Caregiver unresolved loss and abuse and child behavior problems: Intergenerational effects in a high-risk sample

Abstract

This study examines the intergenerational effects of caregivers' unresolved loss and abuse on children's behavior problems from middle childhood to early adolescence in an economically disadvantaged sample. One hundred twenty-four caregivers completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and a lifetime trauma interview during the age 13 wave of the study. Child behavior problems were assessed at four time points (ages 6, 8, 10, and 13) with teacher-reported Child Behavior Checklist total problem scales. The children of insecure caregivers with unresolved loss showed a consistent pattern of increased behavior problems from middle childhood to early adolescence. Caregivers' AAI status accounted for more variance in child behavior problems than did an alternative model of caregiver psychopathology (depression and dissociation). The results extend the literature on the effects of caregiver unresolved states of mind beyond infancy to older children and adolescents.