Department of Psychology, 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.
Department of Psychology, 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.
Child Abuse Negl. 2022 Jun;128:105030. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105030. Epub 2021 Mar 19.
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.
This study evaluated mediating (RF) and moderating (child sex) mechanisms in the association between maternal CA&N and child development.
In a longitudinal setting, 111 mothers completed measures during pregnancy and between 11 and 36 months postpartum.
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.
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.
Results provide novel insights on the role of mentalization and child sex in the association between maternal CA&N and child development.
最近的证据表明，曾遭受童年期虐待和忽视（CA&N）的母亲的后代发生发育问题的风险增加，且男孩比女孩更容易受到母亲 CA&N 的影响。由于反思功能障碍（RF）与母亲 CA&N 和后代发育有关，因此 RF 可能是这些代际风险轨迹中的关键机制。
本研究评估了在母亲 CA&N 与儿童发育之间的关联中，中介（RF）和调节（儿童性别）机制。
在纵向设置中，111 名母亲在怀孕期间和产后 11 至 36 个月期间完成了测量。
CA&N 和 RF 障碍在怀孕期间进行评估，在纵向随访期间使用年龄与阶段问卷（ASQ-3）测量后代的发育情况。儿童发育采用两种方式进行操作：使用 ASQ-3 的总分和发育领域中延迟积累的二分 Scores。
结构方程模型表明，RF 中介了母亲 CA&N 与后代发育之间的关联。儿童性别调节了 CA&N 与发育问题聚类之间的关联（ Wald = 5.88，p = 0.02），当母亲经历 CA&N 时，男孩特别容易积累发育迟缓（RR = 2.62）。发育问题的积累与女孩的母亲 RF 障碍以及男孩的母亲 CA&N 暴露有关。
研究结果为母亲 CA&N 与儿童发育之间的关联中精神化和儿童性别作用提供了新的见解。
