Poster #69 - Intergenerational (Dis)Continuity of Maltreatment: Associations with Quality of Mother-Child Interactions and Child Psychosocial Adaptation

• In Event: Poster Session 18

Abstract

Recent meta-analyses have shown that parents’ history of childhood maltreatment is associated with a higher risk of the offspring being maltreated, therefore demonstrating intergenerational continuity of maltreatment (Assink et al., 2018; Madigan et al., 2019; van IJzendoorn et al., 2020). However, these meta-analyses also indicate the presence of substantial intergenerational discontinuity. In addition, past research has shown that parents’ childhood maltreatment experiences are associated with poorer relationship quality with their child (Greene et al., 2020; Savage et al., 2019) and also with the presence of emotional and behavioral problems in their child (Cooke et al., 2021; Su et al., 2020). Nevertheless, at present, it is unclear how intergenerational (dis)continuity of maltreatment relates to the quality of parent-child interactions and child socioemotional development. Hence, this study examined whether mother-child interactions and child psychosocial adaptation varied across the following intergenerational maltreatment patterns: cycle maintainers, cycle breakers, cycle initiators, and a comparison group without any maltreatment.

Participants were 192 mother-child dyads (children aged 4 to 6 years) from low-income families: 73 of these children were maltreated (according to Child Protection Agencies) and 142 mothers reported having been maltreated in childhood (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; Bernstein et al., 1998). Quality of mother-child interactions was evaluated during a snack-time period (Moss et al., 1998, 2004), and child psychosocial adaptation was assessed by the child’s preschool teacher (Preschool Socio-Affective Profile; Lafreniere et al., 1992).

To examine mother-child interactive quality and child psychosocial adaptation as a function of intergenerational maltreatment (dis)continuity, we conducted ANCOVAS with planned contrasts comparing: 1) cycle maintainers vs. cycle breakers; 2) cycle breakers vs. the no maltreatment group; and 3) cycle initiators vs. the no maltreatment group. Relevant sociodemographic variables (maternal education and child sex) were included as covariates. Results are presented in Table 1. Significant differences emerged between cycle maintainers and cycle breakers: cycle maintainers had lower quality of mother-child interactions than cycle breakers. In addition, offspring of cycle maintainers had more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and lower social competence scores than offspring of cycle breakers. Significant differences were also evident between cycle initiators and the no maltreatment group: cycle initiators’ mother-child interactive quality was lower than that of the no maltreatment group. Children of cycle initiators also displayed more externalizing and internalizing problems and were scored lower by their teachers on social competence than children of mothers in the no maltreatment group. The last series of contrasts revealed no significant difference between cycle breakers and the no maltreatment group on the quality of mother-child interactions and child psychosocial adaptation.

These results suggest that maternal childhood maltreatment history is associated with lower mother-child interactive quality and poorer child adaptation only when the child is also maltreated, that is, when there is intergenerational continuity of maltreatment. The findings further suggest that offspring maltreatment is associated with lower quality of mother-child interactions and poorer child adaptation, regardless of maternal history of childhood maltreatment.

Authors

• Diane St-Laurent, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres
  Presenting Author

• Karine Dubois-Comtois, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)

• charlotte urbain, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)

• Tristan Milot, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

• Michael Cantinotti, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres