Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T07:50:02.686Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maternal childhood abuse and offspring adjustment over time

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2007

STEPHAN COLLISHAW ,
JUDY DUNN ,
THOMAS G. O'CONNOR  and
JEAN GOLDING
STEPHAN COLLISHAW
Affiliation:
King's College London
JUDY DUNN
Affiliation:
King's College London
THOMAS G. O'CONNOR
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
JEAN GOLDING
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study addressed the basis for the intergenerational transmission of psychosocial risk associated with maternal childhood abuse in relation to offspring adjustment. The study tested how far group differences in individual change in adjustment over time were explained by differences in exposure to specific environmental risk experiences. Data are drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Information on mothers' own experience of childhood abuse, offspring adjustment at ages 4 and 7 years, and hypothesized mediators was available for 5,619 families. A residuals scores analysis was used to track children's adjustment over time. Maternal childhood abuse was associated with poorer behavioral trajectories between ages 4 and 7 years. Children of abused mothers were more likely to experience a range of negative life events between ages 4 and 7 years, including changes in family composition, separations from parents, “shocks and frights” and physical assaults. Interim life events, together with antecedent psychosocial risk (maternal antenatal affective symptoms, age 4 parental hostility, age 4 family type) fully mediated the association between maternal childhood abuse and offspring prognosis.The authors express their gratitude to the families who participated in the study. Support for these analyses was provided by a grant from the Medical Research Council. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is part of the World Health Organisation initiated European Study of Pregnancy and Childhood, and is supported, among others, by the Wellcome Trust, The Department of Health, The Department of the Environment, and the Medical Research Council. The ALSPAC study team comprises interviewers, computer technicians, laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, and managers who continue to make the study possible.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 367 - 383
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Banyard, V. L. (1997). The impact of child sexual abuse and family functioning on four dimensions of women's later parenting. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21, 1095–1107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bifulco, A., Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (1994). Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA)—A retrospective interview measure. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 1419–1435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bifulco, A., Moran, P. M., Ball, C., Jacobs, C., Baines, R., Bunn, A., et al. (2002). Childhood adversity, parental vulnerability and disorder: Examining inter-generational transmission of risk. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43, 1075–1086.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birtchnell, J., Evans, C., & Kennard, J. (1988). The total score of the Crown–Crisp Experiential Index: A useful and valid measure of psychoneurotic pathology. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 61, 255–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brent, D. A., Oquendo, M., Birmaher, B., Greenhill, L., Kolko, D., Stanley, B., et al. (2002). Familial pathways to early-onset suicide attempt—Risk for suicidal behavior in offspring of mood-disordered suicide attempters. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 801–807.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brent, D. A., Oquendo, M., Birmaher, B., Greenhill, L., Kolko, D., Stanley, B., et al. (2004). Familial transmission of mood disorders: Convergence and divergence with transmission of suicidal behavior. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 1259–1266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B., & Gotlib, I. H. (1993). Psychopathology and early experience—A reappraisal of retrospective reports. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 82–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J., Cohen, P., Johnson, J. G., & Smailes, E. M. (1999). Childhood abuse and neglect: Specificity of effects on adolescent and young adult depression and suicidality. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 1490–1496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buist, A., & Janson, H. (2001). Childhood sexual abuse, parenting and postpartum Depression—A 3-year follow-up study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 25, 909–921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cawson, P., Wattam, C., Brooker, S., & Kelly, G. (2000). Child maltreatment in the United Kingdom: A study of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. London: NSPCC.
Cicchetti, D. (2002). The impact of social experience on neurobiological systems: Illustration from a constructivist view of child maltreatment. Cognitive Development, 17, 1407–1428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coid, J., Petrukevitch, A., Chung, W., Richardson, J., Moorey, S., & Feder, G. (2003). Abusive experiences and psychiatric morbidity in women primary care attenders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 183, 332–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coid, J., Petrukevitch, A., Feder, G., Chung, W., Richardson, J., & Moorey, S. (2001). Relation between childhood sexual and physical abuse and risk of revictimisation in women: A cross-sectional survey. Lancet, 358, 450–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collishaw, S., Pickles, A., Messer, J., Rutter, M., Shearer, C., & Maughan, B. (in press). Resilience to adult psychopathology following childhood maltreatment: Evidence from a community sample. Child Abuse and Neglect.
