Exploring the Linkage between Maternal Victimization and Adolescent Coping Behaviors

Background: Maternal history of victimization is known to exert detrimental effects not only on her well-being but also on her children’s developmental outcomes. Adolescence is a critical period for shaping long-term physical, psychological, and social adjustment. The ability of adolescents to effectively cope with stress during this stage is pivotal, as it can buffer against future difficulties in physical, mental, and interpersonal functioning. A substantial body of research demonstrated that maternal victimization is associated with maternal psychological distress, which is linked to children’s behavioral problems. Behavioral problems could be one reason for peer victimization, which may make adolescents avoid the stress rather than handle the stress appropriately. Therefore, maternal victimization might be associated with adolescents’ avoidant coping behavior. However, the mechanism from maternal victimization to adolescent coping behavior remains understudied despite the importance of adolescent coping behavior. To fill the gap in the previous literature, this study aimed to investigate the effect of maternal victimization on adolescent avoidant coping behavior, focusing on the mediating roles of maternal psychological distress, child internalizing behavior, and peer victimization experience.

Method: This study examined 279 adolescents (boy: 141, girl: 138) from LONGSCAN, a longitudinal study to examine causes and consequences of child maltreatment at five separate sites across the US. Maternal victimization history was assessed using five items to ask about maternal childhood and adult physical and sexual abuse at child age four. Maternal psychological distress was measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) at age eight. Child internalizing behaviors were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at age twelve. Peer victimization was measured with one item at age sixteen. Adolescent avoidant coping was measured using the A-COPE at age eighteen. Using SEM, this study examined the pathway from maternal victimization to adolescent avoidant coping, including maternal psychological distress, internalizing behavior, and peer victimization. Child sex/race, household income, and mother-child relationship were included as covariates.

Results: The analyzed model fit data properly (CFI = 1.00, TLI = 1.00, RMSEA = .00, SRMR = .035). This study found that maternal victimization was significantly associated with adolescent avoidant coping through three pathways: 1) maternal victimization was associated with child peer victimization, which, in turn, was associated with adolescent avoidant coping (95% CI [.010, .104]); 2) maternal victimization was associated with maternal psychological distress, which, in turn, was associated with adolescent avoidant coping (95% CI [.006, .071]); 3) maternal victimization was associated with maternal psychological distress, which, in turn, was associated with child internalizing behavior. Internalizing behavior was associated with adolescent avoidant coping through peer victimization (95% CI [.001, .014]).

Implications: This study demonstrated the mediating effects of maternal psychological distress, internalizing behavior, and peer victimization in the association between maternal victimization and adolescent avoidant coping behavior. Given the adverse intergenerational impact of maternal victimization and the importance of adolescent coping in later development, this study emphasizes the necessity of social work interventions that actively manage the maternal history of victimization and support maternal mental health to break the intergenerational effect of maternal victimization.