Intergenerational Transmission Of Maltreatment Research Articles

Maternal childhood maltreatment trauma resolution: Development of a novel narrative coding measure and implications for intergenerational parenting processes.

Child maltreatment constitutes a significant environmental risk for children, with carryover effects into future generations. There is a need to characterize protective factors that may buffer against the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. The current study addresses this gap through two primary aims: 1) the development and validation of a novel measure assessing resolution of maternal childhood maltreatment trauma using narrative coding methods and 2) the evaluation of maternal maltreatment trauma resolution as a buffering factor that may moderate associations between maternal neglect histories and sensitive parenting of offspring. Results of reliability analyses from this sample of 210 diverse, low-income mothers suggest the novel childhood maltreatment trauma resolution measure is highly reliable. Furthermore, results highlight the generalizability, criterion validity, and concurrent and predictive validity of the measure. Results from cross-sectional analyses show that trauma resolution moderates associations between maternal physical neglect histories and sensitive parenting, such that under high maternal trauma resolution, there is no longer a negative association between neglect histories and sensitive parenting. Results from longitudinal analyses also show a protective effect of maternal trauma resolution, such that trauma resolution has a protective-enhancing effect on maternal sensitivity. Implications for research and clinical practice with families are discussed.

Relations Among Mothers’ Childhood Neglect, Maternal Cortisol Hypoactivity, and Child Maltreatment in the Next Generation

There is substantial evidence that childhood maltreatment can be intergenerational, yet mechanisms responsible for this transmission are just beginning to be understood. Related evidence suggests that childhood maltreatment may lead to long-term dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and that maternal HPA activity is associated with caregiving quality and child abuse potential. This study sought to extend prior research by testing the relations among mothers’ severity of abuse and neglect in their own childhoods, maternal HPA axis functioning assessed by mothers’ hair cortisol concentration (HCC), and mothers’ involvement with child protective services for any offspring. Fifty-one women completed a measure of childhood maltreatment and provided a hair sample for cortisol extraction during pregnancy. During pregnancy and at four months postpartum, participants provided data on their involvement with State Protective Services (SPS) at any time as a parent due to concerns about the welfare of any of their children. Two mediation models were evaluated to test whether maternal HCC mediated the association of severity of mothers’ childhood abuse (model 1) and mothers’ childhood neglect (model 2) with their family SPS involvement as a parent. Results indicated that lower maternal HCC mediated the association between mothers’ childhood neglect and SPS involvement as a parent. The indirect effect of childhood abuse severity did not reach significance. Findings extend prior work by highlighting mothers’ HPA hypoactivity as a mechanism in the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment.

Challenging the Sensitive Window Hypothesis: Timing Effects of Maternal Depressive Symptoms on the Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment and Psychopathology in the Next Generation

Objective: The current study explored the role of maternal depressive symptoms in the intergenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment and developmental psychopathology. Based on the sensitive window hypothesis, the effects of earlier versus later maternal depression symptoms on child development were analysed. Method: Ninety-nine mother-child dyads, 65% of which had high-risk teenage mothers, participated in a longitudinal study with three assessments in the first 18 months of the child’s life (T1–T3) and a 4th reassessment (T4) at the child’s preschool age. Using serial mediation analyses, we tested whether the relationship between the mother’s own maltreatment history (Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire) and the child’s psychopathological outcome at preschool age was mediated in a causal effect chain by maternal depression in the first 2 years of life, by current maternal depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II) and by current maternal child abuse potential (Child Abuse Potential Inventory). The children’s emotional problems and externalizing symptoms were assessed at preschool age by parent or teacher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ratings. Results: The results indicated that especially later maternal depression mediated the relationship between maternal childhood maltreatment and negative developmental outcomes in the next generation. The effects of maltreatment type on maternal depression were rather nonspecific. However, mental abuse affected existing risk factors more directly over time compared to physical and sexual abuse. Additionally, the impact of early life maltreatment and maternal depression on child psychopathology varied by rater. The pathway to externalizing symptoms was significant only in teacher ratings and for the pathway to emotional problems only in maternal ratings. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that early maternal depression followed by ongoing maternal depression plays a mediating role in the intergenerational cycle of maltreatment. Therefore, in the future, interventions should be offered at an early stage, but also extend well beyond the first 2 years of a child’s life, addressing maternal depression and trauma.

