Maternal childhood abuse and neglect predicts offspring development in early childhood: The roles of reflective functioning and child sex.
Child Abuse Negl
; 128: 105030, 2022 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33752901
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Recent evidence suggests that offspring of mothers having been exposed to childhood abuse and neglect (CA&N) are at increased risk of developmental problems and that boys are more affected by maternal CA&N than girls. Since impairments in reflective functioning (RF) have been associated with maternal CA&N and offspring development, RF could represent a key mechanism in these intergenerational risk trajectories.OBJECTIVE:
This study evaluated mediating (RF) and moderating (child sex) mechanisms in the association between maternal CA&N and child development. PARTICIPANTS ANDSETTING:
In a longitudinal setting, 111 mothers completed measures during pregnancy and between 11 and 36 months postpartum.METHODS:
CA&N and impairments in RF were assessed during pregnancy and offspring development was measured during the longitudinal follow-up using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3). Child development was operationalized in two ways using the global score at the ASQ-3 and using a dichotomous score of accumulation of delays across domains of development.RESULTS:
Structural equation modeling indicated that RF mediated the association between maternal CA&N and offspring development. Child sex moderated the association between CA&N and the clustering of developmental problems (Wald = 5.88, p = 0.02), with boys being particularly likely to accumulate developmental delays when their mother experienced CA&N (RR = 2.62). Accumulation of developmental problems was associated with impairments in maternal RF in girls and with maternal exposure to CA&N in boys.CONCLUSIONS:
Results provide novel insights on the role of mentalization and child sex in the association between maternal CA&N and child development.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Maus-Tratos Infantis
/
Mentalização
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Pregnancy
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article