Maternal childhood abuse and neglect predicts offspring development in early childhood: The roles of reflective functioning and child sex.

Child Abuse Negl

Department of Nursing Sciences, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada; Centre d'études interdisciplinaires sur le développement de l'enfant et la famille, Canada; Groupe de recherche et d'intervention auprès des enfants vulnérables et négligés, Canada; Interdisciplinary Research Center on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse, Canada. Electronic address:

Published: June 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • - Recent research indicates that children of mothers who experienced childhood abuse and neglect (CA&N) face a higher risk of developmental issues, with boys being more adversely affected than girls.
  • - The study aimed to explore how reflective functioning (RF) contributes to the relationship between maternal CA&N and child development, while also considering the influence of the child's sex.
  • - Findings revealed that RF mediates the link between maternal CA&N and developmental outcomes, showing that boys are more likely to accumulate developmental delays related to their mother's CA&N, whereas girls' issues were more associated with maternal RF impairments.

Article 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 And Setting: 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.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105030DOI Listing

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