Parent Childhood Abuse And Neglect And Offspring Mental .
City University of New York (CUNY)CUNY Academic WorksDissertations, Theses, and Capstone ProjectsGraduate Center9-2018Parent Childhood Abuse and Neglect andOffspring Mental Health: An Examination ofPotential MediatorsJoanna YoungThe Graduate Center, City University of New YorkHow does access to this work benefit you? Let us know!Follow this and additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc etdsPart of the Child Psychology Commons, Clinical Psychology Commons, and the DevelopmentalPsychology CommonsRecommended CitationYoung, Joanna, "Parent Childhood Abuse and Neglect and Offspring Mental Health: An Examination of Potential Mediators" (2018).CUNY Academic Works.https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc etds/2886This Dissertation is brought to you by CUNY Academic Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projectsby an authorized administrator of CUNY Academic Works. For more information, please contact deposit@gc.cuny.edu.
PARENT CHILDHOOD ABUSE AND NEGLECT AND OFFSPRING MENTAL HEALTH:AN EXAMINATION OF POTENTIAL MEDIATORSbyJOANNA C. YOUNGA dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Psychology in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the City University of New York2018
ii 2018JOANNA C. YOUNGAll Rights Reserved
iiiPARENT CHILDHOOD ABUSE AND NEGLECT AND OFFSPRING MENTAL HEALTH:AN EXAMINATION OF POTENTIAL MEDIATORSbyJOANNA C. YOUNGThis manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Psychology to satisfy the dissertationrequirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.Cathy Spatz Widom, ---------------------Chair of Examining CommitteeDr. Richard ----------------------Executive OfficerAngela Crossman, Ph.D.-------------------------------------Maureen Allwood, Ph.D.-------------------------------------Lorie Goshin, a Nikulina, ory CommitteeTHE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
ivABSTRACTParent Childhood Abuse and Neglect and Offspring Mental Health: An Examination of PotentialMediatorsbyJoanna C. YoungAdviser: Cathy Spatz Widom, Ph.D., John Jay CollegeChild maltreatment has been associated with difficulties in parenting (Bailey, DeOliveira, Wolfe,Evans, & Hartwick, 2012) and children of abused mothers have been found to be at risk of morenegative emotional and behavioral mental health outcomes compared to children of mothers withno abuse history (Collishaw, Dunn, O’Connor, & Golding, 2007; Delker, Noll, Kim, & Fisher,2014). However, research is limited in terms of studies that investigate mediators in therelationship between parental abuse and child psychopathology. In addition, the majority of pastresearch has focused only on self-reported, maternal histories of abuse and on limited offspringoutcomes (i.e. internalizing and externalizing symptoms). The current study examines themediational role of parental psychopathology on offspring psychopathology in a sample ofparents (mothers and fathers) with documented histories of childhood abuse and neglect. Usinga prospective cohort design, parents with documented histories of childhood abuse and neglectduring 1967–1971 were matched with non-maltreated parents. Potential mediators (parent MajorDepressive Disorder [MDD], parent Dysthymia, parent Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD],parent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD], parent Alcohol Abuse/Dependence, and parentDrug Abuse/Dependence) were assessed in young adulthood, approximately 22 years afterincidents of abuse and neglect. In 2009 and 2010, the parents’ offspring (Mage 22.3) were
vassessed for Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Alcohol Abuse/Dependence, and DrugAbuse/Dependence with standardized assessment techniques. Logistic regression was used totest bivariate relationships and the Sobel test was used to test the significance of mediationeffects. The results of the current study indicated that there was a differential impact of parenthistory of childhood abuse and neglect and parent psychopathology on child versus adultoffspring psychopathology. In child offspring, parent childhood abuse and neglect overall,parent childhood sexual abuse, and parent childhood neglect all predicted multiple forms of childoffspring psychopathology. However, there were no statistically significant findings for adultoffspring psychopathology. In parents of adult offspring, there was a pervasive impact of parentchildhood abuse and neglect on parent psychopathology. However, in parents of child offspring,parent childhood abuse and neglect only predicted increased parent Major Depressive Disorder(MDD). In addition, there was evidence of differential effects of a parent’s gender. Femaleparents’ histories of childhood abuse and neglect and female parents’ psychopathology had amore widespread effect on offspring psychopathology than male parents’. Lastly, the results ofmediation analyses indicated that parent history of childhood neglect, specifically, increasedclinically significant symptoms of depression among child offspring through its effect onincreased parent MDD. This type of prospective longitudinal data can help increaseunderstanding of the long-term and intergenerational effects of childhood abuse and neglect.This examination of parental psychopathology as a potential mediator may help in theidentification of important intervention and treatment targets that may help decrease negativeoutcomes in parents with histories of abuse and neglect and their offspring.Keywords: Child Maltreatment, Childhood Abuse and Neglect, Parent Psychopathology,Offspring Psychopathology, Offspring Mental Health
viAcknowledgementsThis research was supported in part by grants (PI: Widom) from NIJ (86-IJ-CX-0033 and89-IJ-CX-0007), NIMH (MH49467 and MH58386), Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD(HD40774), NIDA (DA17842 and DA10060), NIAAA (AA09238 and AA11108), and the DorisDuke Charitable Foundation. I would like to thank Dr. Cathy Spatz Widom for all of the time,support, and guidance that she provided throughout this process. Thank you also to Dr. Widomfor providing me with the opportunity to use her data for this dissertation. I would also like toacknowledge my parents, Cliff and Janet, and my other family and close friends for their supportand encouragement. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Justin, for the sacrifices he has made tosupport me in earning this degree and for his unconditional love through the process.
