Poster #150 - Parent-Child Interactions from Infancy to Age 20 Associated with Overall Severity of Childhood Maltreatment

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Maladaptive parent-child interactions and child behavior problems are among the strongest correlates of child maltreatment (meta-analysis: Stith et. al., 2009). Moreover, maltreated children have higher rates of insecure attachment and behavior problems (Cicchetti, Rogosch, & Toth, 2006). However, maladaptive parent-child interaction has rarely been observed over the entire course of development from infancy through age 20 and assessed in relation to overall severity of child maltreatment, to examine how chronic the disturbances in interaction associated with maltreatment might be.

Hypotheses: We hypothesized that overall severity of maltreatment by age 20 would be associated with maladaptive maternal behavior and child disorganized attachment at each stage of development (i.e., infancy, school-age, adolescence). In addition, we hypothesized that child behavior problems would be a correlate of overall severity of maltreatment.

Methods: Participants were 56 high-risk dyads followed from infancy to young adulthood. Maternal behavior with the infant was coded during 40-minute observations at home (using the HOMIRS coding system) and maternal disrupted communication was assessed in the lab at 18 months (using the AMBIANCE coding system). Infant disorganization was assessed in the Ainsworth Strange Situation at 18 months. At age 5, teachers completed the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire. At age 7, mother-child interaction was assessed using the Emotional Availability Scales and children’s disorganized/controlling attachment behaviors were coded using the Middle Childhood Disorganization and Control scales. Mothers and teachers also completed the Child Behavior Checklist. In young adulthood (age 20), disorganized/controlling attachment behaviors were coded during a conflict discussion using the Goal-Corrected Partnership in Adolescence Coding System. Overall severity of childhood maltreatment from infancy onward was indexed by state protective services involvement or placement in foster care between 0 and 18 years, and also by young adult report on the Conflict Tactics Scale-2nd version, the Childhood Traumatic Experiences Scales-Revised, and the Traumatic Stress Schedule. Regression analyses, using Full Information Maximum Likelihood to account for missing data, were conducted using MPLUS 8.

Results: 55% of the sample reported experiencing maltreatment. As shown in Table 1, overall severity of childhood maltreatment was significantly related to several observational indicators of disturbance in mother-child interaction starting in infancy. Notably, infant attachment security did not predict overall severity of childhood maltreatment by age 20. However, as shown in Table 2, severity of maltreatment was associated with forms of disorganized/controlling attachment behavior from middle childhood through late adolescence, and parental behavior remained maladaptive over middle childhood and adolescence. In addition, parent and teacher ratings documented the emergence of externalizing behaviors by age 5.

Conclusions: These results add to the body of findings from cross-sectional studies in indicating that overall severity of childhood maltreatment is associated with a chronic pattern of maladaptive parent-child interaction, characterized by hostile-intrusive behavior that begins in infancy and lasts through young adulthood, and by concomitant child hostile-aggressive interactions with peers emerging by preschool age. These results indicate that hostile interaction beginning in infancy is cause for concern and merits early intervention to prevent the chronic course of hostility and maltreatment highlighted by these longitudinal assessments.

Authors

• Mallika Rajamani, Cambridge Hospital
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Khoury, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jean-Francois Bureau, University of Ottawa
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ann Easterbrooks, Tufts University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School
  Non-Presenting Author