Abstract
Risk for committing child abuse is frequently attributed to an intergenerational "cycle of violence" through which abuse as a child increases risk for committing abuse as a parent. While this hypothesis has support, more research is needed to understand the factors that account for this pattern of risk. Given literature suggesting that adults with a history of child maltreatment have increased risk for a wide range of psychopathology, this study examined the role of two behavioral endophenotypes, emotional dysregulation and negative affect, in the association between maternal experiences of childhood maltreatment and maternal child abuse potential among 83 low-income, primarily African-American mothers of elementary school age children. Results indicate that a mother's experience of abuse as a child predicts later risk for abusive parenting as measured by child abuse potential scores. However, our data also indicate that the relationship between maternal experience of child abuse and later child abuse potential is mediated by maternal emotional dysregulation and negative affect.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 483-494 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Family Violence |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2014 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Law
Keywords
- Child abuse potential
- Child maltreatment
- Emotional dysregulation
- Intergenerational trauma
- Negative affect