Intertwining of intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment and attachment.
Maternal child maltreatment history linked to child maltreatment via mother's insecure attachment
Intertwining of intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment and attachment.
Extant literature indicates that childhood maltreatment (childhood maltreatment) is associated with adverse intergenerational outcomes, including a heightened risk of childhood maltreatment exposure in the next generation.
To examine whether the intergenerational cycles of childhood maltreatment and insecure and disorganized attachment coexist, 1) whether parents' attachment mediates the association between severity of parental childhood maltreatment history and child exposure to maltreatment; 2) whether children's childhood maltreatment exposure mediates the association between parental childhood maltreatment history and child attachment.
Mothers responded to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Attachment Multiple Model Interview.
stronger link from mother's attachment insecurity to her child's maltreatment exposure
These findings provide preliminary evidence for a possible intertwining of intergenerational cycles of childhood maltreatment and insecure and disorganized attachment, highlighting the complex nature of these processes.
They emphasize the need for trauma-informed child protection practice with children, but also parents, who have often themselves been exposed to childhood maltreatment, and highlight the importance of addressing attachment in both generations.