Effects of Childhood Maltreatment and Benevolent Experiences on Pregnant Peoples' Mental Representations about Future Children

• In Event: Positive Childhood Experiences as Resilience Mechanisms Against Adverse Childhood Experiences for Adult and Intergenerational Health

Abstract

The internal working models or representations that caregivers form about their own children begin to form in pregnancy (Mebert, 1989; Zeanah et al., 1986) and have been linked to subsequent caregiving behavior (Guyon-Harris et al., 2021). If representations are not only a risk factor for insensitive caregiving, but play a causal role in such behaviors, it is essential to examine what influences the development of these representations. One possible influence in the development of working models of the child is a birthing parent’s own childhood experiences (e.g., both positive and negative) with the adults that cared for them. Caregivers may draw on both positive and negative experiences from their own childhood as they are thinking about and preparing for caring for their own future child (Bailey et al., 2009; Belsky et al., 2009). Thus, we hypothesized that participants’ reports of childhood maltreatment would be associated with less positive representations of their children, assessed during pregnancy via the Working Model of the Child Interview (i.e., indifference, disappointment, and concern that the child’s is “difficult”), but that benevolent childhood experiences would mitigate the negative effects.

In a sample of 140 pregnant people (Mage = 30.67 years, SD = 5.12 years), assessed in mid-pregnancy (Mweeks gestation = 23.36, SD = 5.73), we found that greater severity of childhood maltreatment was associated with more disappointment (β = .21, p =.03, 95% CI [.02, .40]) and greater concerns that the child will be difficult (β = .42, p < .001, 95% CI [.23, .60]). A main effect was also found in the association between benevolent childhood experiences on (less) indifference toward the child (β = -.24, p =.04, 95% CI [-.47, -.02]).

These results suggest that experiences of child maltreatment may place pregnant people at a risk of negative perceptions of their own child, particularly feelings of disappointment and concerns about the child being difficult. Parents with unrealistic expectations about their children’s abilities and behaviors may be more likely to engage in maltreatment themselves (Azar et al., 2008; Edward McMillin et al., 2016), which highlights these negative beliefs a potential route for intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. While we did not find that benevolent experiences mitigated the negative effects of experiences with maltreatment on pregnant peoples’ perceptions of their unborn child, more positive childhood experiences were related to less indifference toward the child, which may be reflecting an early bond from the part of the pregnant person. Emotional bonds during pregnancy have been implicated as important for the development of attachment and other important facets of child development (Johnson, 2013). Taken together, these results suggest that both maltreatment history and benevolent childhood experiences are potentially relevant for parental working models of their unborn children that may influence the caregiver–child relationship over time.

Authors

• Lauren Bailes, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• Kathryn L. Humphreys, Vanderbilt University