Social Support as a Resilience Factor for Maltreated Children with Adverse Childhood Experiences

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Introduction: The consequences of childhood maltreatment are staggering, including long-term implications for physical and mental health (Chang et al., 2019). Research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have found the number of ACEs to be associated with increased levels of developmental risk (Gilbert et al., 2015), however more empirical studies on resilience are warranted. One potential mechanism to buffer familial stress and child maltreatment is social support (Thompson, 2015). The purpose of this study is to empirically test the role of social support in moderating the association between familial stress processes and negative child outcomes. This test will be done within the context of the Family Stress Model (Conger & Martin, 2010).
Methods: The present longitudinal study uses data from The National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-being II, a study of children and families under investigation with the child welfare system (Dowd et al., 2014). The present study included children ages two to 18 months at wave one (n= 1363). Three manifest constructs were used in the model: economic hardship was measured by family poverty level, economic pressure was measured by caregiver perception about ability to make ends meet, and depression was measured by a sum score of seven items from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (see Stambaugh et al., 2013 for a full list of measures). Latent variables were created for seven constructs in the model. Caregiver/partner conflict was comprised of five items from the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) and caregiver harsh parenting was comprised of five items from the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC). Five ACEs were conceptualized based on ten questions from the CTS2 and the CTSPC. Cognitive skills were measured using the Battelle Developmental Inventory. The internalizing and externalizing subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist were used to measure problem behaviors. Prosocial skills were measured by the Social Skills Rating System. Lastly, social support was measured using eleven adapted items from the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire. Latent scales and constructs had acceptable factor loadings and reliabilities.
Results: Mplus 8 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2017) was used to analyze the structural equation model. The model fit the data well: χ2(599) = 1521.199, p = .0000, CFI = .940, TLI = .933, RMSEA = .034, SRMR = .077. Significant paths were found between many of the hypothesized constructs (see Figure 1): economic hardship to economic pressure, caregiver emotional distress to caregiver/partner conflict, caregiver/partner conflict to caregiver harsh parenting, caregiver harsh parenting to ACEs, and ACEs to child cognitive skills. Social support significantly moderated the pathway between caregiver harsh parenting and ACEs (see Figure 2).
Conclusions: Significant associations were found between familial stress processes and negative child outcomes in this at risk sample. Although caregiver harsh parenting predicted ACEs, these effects were moderated by social support to the caregiver. This has important implications for the meaningfulness of emotional and physical support to at risk families, and the potential to lessen and prevent child maltreatment through such support. Future studies should investigate targeted buffering factors to mitigate ACEs.

Authors

• Jennifer Rose, Texas Tech University
  Presenting Author

• Monica J Martin, Texas Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo, Texas Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ann M Mastergeorge, Texas Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author