Victim-to-Victim Intergenerational Cycles of Child Maltreatment: A Systematic Scoping Review of Theoretical Frameworks

Objectives: Child maltreatment is a serious problem worldwide associated with numerous developmental and psychological problems that can impede children’s short and long-term functioning. The negative effects of maltreatment may put children on a trajectory where they are likely to experience later abuse and even abuse their own children. While studies have focused primarily on the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment (victim-to-perpetrator cycles), there are studies, albeit fewer, documenting cycles of intergenerational continuity of maltreatment (victim-to-victim cycles; e.g., child sexual abuse). Clear theoretical frameworks are lacking from studies on intergenerational maltreatment. This review aimed to systematically identify theories, theoretical or conceptual frameworks that have been used to explain the victim-to-victim cycles of maltreatment.Methods: Searches were executed in PsychINFO, Medline, and Scopus. Fifteen papers were included in this review.Results: The most common theories used to explain the intergenerational continuity of maltreatment victimization were attachment theory and traumatic stress models. Other identified theories include those from social, developmental, and biological domains. Notably, there were only five papers on the intergenerational continuity of child sexual abuse, highlighting a lack of focus on the theoretical explanations of this issue. Based on the findings, a unified model of victim-to-victim cycles of maltreatment is proposed to guide future studies.Implications: Future research in this area could include testing and comparing theoretical explanations and advancing the current state of the literature by using qualitative and mixed methods.

Intergenerational Transmission of Violence Among Substance-Abusing Chinese Parents: Roles of Detachment and Social Support.

Despite a large population of registered people with drug addiction, child protection in substance-abusing families is a neglected issue in China. The present study aims to investigate the association between parents' childhood abuse history and the risk of abusing their own children in substance-abusing Chinese families and also to examine the mediating role of detachment and moderating role of social support during the intergenerational transmission of abuse. A total of 173 men and 116 women were selected using cluster sampling from two compulsory drug rehabilitation centers in Jiangsu Province. Results indicated that one's childhood abuse history was positively associated with the current perpetration of child abuse for both fathers and mothers. Detachment mediated the linkage between a history of childhood maltreatment and perpetration of child abuse in all types of abuse for both men and women except for women's sexual abuse. Social support from family members buffered the intergenerational transmission of child abuse for fathers but not for mothers. Child maltreatment in substance-abusing families is an urgent issue that needs measures to prevent the intergenerational transmission of violence in China. Intervention programs could involve helping parents cope with their childhood abuse history through rebuilding secure attachment and facilitating social support for their parenting practices, especially for fathers.

Retracted: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Psychological Distress, and Fathering Behaviors

AbstractObjectiveThis study examines the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), internalized and externalized psychological distress, and six measures of parenting behavior among fathers in the United States.BackgroundPrior research on ACEs and parenting has focused almost exclusively on mothers, specific types of childhood adversity, and the intergenerational transmission of abuse, neglect, and other traumatic experiences. This study extends the literature by considering ACEs in fathers, using a multidimensional measure of ACEs, and multiple measures of positive and negative fathering behavior.MethodUsing the ecological model of father involvement, this study is based on a national sample of more than 2,000 fathers with children between 2 and 18 years old in the United States. Seemingly unrelated regression models were used to analyze the relationship between ACEs and each fathering behavior, with two measures of psychological distress included as mediators of this relationship.ResultsACEs are significantly associated with both internalized and externalized psychological distress. Experiencing multiple ACEs was negatively associated with paternal warmth, engagement, caregiving, and father–child relationship quality. Multiple ACEs were also positively associated with the use of harsh discipline. High ACE scores were mediated by internalized distress for five fathering behaviors and by externalized distress for warmth and harsh discipline.ConclusionThis study highlights the importance of ACEs and psychological distress for fathering. These results have implications for future research and public health approaches to childhood trauma.

The Past Victim, the Future Abuser.

Childhood trauma exerts a significant effect on psychological life of people. It is a ubiquitous phenomenon. We face a social epidemic with serious consequences that shatter the life of survivors. Victimization in early years of life entraps the individuals in the victim-rescuer-abuser triangle. Many perpetrators and criminals have had history of childhood abuse. The main objective of this study was the assessment of patients with a history of child abuse who behaved in abusive manner in adulthood. By reviewing the files of 3694 patients referred to my outpatient private clinic, I tried to gather data to answer the questions related to this study including history of abuse, victimization, substance abuse, and the percent of patients who were involved in abusive behaviors in adulthood. In total, 1075 patients reported a history of some abuse during childhood (29.10%). Of them, 19.44% (total = 209, 78 men and 131 women) behaved as an abuser for most of their life. The prevalence of substance abuse in people with history of abuse was 36.6% compared to 28.36% in those without. The prevalence of acting as an abuser and perpetrator in adult life was 27.5%, 19.5%, 18.4% and 11.11% among the divorced, married, single and widowed respectively. This preliminary study showed that a significant number of patients with history of childhood abuse involved in abusive behavior and victimization of others in adulthood. Paying attention to this issue by mental health practitioners and policy makers can prevent the intergenerational transmission of abuse and development of a more peaceful society.

