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Maternal Trauma Exposure and Childhood Anxiety Outcomes: Examining Psychosocial Mechanisms of Risk

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Abstract

The current study aimed to explore the relationship between maternal exposure to various types of trauma and child anxiety outcomes, and to investigate maternal depression and parenting quality as potential mediators of these relationships. Aims were examined within a sample of 185 mother-child dyads who participated in a longitudinal study assessing maternal trauma history, maternal depression, and parenting quality at preschool age (ages 2.5 to 5.5 years), and for whom maternal and secondary caregiver reports of child anxiety were obtained at school age (ages 6 to 11 years). Hypotheses were that (1) maternal exposure to trauma would be positively associated with anxiety levels in offspring and that (2) parenting quality and maternal depression would mediate the relationship between maternal exposure to trauma and child anxiety. Results suggest a direct association between maternal trauma history and child anxiety, as well as indirect associations through parenting quality and maternal depression. These findings are discussed with regard to their implications for the prevention of child anxiety, as well as their implications for the advancement of the literature on intergenerational effects of trauma.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (RC1MH088609) and the Laney Graduate School of Emory University. Author C.L.H is supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1444932.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mercer University, 3001 Mercer University Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

    Brittany A. Robinson

  2. Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Cassandra L. Hendrix, H. Sloan Krakovsky & Patricia A. Brennan

  3. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 101 Woodruff Circle, Suite 4000, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Alicia K. Smith

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  1. Brittany A. Robinson
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Correspondence to Brittany A. Robinson.

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Conflict of Interest

No authors have conflicts of interest pertaining to this research. The last author, Patricia A. Brennan, Ph.D., is supported by research grant funding from NIH and NARSAD.

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the Emory University Institutional Review Board.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all mothers and alternate caregivers who participated in the study.

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Robinson, B.A., Hendrix, C.L., Sloan Krakovsky, H. et al. Maternal Trauma Exposure and Childhood Anxiety Outcomes: Examining Psychosocial Mechanisms of Risk. J Abnorm Child Psychol 47, 645–657 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0463-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0463-1

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