viiTABLE OF CONTENTSABSTRACT . ivACKNOWLEDGMENTS .viLIST OF TABLES . ixLIST OF FIGURES . xiINTRODUCTION . 1The Impact of Parental History of Child Abuse and Neglect on Psychological Outcomesin Offspring .3Parental Psychopathology as a Pathway between Parental Childhood Abuse and Neglectand Offspring Psychological Development .6Influence on Cognitive Schema .7Influence on Social Information Processing .9Influence on Emotion Regulation . 10Indirect Influences . 11Offspring Age . 12Parent Gender . 12Empirical Research: Parental Psychopathology as a Mediator between Parental AbuseHistory and Offspring Psychological Development . 13Limitations of the Existing Literature . 18CURRENT STUDY . 19Hypotheses . 20METHOD . 21Overview . 21Participants and Design . 22
viiiProcedures . 23Measures . 24Data Analysis Plan . 31RESULTS . 32Does Parent Childhood Abuse and Neglect Predict Offspring Psychopathology? . 32Does Parent Childhood Abuse and Neglect Predict Parent Psychopathology? . 35Does Parent Psychopathology Predict Offspring Psychopathology? . 37Does Parent Psychopathology Mediate the Impact of Parent Childhood Abuse andNeglect on Offspring Psychopathology? . 39DISCUSSION . 41Parent Childhood Abuse and Neglect and Offspring Psychopathology . 42Parent Childhood Abuse and Negelct and Parent Psychopathology . 44Parent Psychopathology and Offspring Psychopathology . 45Effects of Gender . 45Mediation Analyses . 47Limitations and Future Directions . 48Implications . 50Conclusion . 51TABLES . 53FIGURES . 69REFERENCES . 70
ixLIST OF TABLESTable 1. Demographic Characteristics of the Parent and Offspring Sample . 53Table 2. Extent of Offspring Psychopathology as a Function of Parent Child Abuse and NeglectHistory . 54Table 3. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent History of ChildAbuse and/or Neglect and Offspring Psychopathology. 55Table 4. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent History of ChildAbuse and/or Neglect and Offspring Psychopathology and the Independent Effect ofOffspring Age . 56Table 5. Child and Adult Offspring Psychopathology as a Function of Parent Psychopathology . 57Table 6. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent History of ChildAbuse and/or Neglect and Offspring Psychopathology Only including Child Offspring . 58Table 7. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent History of ChildAbuse and/or Neglect and Parent Psychopathology Only including Adult Offspring . 59Table 8. Extent of Parent Psychopathology as a Function of Parent Child Abuse and NeglectHistory . 60Table 9. Results of Regression Showing the Relationship between Parent History of Child Abuseand/or Neglect and Parent Psychopathology . 61Table 10. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent History of ChildAbuse and/or Neglect and Parent Psychopathology including Only Parents with ChildOffspring
x. 62Table 11. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent History of ChildAbuse and/or Neglect and Parent Psychopathology including Only Parents with AdultOffspring . .63Table 12. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent Psychopathology andOffspring Psychopathology. 64Table 13. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent Psychopathology andOffspring Psychopathology Only including Child Offspring . 65Table 14. Results of Regressions Showing the Relationship between Parent Psychopathology andOffspring Psychopathology Only including Adult Offspring . 66Table 15. Association of Parent Child Abuse and Neglect with Child Offspring CurrentDepression and Parent Psychopathology as Mediator . 67Table 16. Association of Parent Child Abuse and Neglect with Child Offspring Current Anxietyand Parent Psychopathology as Mediator . 68
xiLIST OF FIGURESFigure 1. Hypothesized model linking parental childhood abuse and neglect to childpsychopathology through parental psychopathology. . 69
1Parent Childhood Abuse and Neglect and Offspring Mental Health: An Examination of PotentialMediatorsChildhood abuse and neglect can have detrimental effects on an individual’s social,cognitive, and emotional development, with several studies showing these effects persist intoadulthood (Perez & Widom, 1994; Sperry & Widom, 2013; Widom, DuMont, & Czaja, 2007).Longitudinal studies have shown that children with a history of childhood abuse and neglect aremore likely to report low social support, demonstrate low IQ and low academic achievement,experience symptoms of psychiatric disorders, have contact with the criminal justice system, andbe diagnosed with personality disorders compared to individuals with no abuse history (Allwood& Widom, 2013; Fergusson, Boden, & Horwood, 2008; Lansford et al., 2002; Luntz & Widom,1994; Perez & Widom, 1994; Sperry & Widom, 2013). Other research demonstrates thatindividuals with childhood abuse histories are more likely to have difficulties in their adultrelationships compared to individuals with no abuse history (Hill et al., 2001; Nelson, Lynskey,Heath, Madden, & Martin, 2010; White & Widom, 2003). One type of adult relationshiphypothesized to be significantly influenced by childhood maltreatment is the parent-childrelationship.Prospective evaluations suggest that children of abused mothers have a poorer prognosisin both emotional and behavioral mental health outcomes compared to children of mothers withno abuse history (Collishaw et al., 2007; Delker et al., 2014; Enlow, Englund, & Egeland, 2016;Miranda, de la Osa, Granero, & Ezpeleta, 2011, 2013). In order to understand the mechanisms inthis relationship, it is important to briefly discuss some literature on the etiology of offspringpsychopathology. In examining the link between parent psychopathology and offspringpsychopathology, research suggests exposure to parental psychopathology may play a role in the
2development of offspring psychopathology via negative parenting practices or social learningprocesses (Barnard & McKeganey, 2004; Burstein, Ginsburg, & Tein, 2010; Goodman et al.,2011; Leen-Feldner et al., 2013). Second, exposure to some forms of offspring psychopathologymay increase parent psychopathology if the challenges of parenting a child withpsychopathology impact the mental health of a parent (Tan & Rey, 2005; Wilkinson, Harris,Kelvin, Dubicka, & Goodyer, 2013). Third, parental psychopathology and offspringpsychopathology may share a common genetic etiology (Duncan et al., 2017; ShimadaSugimoto, Otowa, & Hettema, 2015; Sullivan, Neale, & Kendler, 2000; Wang, Kapoor, & Goate,2012), confounding the findings that stress the importance of environment in the development ofoffspring psychopathology. However, researchers have found that associations between parentpsychopathology and offspring psychopathology remain after accounting for shared genes(McAdams et al., 2015; Shimada-Sugimoto et al., 2015; Stein, Jang, Taylor, Vernon, & Livesley,2002; Wang et al., 2012). Therefore, heritability of psychopathology is an important factor, butit is also important to understand the environmental factors that impact the development ofoffspring psychopathology.One potential mechanism in the association between parental childhood abuse andoffspring psychopathology may be intergenerational continuities in offspring abuse (Brent et al.,2004). However, the majority of individuals abused in childhood do not go on to abuse theirown children (Berlin, Appleyard, & Dodge, 2011; Widom, Czaja, & DuMont, 2015). Therefore,the impact of parental abuse and neglect and the potential for harm to offspring may extendbeyond their risk for being abused or neglected. It has been proposed that the experience ofpsychopathology related to a parent’s abuse history could have a harmful effect on theirchildren’s psychological well-being. Therefore, this dissertation begins with a brief review of
3the effect of parental childhood maltreatment on offspring psychological outcomes with a focuson an examination of the literature that addresses parental psychopathology as a possiblemechanism that may explain children’s mental health problems. The next section describes thecurrent study that was designed to examine the impact of parental psychopathology on
Depressive Disorder [MDD], parent Dysthymia, parent Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD], . Parental Psychopathology as a Pathway between Parental Childhood Abuse and Neglect . experience symptoms of psychiatric disorder
How does the Children's Division respond to a report of child abuse or neglect? The Children's Division often learns of child abuse and neglect when a report is made to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. The Children's Division responds to all reports alleging child abuse and neglect, and the safety of the child(ren) is our top priority.
Where abuse/neglect were found: 60% neglect, 18% physical abuse, 10% sexual abuse, 7% emotional maltreatment, 15% "other" based on specific state laws and policies Where abuse/neglect were found: 66% neglect, 25% physical abuse, 9% sexual abuse Age/Gender Highest rate of victimization: Children ages 0-3—16.1 per
or threatened with physical or mental harm by the acts or lack of action by a person responsible for the child's care. Each state has its own laws concerning child abuse and neglect. There are several forms of abuse: physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Child neglect is a form of abuse that occurs when a person responsible
Some of these include the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Psychological Maltreatment Scale (PMS), and the Multidimensional Neglect Behavioral Scale (MNBS). Bernstein and Fink developed the CTQ in 2003, constructing a 28-item self-report measure developed to assess the five types of abuse and neglect, using a 5-
Introduction This document was prepared from information provided by State child protective services agencies on the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) . The Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption and Family Services Act of 1988 (p.L. 100-294) required the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) to establish a national .
you can call the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence at 1-800-500-1119 or the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence at 1-888-956-7273 to be connected to a local hotline. Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect 3 Child Abuse and Neglect Quiz 1. Three children die of child abuse in the home in the United States each
Child abuse and neglect threaten a child's safety by placing him/her at risk of physical and emotional injuries and even death. Child abuse and neglect occur in all cultural, ethnic, occupational, and socioeconomic groups. While the true extent of child abuse and neglect is not completely known, the Children's Bureau of the
Program Year 2012 Final November 5, 2013 Project Number 40891 . ii Annual Statewide Portfolio Evaluation, Measurement, and Verification Report .
