Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:59:09.388Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Developmental cascades from child maltreatment to negative friend and romantic interactions in emerging adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2019

Elizabeth D. Handley*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Justin Russotti
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Fred A. Rogosch
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Dante Cicchetti
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
*
Author for Correspondence: Elizabeth Handley, Mt. Hope Family Center, 187 Edinburgh Street, Rochester, NY 14608; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract

Maltreatment during childhood is associated with difficult interpersonal relationships throughout the life course. The aim of the current study was to investigate differential pathways from child maltreatment to emerging adult relationship dysfunction. Specifically, we prospectively tested whether child maltreatment initiates a developmental cascade resulting in coercive negative romantic and friend interactions in emerging adulthood via childhood antisocial tendencies and via childhood relational aggression. Utilizing a longitudinal sample of emerging adult participants (N = 392; mean age = 20 years old) who took part in a summer research camp program as children (mean age = 11 years old), results supported pathways via both childhood antisocial behavior and childhood relational aggression. We found specificity within these pathways such that childhood antisocial behavior was a mediator of child maltreatment effects on emerging adult negative romantic interactions, whereas childhood relational aggression was a mediator of child maltreatment effects on emerging adult negative friend interactions. Taken together, results indicate that children exposed to maltreatment face significant interpersonal challenges in emerging adulthood, within both the friend and the romantic domains, and point to distinct childhood pathways to these negative interactions. Our findings are consistent with Dishion's (2016) theoretical framework for understanding the development of coercion in relationships and highlight the criticality of early intervention with maltreating families.

Type
Special Issue Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, T. R., Handley, E. D., Manly, J. T., Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2019). Intimate partner violence as a mechanism underlying the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment among economically disadvantaged mothers and their adolescent daughters. Development and Psychopathology, 31, 8393.Google Scholar
Barnett, D., Manly, J. T., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Defining child maltreatment: The interface between policy and research. In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. (Eds.), Child abuse, child development, and social policy (pp. 773). Norwood: Ablex.Google Scholar
Bolger, K. E., & Patterson, C. J. (2001). Developmental pathways from child maltreatment to peer rejection. Child Development, 72, 549568.Google Scholar
Booth, A., Crouter, A. C., & Clements, M. (Eds.) (2001). Couples in conflict. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment: Vol. 1. Attachment and loss. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Bukowski, W. M., Sippola, L., Hoza, B., & Newcomb, A. F. (2000). Pages from a sociometric notebook: An analysis of nomination and rating scale measures of acceptance, rejection, and social preference. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 88, 1126.Google Scholar
Capaldi, D. M., Dishion, T. J., Stoolmiller, M., & Yoerger, K. (2001). Aggression toward female partners by at-risk young men: The contribution of male adolescent friendships. Developmental Psychology, 37, 61.Google Scholar
Capaldi, D. M., Knoble, N. B., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 3, 231280.Google Scholar
Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships in maltreated infants. Developmental Psychology, 25, 525.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Dawson, G. (2002). Multiple levels of analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 417420.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Lynch, M. (1995). Failures in the expectable environment and their impact on individual development: The case of child maltreatment. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 2. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 3271). Wiley series on personality processes. Oxford: Wiley.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Manly, J. T. (1990). A personal perspective on conducting research with maltreating families: Problems and solutions. Methods of Family Research: Families at Risk, 2, 87133.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2015). Child maltreatment. In Lamb, M. (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Vol. 3: Socioemotional process (7th ed., pp. 513563). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2016). Child maltreatment and developmental psychopathology: A multilevel perspective. In Cicchetti, D. (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3. Maladaptation and psychopathology (3rd ed., pp. 457512). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Toth, S. L., & Manly, J. T. (2003). Maternal maltreatment classification interview. Unpublished manuscript, Mt. Hope Family Center, Rochester, NY.Google Scholar