Pass it on? The neural responses to rejection in the context of a family study on maltreatment.

Rejection by parents is an important aspect of child maltreatment. Altered neural responses to social rejection have been observed in maltreated individuals. The current study is the first to examine the impact of experienced and perpetrated abuse and neglect on neural responses to social exclusion by strangers versus family using a multigenerational family design, including 144 participants. The role of neural reactivity to social exclusion in the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment was also examined. Exclusion by strangers was especially associated with increased activation in the left insula, while exclusion by a family member was mainly associated with increased activation in the ACC. Neural reactivity to social exclusion by strangers in the insula, ACC and dmPFC, was associated with experienced maltreatment but not with perpetrated maltreatment. In abusive parents, altered neural reactivity during exclusion was found in other brain areas, indicating different neural correlates of experienced and perpetrated maltreatment. Hence, no mechanisms could be identified that are involved in the transmission of maltreatment. Hypersensitivity to social rejection by strangers in neglected individuals underscores the importance to distinguish between effects of abuse and neglect and suggests that the impact of experiencing rejection and maltreatment by your own parents extends beyond the family context.

Long-Term Impact of Childhood Abuse and Neglect on Crime and Violence

This article begins with a description of the current state of knowledge on the “cycle of violence,” broadly defined. Subsequent sections focus on the impact of childhood neglect on criminal consequences, potential gender differences in criminal consequences, the extent to which sexual abuse leads to sexual offending, and the extent to which child abuse and neglect lead to intimate partner violence and the intergenerational transmission of abuse and neglect. There is a brief discussion of protective factors, and the article concludes with recommendations for future research and implications for practice.

Intergenerational transmission of maltreatment: A multilevel examination.

Despite the commonly held belief that there is a high degree of intergenerational continuity in maltreatment, studies to date suggest a mixed pattern of findings. One reason for the variance in findings may be related to the measurement approach used, which includes a range of self-report and official indicators of maltreatment and both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. This study attempted to shed light on the phenomenon of intergenerational continuity of maltreatment by examining multiple indicators of perpetration of maltreatment in young adults and multiple risk factors across different levels within an individual's social ecology. The sample included 166 women who had been placed in out-of-home care as adolescents (>85% had a substantiated maltreatment incident) and followed into young adulthood, and included three waves of adolescent data and six waves of young adult data collected across 10 years. The participants were originally recruited during adolescence as part of a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of the Treatment Foster Care Oregon intervention. Analyses revealed weak to modest associations among the three indicators of perpetration of maltreatment in young adulthood, that is, official child welfare records, self-reported child welfare system involvement, and self-reported maltreatment (r = .03-.51). Further, different patterns of prediction emerged as a function of the measurement approach. Adolescent delinquency was a significant predictor of subsequent self-reported child welfare contact, and young adult partner risk was a significant predictor of perpetration of maltreatment as indexed by both official child welfare records and self-reported child welfare contact. In addition, women who were originally assigned to the intervention condition reported perpetrating less maltreatment during young adulthood. Implications for measurement and interventions related to reducing the risk for intergenerational transmission of risk are discussed.

Second Generation Mothers in the Child Welfare System: Factors that Predict Engagement

Research with families involved with the child welfare system across generations has largely focused on the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. However, their feelings about being involved with child welfare as parents are largely unknown. The current study compares risk factors among first and second generation child welfare-involved mothers across a U.S. state. A random sample of mothers (n = 336) with children younger than age five in the child welfare system were interviewed. Forty-two percent of mothers reported their own childhood history of child welfare involvement. Findings showed that second generation mothers have less education, more depression and anxiety, and higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Second generation mothers rated four dimensions of engagement in child welfare services lower than first generation mothers. This decreased engagement was predicted by their mental health problems, IPV, and whether they spent time in foster care as a child. Implications for practice are discussed.

Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships Break the Intergenerational Cycle of Abuse: A Prospective Nationally Representative Cohort of Children in the United Kingdom

To identify contextual and interpersonal factors that distinguish families in which the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment is maintained from families in which the cycle is broken. The sample was composed of 1,116 families in the United Kingdom who participated in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. We assessed mother's childhood history of maltreatment retrospectively with a validated and reliable interview. Prospective reports of children's physical maltreatment were collected repeatedly up to 12 years. We compared families in which mothers but not children had experienced maltreatment with families in which both mothers and children had experienced maltreatment, and with families without maltreatment, on a range of contextual and interpersonal factors known to affect child development. In multivariate analyses, supportive and trusting relationships with intimate partners, high levels of maternal warmth toward children, and low levels of partner violence between adults distinguished families in which mothers but not children experienced maltreatment from families in which mothers and children experienced maltreatment. Families in which only mothers experienced maltreatment were largely similar to families in which neither generation experienced maltreatment, except that mothers belonging to the former group were more likely to have a lifetime history of depression and low levels of social support. Safe, stable, nurturing relationships between intimate partners and between mothers and children are associated with breaking the cycle of abuse in families. Additional research is needed to determine whether these factors have a causal role in preventing the transmission of maltreatment from one generation to the next.

Intergenerational transmission of abuse: Implications for parenting interventions from a neuropsychological perspective.

Neuroimaging provides robust evidence to demonstrate the functional and structural deficits in childhood and adult survivors of child maltreatment. These deficits mirror the neurocircuitry involved in parenting. Despite this, research into the mechanisms behind the intergenerational transmission of abuse fails to acknowledge the contribution of brain development on future parenting ability. A discussion of the cognitive, social, and emotional deficits of child and adult survivors of childhood maltreatment is presented. This is followed by a critical overview of how current parenting interventions fail to take into account the neuropsychological mechanisms behind the intergenerational transmission of abuse. A conceptual model of the neuropsychological transmission of childhood maltreatment is presented. This model will allow child welfare practitioners to gain a greater understanding of the specific deficits of individuals who have experienced childhood maltreatment and how parenting interventions may be enhanced for this population. This represents one step forward in breaking the cycle of the intergenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment.

Intergenerational transmission of maltreatment and psychopathology: the role of antenatal depression

Maternal experience of childhood maltreatment and maternal antenatal depression are both associated with offspring childhood maltreatment and offspring adjustment problems. We have investigated the relative impact of maternal childhood maltreatment and exposure to depression in utero on offspring maltreatment and psychopathology. The sample included 125 families from the South London Child Development Study. A prospective longitudinal design was used. Data on maternal childhood maltreatment, maternal antenatal depression (36 weeks of pregnancy), offspring childhood maltreatment (age 11 years) and offspring adolescent antisocial behaviour and depression (ages 11 and 16 years) were obtained from parents and offspring through clinical interview. Mothers who experienced childhood maltreatment were significantly more likely to be depressed during pregnancy [odds ratio (OR) 10.00]. Offspring of mothers who experienced only childhood maltreatment or only antenatal depression were no more at risk of being maltreated or having psychopathology; however, offspring of mothers who experienced both maternal childhood maltreatment and antenatal depression were exposed to significantly greater levels of childhood maltreatment and exhibited significantly higher levels of adolescent antisocial behaviour compared with offspring not so exposed. Furthermore, maternal childhood maltreatment accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in offspring childhood maltreatment in only those offspring exposed to depression in utero. Maternal childhood maltreatment and maternal antenatal depression are highly associated. The co-occurrence of both insults significantly increases the risk of offspring adversity. The antenatal period is an optimum period to identify vulnerable women and to provide interventions.

Personality Disorders in a Sample of Parents Accused of Physical Abuse or Neglect

The objective of this study was to provide a psychological profile of parents who have been formally accused of child maltreatment. A clinical group of 16 parents accused of physical abuse and 22 parents accused of neglect were compared with 18 parents from a control group. The MCMI-III was administered individually for each parent. Both groups of maltreatment showed significant differences on different scales of the MCMI-III. No difference was seen between the parents of both groups of child maltreatment. Many parents of both child maltreatment groups reported at least one form of abuse during their childhood, suggesting that a childhood marked by abuse or neglect on the part of a parent could result in personality disorders and that these disorders may have something to do with the intergenerational transmission of abuse.

