The Intergenerational Cycle of Substance Use and Its Association with Child Maltreatment and School Maladjustment: A Path Analysis

Background and Purpose: Despite the well-established notion of the intergenerational cycle of trauma in families with a history of substance use and child maltreatment, only few studies have captured the full pathways linking substance use, child maltreatment, and school maladjustment across three generations. This study examines the pathways connecting maternal grandparents' substance use history to youth school maladjustment through biological mothers' alcohol use, child maltreatment experiences, and youth substance use. The results of this study will provide implications for social work practice working with children and families and inform future research on trauma.

Methods: This study utilized multiple waves from the Future of Families & Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), specifically waves 3, 5, and 6. By matching family IDs across these waves, the final sample included 2,198 biological mothers (M = 40.67, SD = 6.02, Range: 30–61 years) and their offspring (M = 15.50, SD = 0.72, Range: 14–18 years). Key variables included maternal grandparents' substance use history (wave 3; independent variable), biological mothers' alcohol use (wave 5; mediator), child maltreatment (wave 5; mediator), youth substance use (wave 6; mediator), and youth school maladjustment (wave 6; outcome variable). Since child maltreatment consisted of three types (psychological aggression, physical abuse, and neglect), three separate path models were developed to run the path analysis and examine indirect effects.

Results: Across three maltreatment models, all direct paths were statistically significant except for the path from maternal grandparents' substance use history to youth substance use. The indirect effects of biological mothers' alcohol use, the three child maltreatment types, and youth substance use were statistically significant in all models. The significant direct paths were as follows:

1. Maternal grandparents' substance use history to biological mothers' alcohol use (B = 0.100 for all maltreatment types).
2. Biological mothers' alcohol use to psychological aggression (B = 0.152), physical abuse (B = 0.061), and neglect (B = 0.008).
3. Maternal grandparents' substance use history to psychological aggression (B = 0.097), physical abuse (B = 0.094), and neglect (B = 0.086).
4. Biological mothers' alcohol use to youth substance use (B = 0.061 for psychological aggression; B = 0.067 for physical abuse; B = 0.065 for neglect).
5. Psychological aggression (B = 0.067), physical abuse (B = 0.074), and neglect (B = 0.075) to youth substance use.
6. Youth substance use to school maladjustment (B = 0.138 for psychological aggression; B = 0.133 for physical abuse; B = 0.138 for neglect).

Conclusions and Implications: The findings underscore the intergenerational transmission of substance use and child maltreatment, illustrating their cascading effects on youth school maladjustment. Specifically, maternal grandparents' substance use history indirectly contributes to youth school difficulties through biological mothers' alcohol use, child maltreatment experiences, and youth substance use. These results highlight the need for early interventions targeting parental substance use and child maltreatment to disrupt this harmful cycle. To improve the well-being and educational outcomes of youth in the child welfare system, it would be beneficial to develop prevention and intervention strategies based on the multigenerational approach.