Colman, R. A., & Widom, C. S. (2004). Childhood abuse and neglect and adult intimate relationships: A prospective study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 11331151.Google Scholar
Crick, N. R. (1995). Relational aggression: The role of intent attributions, feelings of distress, and provocation type. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 313322.Google Scholar
Crick, N. R. (1996). The role of overt aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior in the prediction of children's future social adjustment. Child Development, 67, 23172327.Google Scholar
Crick, N. R., Ostrov, J. M., Burr, J. E., Cullerton-Sen, C., Jansen-Yeh, E., & Ralston, P. (2006). A longitudinal study of relational and physical aggression in preschool. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 254268.Google Scholar
Cullerton-Sen, C., Cassidy, A. R., Murray-Close, D., Cicchetti, D., Crick, N. R., & Rogosch, F. A. (2008). Childhood maltreatment and the development of relational and physical aggression: The importance of a gender-informed approach. Child Development, 79, 17361751.Google Scholar
Cyr, C., Euser, E. M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2010). Attachment security and disorganization in maltreating and high-risk families: A series of meta-analyses. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 87108.Google Scholar
DiLillo, D., Peugh, J., Walsh, K., Panuzio, J., Trask, E., & Evans, S. (2009). Child maltreatment history among newlywed couples: A longitudinal study of marital outcomes and mediating pathways. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 680.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J. (2016). An evolutionary framework for understanding coercion and aggression. In Dishion, T. J. & Snyder, J. J. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of coercive relationship dynamics (pp. 5369). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Andrews, D. W., & Crosby, L. (1995). Antisocial boys and their friends in early adolescence: Relationship characteristics, quality, and interactional process. Child Development, 66, 139151.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., & Patterson, G. R. (2016). The development and ecology of antisocial behavior: Linking etiology, prevention, and treatment. In Cicchetti, D. (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology (3rd ed., pp. 647678). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Doyle, C., & Cicchetti, D. (2017). From the cradle to the grave: The effect of adverse caregiving environments on attachment and relationships throughout the lifespan. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 24, 203217.Google Scholar
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21, 10161024.Google Scholar
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (2009). Methods and measures: The network of relationships inventory: Behavioral systems version. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33, 470478.Google Scholar
Furman, W., & Shomaker, L. B. (2008). Patterns of interaction in adolescent romantic relationships: Distinct features and links to other close relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 771788.Google Scholar
Gottschalk, L. A., & Gleser, G. C. (1969). The measurement of psychological states through the content analysis of verbal behavior. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Ha, T., Kim, H., Christopher, C., Caruthers, A., & Dishion, T. J. (2016). Predicting sexual coercion in early adulthood: The transaction among maltreatment, gang affiliation, and adolescent socialization of coercive relationship norms. Development and Psychopathology, 28, 707720.Google Scholar
Ha, T., Otten, R., McGill, S., & Dishion, T. J. (2019). The family and peer origins of coercion within adult romantic relationships: A longitudinal multimethod study across relationships contexts. Developmental Psychology, 55, 207.Google Scholar
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1994). Attachment as an organizational framework for research on close relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 5, 122.Google Scholar
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 155.Google Scholar
Jacobvitz, D., & Hazen, N. (1999). Developmental pathways from infant disorganization to childhood peer relationships. In Solomon, J. & George, C. (Eds.), Attachment disorganization (pp. 127159). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Kawabata, Y., Alink, L. R., Tseng, W. L., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., & Crick, N. R. (2011). Maternal and paternal parenting styles associated with relational aggression in children and adolescents: A conceptual analysis and meta-analytic review. Developmental Review, 31, 240278.Google Scholar
Labella, M. H., Johnson, W. F., Martin, J., Ruiz, S. K., Shankman, J. L., Englund, M. M., & Simpson, J. A. (2018). Multiple dimensions of childhood abuse and neglect prospectively predict poorer adult romantic functioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44, 238251.Google Scholar
Leadbeater, B. J., Sukhawathanakul, P., Holfeld, B., & Temple, J. R. (2017). The effects of continuities in parent and peer aggression on relational intimate partner violence in the transition to young adulthood. Prevention Science, 18, 350360.Google Scholar
Linder, J. R., & Collins, W. A. (2005). Parent and peer predictors of physical aggression and conflict management in romantic relationships in early adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 252.Google Scholar
Linder, J. R., Crick, N. R., & Collins, W. A. (2002). Relational aggression and victimization in young adults' romantic relationships: Associations with perceptions of parent, peer, and romantic relationship quality. Social Development, 11, 6986.Google Scholar
