Childhood adversity, parental vulnerability and disorder: examining inter‐generational transmission of risk

Abstract

Background: An investigation of intergenerational factors associated with psychiatric disorder in late adolescence/early adulthood was undertaken to differentiate influences from maternal disorder, maternal poor psychosocial functioning and poor parenting, on offspring. Method: The sample comprised an intensively studied series of 276 mother-offspring pairs in a relatively deprived inner-city London area with high rates of lone parenthood and socio-economic disadvantage. The paired sample was collected over two time periods: first a consecutively screened series of mothers and offspring in 1985-90 (n ¼ 172 pairs) and second a 'vulnerable' series of mothers and offspring in 1995-99 (n ¼ 104 pairs). The vulnerable mothers were selected for poor interpersonal functioning and/or low self-esteem and the consecutive series were used for comparison. Rates of childhood adversity and disorder in the offspring were examined in the two groups. Maternal characteristics including psychosocial vulnerability and depression were then examined in relation to risk transmission. Results: Offspring of vulnerable mothers had a fourfold higher rate of yearly disorder than those in the comparison series (43% vs. 11%, p < :001). They were twice as likely as those in the comparison series to have experienced childhood adversity comprising either severe neglect, physical or sexual abuse before age 17. Physical abuse, in particular, perpetrated either by mother or father/surrogate father was significantly raised in the vulnerable group. Analysis of the combined series showed that maternal vulnerability and neglect/abuse of offspring provided the best model for offspring disorder. Maternal history of depression had no direct effect on offspring disorder; its effects were entirely mediated by offspring neglect/abuse. Maternal childhood adversity also had no direct effect. Conclusions: Results are discussed in relation to psychosocial models of risk transmission for disorder. Maternal poor psychosocial functioning needs to be identified as a factor requiring intervention in order to stem escalation of risk across generations.

Effect of Parenting Style on Child Behavior: A Qualitative Analysis

“…A large body of research indices that the optimum behavior of the children depend upon the parenting style (Barbara, 2004) and (Brink , 2006). Numerous research has documented the inter-generational continuity of parenting indicative of that present day parent tend to use similar parenting strategies or practices that they themselves received in their child hood (Bifulco, et al, 2002) .Children behavior are action in response to many internal and external influences (Osborne & Fincham, 1996). Possible internal influences of behavior are genes; metabolism, age and gender while external influences of behavior are parental behavior and peer models (Hops, Davis, Leve, & Sheebe, 2003).…”

Child Sexual Abuse, Baby Gender, and Intergenerational Psychic Transmission: An Exploratory, Projective Psychoanalytic Approach

“…Confusion with the aggressor was revived again by the sight of the baby's penis, as with her first baby. She was reactivating a fundamental violence (Bergeret, 1984) that could not be supported by any libidinal basis; it sent her back to her own childhood history with her parents: "It was a boy. He was naked, even uglier than the first one and with an enormous thing .…”

“…Most clinical studies have arrived at the same conclusions, including the high frequency of greater psychiatric perturbations among adults abused during early development (Bifulco et al, 2002;Lueger-Schuster et al 2014, Lynskey & Fergusson, 1997McCloskey, 2013;Polusny & Follette, 1995). The perturbations show up as a greater number of anxiety, depressive, and personality disorders; risk of psychosis; substance use; and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), among other problems.…”

Reward Responsivity in Parenting: Development of a Novel Measure in Mothers

“…There is evidence that parenting behaviors mediate the association between maternal depression and adverse child outcomes such as child social competence and child psychopathology (Goodman & Brumley, 1990;Bifulco, Moran, & Ball, 2002;Coyl et al, 2002). Specifically, Coyl and colleagues (2002) found that maternal depression predicted negative mother-child interactions and frequency of spanking, which in turn predicted poor infant attachment security.…”

“…There is growing evidence that suboptimal parenting behaviors, specifically parenting behaviors that occur during mother-infant interactions, mediate the negative impact of maternal depression on offspring behavior outcomes (Goodman & Brumley, 1990;Bifulco et al, 2002;Coyl et al, 2002). Given the mediating role of parenting behaviors between maternal depression and offspring negative outcomes, intervening to improve parenting behaviors among depressed mothers represents a potentially promising route to reduce the risk of negative offspring outcomes.…”