Crown, S., & Crisp, A. H. (1979). Manual of the Crown-Crisp Experiential Index. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Effects of physical maltreatment on the development of peer relations. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 43–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, J., Deater-Deckard, K., Pickering, K., & O'Connor, T. G. (1998). Children's adjustment and prosocial behaviour in step-, single-parent, and non-stepfamily settings: Findings from a community study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 1083–1095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egeland, B., Jacobvitz, D., & Sroufe, L. A. (1988). Breaking the cycle of abuse. Child Development, 59, 1080–1088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Lynskey, M. T. (1996). Childhood sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood, II: Psychiatric outcomes of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1365–1374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Woodward, L. J. (2000). The stability of child abuse reports: A longitudinal study of the reporting behaviour of young adults. Psychological Medicine, 30, 529–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., & Lynskey, M. T. (1997). Physical punishment/maltreatment during childhood and adjustment in young adulthood. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21, 617–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, D. M., & Mullen, P. E. (1999). Childhood sexual abuse: An evidence based perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Golding, J., Pembrey, M., Jones, R., & the ALSPAC Study Team. (2001). ALSPAC—The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children I. Study methodology. Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 15, 74–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1337–1345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardt, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: Review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 260–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, J., Pickles, A., Burnside, E., Bryatt, M., Rollinson L., Davis, R., et al. (2001). Child sexual abuse, poor parental care and adult depression: Evidence for different mechanisms. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 104–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horwitz, A. V., Widom, C. S., McLaughlin, J., & White, H. R. (2001). The impact of childhood abuse and neglect on adult mental health: A prospective study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 184–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, P. J. (1967). The behavior of maximum likelihood estimates under non-standard conditions. Paper presented at the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability.
Kendler, K. S., Bulik, C. M., Silberg, J., Hettema, J. M., Myers, J., & Prescott, C. A. (2000). Childhood sexual abuse and adult psychiatric and substance use disorders in women—An epidemiological and co-twin control analysis. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 953–959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koenen, K. C., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Taylor, A., & Purcell, S. (2003). Domestic violence is associated with environmental suppression of IQ in young children. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 297–311.Google Scholar
Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., Crozier, J., & Kaplow, J. (2002). A 12-year prospective study of the long-term effects of early child physical maltreatment on psychological, behavioral, and academic problems in adolescence. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 156, 824–830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
May-Chahal, C., & Cawson, P. (2005). Measuring child maltreatment in the United Kingdom: A study of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse and Neglect, 29, 969–984.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. (2003). Child protection statistics. http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/Statistics/CPStats/CP_Intro.asp
Nelson, E. C., Heath, A. C., Madden, P. A. F., Cooper, M. L., Dinwiddie, S. H., Bucholz, K. K., et al. (2002). Association between self-reported childhood sexual abuse and adverse psychosocial outcomes—Results from a twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 139–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olds, D. L., Kitzman, H., Cole, R., Robinson, J., Sidora, K., Luckey, D. W., et al. (2004). Effects of nurse home-visiting on maternal life course and child development: Age 6 follow-up results of a randomised trial. Pediatrics, 114, 1550–1559.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, G. (1989). The parental bonding instrument: Psychometric properties reviewed. Psychiatric Developments, 4, 317–335.Google Scholar
Pears, K. C., & Capaldi, D. M. (2001). Intergenerational transmission of abuse: A two-generational prospective study of an at-risk sample. Child Abuse and Neglect, 25, 1439–1461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, R., O'Connor, T., Dunn, J., Golding, J., & The ALSPAC Study Team. (2004). The effects of child sexual abuse in later family life: Mental health, parenting and adjustment of offspring. Child Abuse and Neglect, 28, 525–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M. (1998). Some research considerations on intergenerational continuities and discontinuities: Comment on the special section. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1269–1273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M., Pickles, A., Murray, R., & Eaves, L. (2001). Testing hypotheses on specific environmental causal effects on behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 291–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuck, A. M., & Widom, C. S. (2001). Childhood victimization and alcohol symptoms in females: Causal inferences and hypothesized mediators. Child Abuse and Neglect, 25, 1069–1092.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serbin, L. A., & Karp, J. (2004). The intergenerational transfer of psychosocial risk: Mediators of vulnerability and resilience. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 333–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
StataCorp. (2003). Stata statistical software: Release 8.0. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation.
Verhulst, F. C., & Van der Ende, J. (1995). The 8-year stability of problem behaviour in an epidemiologic sample. Pediatric Research, 38, 612–617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, H. R., & Widom, C. S. (2003). Intimate partner violence among abused and neglected children in young adulthood: The mediating effects of early aggression, antisocial personality, hostility and alcohol problems. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 332–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar