Department of Psychology, Stonehill College, 320 Washington Street, Easton, MA, 02357, United States.
Center for the Protection of Children, Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA, 17033, United States.
Child Abuse Negl. 2018 Aug;82:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.05.014. Epub 2018 May 26.
The objective of this study was to investigate whether experiences of high betrayal trauma (BT; maltreatment by a parent/caregiver) during mothers' own childhoods may influence the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment and its associated psychopathology from mothers to their children. A prospective, longitudinal design was utilized to assess maternal physical and sexual betrayal trauma in relation to children's own maltreatment experiences, and child mood and behavioral symptoms during pre-adolescence. Data from 706 mothers and children who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) was analyzed, including: mothers' physical and sexual maltreatment histories, child protective services' documented physical and sexual maltreatment during children's first twelve years of life, and mother- and child-reports of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 12. Children of mothers who survived high BT (maltreatment by a caregiver) were 4.52 times more likely to experience maltreatment than children of no BT mothers (mothers whom were not maltreated), and 1.58 times more likely than children whose mothers survived low BT (maltreatment by a non-caregiver). Higher levels of maternal physical BT significantly predicted more internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children at age 12, according to both mother (CBCL) and child (YSR) reports. More incidents of child physical maltreatment partially mediated associations between maternal physical BT and child symptoms. Incidents of sexual maltreatment also partially mediated associations between maternal sexual BT and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms (CBCL only). These findings have implications for understanding the role of betrayal trauma in perpetuating the cycle of maltreatment across generations.
本研究旨在探讨母亲在儿童时期所经历的高度背叛创伤（BT；遭受父母/照顾者的虐待）是否会影响虐待及其相关心理病理学从母亲向子女的代际传递。采用前瞻性、纵向设计来评估母亲的身体和性背叛创伤与儿童自身的虐待经历以及儿童在青春期前的情绪和行为症状之间的关系。对参与儿童虐待和忽视纵向研究（LONGSCAN）的 706 名母亲和儿童的数据进行了分析，包括：母亲的身体和性虐待史、儿童保护服务机构在儿童 12 岁前记录的身体和性虐待以及母亲和儿童在 12 岁时对儿童内化和外化症状的报告。经历过高 BT（照顾者虐待）的母亲的孩子遭受虐待的可能性是没有 BT 母亲（未受虐待的母亲）的孩子的 4.52 倍，是母亲经历低 BT（非照顾者虐待）的孩子的 1.58 倍。根据母亲（CBCL）和儿童（YSR）的报告，母亲身体 BT 水平较高显著预测了儿童在 12 岁时的更多内化和外化症状。儿童身体虐待事件在母亲身体 BT 和儿童症状之间的关联中起部分中介作用。性虐待事件也在母亲性 BT 和儿童内化和外化症状之间的关联中起部分中介作用（仅 CBCL）。这些发现对于理解背叛创伤在代际间延续虐待循环的作用具有重要意义。