Loeb, E. L., Tan, J. S., Hessel, E. T., & Allen, J. P. (2018). Getting what you expect: Negative social expectations in early adolescence predict hostile romantic partnerships and friendships into adulthood. Journal of Early Adolescence, 38, 475496.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W. B. (1998). Multiple risk factors for multiproblem boys: Co-occurrence of delinquency, substance use, attention deficit, conduct problems, physical aggression, covert behavior, depressed mood, and shy/withdrawn behavior. In Jessor, R. (Ed.), New perspectives on adolescent risk behavior (pp. 90149). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
MacKinnon, D. P., Fairchild, A. J., & Fritz, M. S. (2007). Mediation analysis. Annual Review Psychology, 58, 593614.Google Scholar
Manly, J. T. (2005). Advances in research definitions of child maltreatment. Child Abuse and Neglect, 29, 425439.Google Scholar
Manly, J. T., Kim, J. E., Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Dimensions of child maltreatment and children's adjustment: Contributions of developmental timing and subtype. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 759782.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 491495.Google Scholar
Murray-Close, D., Han, G., Cicchetti, D., Crick, N. R., & Rogosch, F. A. (2008). Neuroendocrine regulation and physical and relational aggression: The moderating roles of child maltreatment and gender. Developmental Psychology, 44, 11601176.Google Scholar
Murray-Close, D., Nelson, D. A., Ostrov, J. M., Casas, J. F., & Crick, N. R. (2016). Relational aggression: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In Cicchetti, D. (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology (3rd ed., pp. 660722). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. (2017). Mplus user's guide: Statistical analysis with latent variables, user's guide. Los Angeles: Author.Google Scholar
Oudekerk, B. A., Allen, J. P., Hessel, E. T., & Molloy, L. E. (2015). The cascading development of autonomy and relatedness from adolescence to adulthood. Child Development, 86, 472485.Google Scholar
Piehler, T. F., & Dishion, T. J. (2007). Interpersonal dynamics within adolescent friendships: Dyadic mutuality, deviant talk, and patterns of antisocial behavior. Child Development, 78, 16111624.Google Scholar
Preddy, T. M., & Fite, P. J. (2012). Differential associations between relational and overt aggression and children's psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 34, 182190.Google Scholar
Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2005). Child maltreatment, attention networks, and potential precursors to borderline personality disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 10711089.Google Scholar
Rutter, M., & Sroufe, L. A. (2000). Developmental psychopathology: Concepts and challenges. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 265296.Google Scholar
Schafer, J. L., & Graham, J. W. (2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7, 147.Google Scholar
Sedlak, A. J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Peta, I., McPherson, K., & Greene, A. (2010). Fourth national incidence study of child abuse and neglect (NIS-4). Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services.Google Scholar
Shaw, D. S., Dishion, T. J., Supplee, L., Gardner, F., & Arnds, K. (2006). Randomized trial of a family-centered approach to the prevention of early conduct problems: 2-year effects of the Family Check-Up in early childhood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 1.Google Scholar
Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Parental maltreatment and emotion dysregulation as risk factors for bullying and victimization in middle childhood. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 349363.Google Scholar
Sroufe, L. A. (2005). Attachment and development: A prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood. Attachment & Human Development, 7, 349367.Google Scholar
Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E., & Collins, W. A. (2005). Placing early attachment experiences in developmental context: The Minnesota Longitudinal Study. In Grossmann, K. E., Grossmann, K., & Waters, E. (Eds.), Attachment from infancy to adulthood: The major longitudinal studies (pp. 4870). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Trickett, P. K., Negriff, S., Ji, J., & Peckins, M. (2011). Child maltreatment and adolescent development. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 320.Google Scholar
Vezina, J., & Herbert, M. (2007). Risk factors for victimization in romantic relationships of young women: A review of empirical studies and implications for prevention. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 8, 3366.Google Scholar
Weinfield, N. S., Sroufe, L. A., & Egeland, B. (2000). Attachment from infancy to early adulthood in a high-risk sample: Continuity, discontinuity, and their correlates. Child Development, 71, 695702.Google Scholar
Woodward, L. J., Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2002). Romantic relationships of young people with childhood and adolescent onset antisocial behavior problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 231243.Google Scholar
Yu, C. Y., & Muthén, B. O. (2002). Evaluation of model fit indices for latent variable models with categorical and continuous outcomes. Los Angeles, CA: University of California, Los Angeles, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.Google Scholar