Child maltreatment in China: An ecological review of the literature

This article presents findings of a systematic review of empirical studies on child maltreatment in China that were published in either English or Chinese. The review uses Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory as a lens to examine risk and protective factors of child maltreatment within micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and chrono- system levels. A search of 5 electronic bibliographic databases and websites identified 24 outcome studies on child maltreatment in China, which included studies that examined physical/emotional/sexual abuse, and neglect. The most direct influences of child maltreatment in the micro-level system include the parent–child relationship and intergenerational transmission of abuse. At the macro-system level, maltreatment is explained by cultural values such as filial piety and familism. In essence, different factors are found within the various system levels that indicate the complexities of the factors that influence child maltreatment. Throughout the article, we highlight the need to understand the cultural dynamics, values, and mores of Chinese families. The discussion includes practical suggestions and implications for intervention with children, parents, and grandparents that school teachers, social workers, policy makers, and researchers can utilize.

Child maltreatment in South Korea: An ecological systems analysis

This article reviews risk factors associated with child maltreatment in South Korea within the context of the ecological system theory. Although child maltreatment is a serious concern in South Korea, understanding of this phenomenon is limited because most of the empirical studies address individual characteristics and few consider broader ecological contexts. This review integrates empirical findings on the risk and protective factors associated with child maltreatment in South Korea within the context of micro- (parent–child relationship, intergenerational transmission of abuse, and domestic violence), meso- (interactions between child–teacher and child–parent), exo- (mothers' employment and parents' socio-economic status), macro- (drinking culture and corporal punishment), and chrono-system (Asian economic crisis) levels.

Intergenerational transmission of abuse: a two-generational prospective study of an at-risk sample

Objective: A model was examined in which the association between a parent’s history of abuse and the parent’s own abusive behavior toward his or her children was hypothesized to be mediated by parental psychopathology, early childbearing, and consistency of discipline. Additionally, the effect of severity of abuse on the likelihood of becoming abusive was examined. Method: Participants were 109 parents (G1) and their male children (G2) who were involved in a longitudinal study. The G1 parents reported on their own experiences of abuse when they were children. Ten years later, the G2 youths reported on the G1 parents’ abusive behavior toward them. A number of other factors, including parental socioeconomic status (SES), antisocial behavior, depression and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), consistency of discipline, and the perceived early difficulty of the G2 children were measured. Results: As reported by their own children, parents who reported having been abused in childhood were significantly more likely to engage in abusive behaviors toward the next generation. Findings indicated that abuse experienced by the parents, as well as consistency of discipline and depression plus PTSD, were predictive of parental abuse of the child. Contrary to hypotheses, the effects were not fully mediated. However, there were significant interactions between parental history of abuse and consistency of discipline, as well as abuse history and depression and PTSD. Parents who had experienced multiple acts of abuse and at least one physical impact were more likely to become abusive than were the other parents. Conclusions: The implications of these findings for preventive interventions are discussed.

Born to abuse? Negotiating identity within an interpretative repertoire of impairment.

The focus here is on the constraints and possibilities afforded by the mediation of experience though semi-deterministic notions of the intergenerational transmission of abuse (the 'cycle of abuse' theory). A discourse analytic approach is adopted to accounts in which mothers identify themselves as having been abused in childhood. This identification is seen as inviting negative assumptions and inferences, among them the assumption that childhood abuse is associated with later abusive behaviour. The identity work occasioned by this, and the interpretative repertoires which ground participants' constructions of the general mechanisms through which abuse may be transmitted, are examined. The analysis explores some of the consequences of adopting particular explanatory frameworks for the credentialling of a fully autonomous adult identity. It is suggested that paying attention to this kind of identity work can increase our understanding of the constitutive power of discursive frameworks and the limits of individual resistance within them.

The impact of maternal history and behavior upon foster placement and adjustment in sexually abused girls

This study investigated the impact of the nonoffending mother's childhood history and current functioning upon the psychological status and placement decisions for 68 sexually abused girls. Maternal history of abuse and/or poor childhood attachment relationships were significantly related to current maternal substance abuse. Maternal substance abuse and dissatisfaction with social support were significantly associated with lack of maternal support to the child and more abuse incidents, which in turn were related to more sexual abuse-related symptomatology and placement in foster care. The findings are congruent with studies indicating that intergenerational transmission of abuse is not inevitable, and suggest that maternal substance abuse and social isolation are important mediating variables between maternal history of sexual abuse and response to the abused child. The findings suggest that interventions targeted to the nonoffending mothers may be important in reducing child dysfunction and placement in foster care in the aftermath of sexual abuse.