Intertwining of intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment and attachment.

BACKGROUND: Extant literature indicates that childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with adverse intergenerational outcomes, including a heightened risk of CM exposure in the next generation. Research findings also suggest that attachment may play a central role in this phenomenon. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether the intergenerational cycles of CM and insecure and disorganized attachment coexist, the current study aimed to investigate: 1) whether parents' attachment mediates the association between severity of parental CM history and child exposure to maltreatment; 2) whether children's CM exposure mediates the association between parental CM history and child attachment. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 79 mother-child dyads (32 girls, 47 boys, Mage = 5.31 years): 29 dyads followed by child protection services (CPS) and 50 dyads from a community sample. METHODS: Mothers responded to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Attachment Multiple Model Interview. Children completed the Attachment Story Completion Task. RESULTS: Maternal CM exposure was associated with (i) children's CM exposure through maternal attachment insecurity and disorganization (β = 0.18, 95% bootstrap CI [0.05, 0.31]) and (ii) child attachment insecurity and disorganization through children's CM exposure (β = 0.16, 95% bootstrap CI [0.07, 0.28). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide preliminary evidence for a possible intertwining of intergenerational cycles of CM and insecure and disorganized attachment, highlighting the complex nature of these processes. They emphasize the need for trauma-informed child protection practice with children, but also parents, who have often themselves been exposed to CM, and highlight the importance of addressing attachment in both generations.