In order to assess the attachment representation theAttachment Story Completion Task was used with de A.S.C.T. Q-sort coding system. The physical abuse wascoded using the Modified Maltreatment Classification System. The results show that physical abuse has anegative effect on the quality of attachment representation. The children who were victims of physical abusehave a higher preference for the use of hyperactivation and disorganization attachment strategies than nonabused children. The results are discussed in relation to attachment theory and empirical evidence on this issue.
