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Intergenerational Transmission of Childhood Maltreatment Mediated by Maternal Emotion Dysregulation

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Abstract

The identification of intermediate mechanisms that account for the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment can elucidate processes of risk and resilience in families. This study investigated the role of maternal emotion dysregulation; we hypothesized that emotion dysregulation would mediate the relation between mothers’ history of maltreatment in their childhood and their aggressive behavior toward their children. Participants included 110 mothers (range = 20 to 43 years, Mage = 30.81, SDage = 6.08) with preschool-aged children (range = 3 to 5 years, Mage = 3.50, SDage = 0.51; 61% male) in a diverse community sample (46.3% African American; 50.9% had a household income under $30,000). A path analysis showed that maternal history of maltreatment in their childhood was indirectly related to later maternal psychological aggression via maternal emotion dysregulation. The indirect effect of child maltreatment on physical aggression was not statistically significant. Our findings highlight the importance of emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic risk factor for the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment.

Highlights

  • We tested emotion dysregulation as a mediator between mothers’ maltreatment history and child-directed aggressive behavior.

  • Mothers’ own maltreatment history was associated with greater emotion dysregulation.

  • Maternal emotion dysregulation was associated with greater psychological aggression, but not physical aggression.

  • Emotion dysregulation mediated the association between mothers’ maltreatment history and child-directed aggressive behavior for psychological aggression, but not physical aggression.

  • Emotion regulation may be an important mechanism for the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the William A. and Barbara R. Owens Institute for Behavioral Research at the University of Georgia; National Institute on Drug Abuse, Grant number: P30 DA027827. VJR’s work on this study was partially supported by a Ford Foundation Fellowship, administered by the National Academies of Science, and a PEO Scholar Award from the PEO Sisterhood. We thank the research personnel who made this study possible, and above all the women and children who participated in this study.

Author Contribution

A.S. and C.S. conceived the study. V.J.R. drafted the manuscript with F.A., A.M., and A.S. All authors assisted in editing and finalizing the manuscript and gave critical review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, USA

    Violeta J. Rodriguez, Amber Madden, Anne Shaffer & Cynthia Suveg

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA

    Violeta J. Rodriguez

  3. Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, USA

    Funlola Are

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Correspondence to Violeta J. Rodriguez.

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Rodriguez, V.J., Are, F., Madden, A. et al. Intergenerational Transmission of Childhood Maltreatment Mediated by Maternal Emotion Dysregulation. J Child Fam Stud 30, 2068–2075 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02020-3

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