The Impact of Maternal Childhood Abuse and Neglect on Children's Behavior Problems: A Cross-Informant Study

Background & Purpose: A history of childhood abuse and neglect has been linked to high psychological distress that interferes with effective and nurturing parenting, which then may affect children's development and behavior. This study examined psychological distress as a mediator of the relationship between maternal childhood trauma and children's behavior problems using maternal and child self-report data, controlling for maternal education and children's cognitive functioning.

Methods: Data from 255 mother-child dyads were collected at the 12-year follow-up visit as part of a longitudinal study examining the effects of fetal cocaine exposure. Participants were primarily poor, urban, and African American. Maternal childhood trauma (MCT) was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, which captures five domains of trauma, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and physical and emotional neglect. Maternal education was measured with self-reported number of years of education. Child cognitive functioning consisted of three variables, Full-scale IQ assessed from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children- Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and Math Achievement and Reading Comprehension scores assessed using the Woodcock Johnson-III Tests of Achievement (WJTA-III). Maternal psychological distress was assessed with a summary score of the Brief Symptom Inventory, the general severity index. Child behavior problems were assessed by maternal ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and self-ratings on the Youth-Self Report (YSR). Scores were calculated for internalizing (e.g., withdrawal, somatic complaints, and depression) and externalizing (e.g. aggression and delinquency) behaviors with higher scores indicating more problem behaviors. Structural equation modeling, using AMOS with full-information maximum likelihood estimation, was used to simultaneously estimate the direct and indirect impact of maternal childhood trauma on two informant ratings of children's behavior problems.

Results: MCT was directly and indirectly related (p < .05) to children's greater behavior problems when rated by mother on the CBCL but not when self-rated on the YSR. MCT was related to psychological distress (b= .28), which was related to greater behavior problems on the CBCL (b= .48). Lower level of maternal education was related to higher psychological distress (b= - .16) and correlated with lower child cognitive functioning (r= .27). Higher child cognitive functioning was related to both lower maternal ratings (b= - .27) and children's self-ratings on behavior problems (b= - .42). No association emerged between MCT and children's self-ratings on their behavior (YSR) or between psychological distress and the YSR. Maternal ratings and children's self-ratings on behavior problems were no longer correlated with child functioning controlled. This model explained 40% of the variance in maternal ratings and 20% on children's self-ratings. Fit statistics indicated an acceptable fit to the data, C2 (65) =110.4, CFI= .97, TLI= .95, RMSEA= .052 (90% CI= .035 - .069).

Conclusions & Implications: This study suggests that maternal history of childhood trauma is associated with maternal reports of children's behavior problems, but not child report. Maternal childhood trauma impacts psychological distress, which in turn affects how she perceives her child's behavior. Interventions designed to help mothers reduce psychological distress may improve their perception of children's behavior, which fosters optimal mother-child interactions.