A Conceptual Model of the Intergenerational Transmission of Emotion Dysregulation in Mothers with a History of Childhood Maltreatment

Abstract

Objectives: Adults with a history of childhood maltreatment report problems with emotion regulation (ER) and parenting, which can contribute to maladaptive outcomes in offspring. The following narrative review consists of a theoretical and empirical synthesis of the literature examining child maltreatment, emotion regulation, and parenting, with an emphasis on parental emotion socialization.
 
 Method: Building upon the literature contained in the review, we developed a novel conceptual model that elucidates some of the mechanisms involved in the intergenerational transmission of emotion dysregulation among mothers with a history of childhood maltreatment. Taking into account risk and protective factors (e.g., socio-economic status, polyvictimization, teenage motherhood, access to social supports), our conceptual model highlights both direct (e.g., social learning) and indirect (e.g., ER difficulties) mechanisms through which child maltreatment contributes to problems with parental emotion socialization and ER difficulties in the next generation.
 
 Implications: Directions for future research and implications for intervention will be discussed with an emphasis on preventing the continuity of maladaptive parenting by promoting the development of parents’ ER abilities in a trauma-informed, resilience-focused framework.

Intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment: The role of maternal emotional dysregulation and mother–child attachment.

“…As such, the aim of the present study is to further examine the role of maternal emotional dysregulation, a transdiagnostic feature involved in many psychopathologies (Aldao et al, 2010), and mother-child attachment in the intergenerational continuity of specific types of CM and cumulative CM in mother-young adult dyads. This clinically relevant study will advance our understanding of the role of these key variables in Emotional dysregulation in mothers with a history of CM, either cumulative or single type, could negatively impact their relationship with their child (Brenning et al, 2020;Cabecinha-Alati et al, 2020;Rutherford et al, 2015). There is also evidence that suggests that emotional dysregulation is associated with increased child abuse potential (Lowell & Renk, 2017;Miragoli et al, 2020).…”

“…Emotional dysregulation in mothers with a history of CM, either cumulative or single type, could negatively impact their relationship with their child (Brenning et al, 2020; Cabecinha-Alati et al, 2020; Rutherford et al, 2015). There is also evidence that suggests that emotional dysregulation is associated with increased child abuse potential (Lowell & Renk, 2017; Miragoli et al, 2020).…”

“…There is also evidence that suggests that emotional dysregulation is associated with increased child abuse potential (Lowell & Renk, 2017; Miragoli et al, 2020). Parental emotion regulation has been proposed as crucial for optimal parenting (Cabecinha-Alati et al, 2020; Rutherford et al, 2015). Indeed, being well-regulated is a necessary condition for being able to sensitively respond to a child’s emotional needs (Rutherford et al, 2015), and parental sensitivity is a key ingredient in the development of secure attachment relationships (Ainsworth, 1979).…”

“…Emotion regulation skills develop in the context of responsive caregiving in early life (Dvir et al, 2014). Given that CM is a complex trauma that is interpersonal in nature and involves high levels of betrayal from a caregiver, studies have consistently shown that it is associated with lifelong difficulties with emotion regulation, otherwise known as emotional dysregulation (Bonet et al, 2020; Cabecinha-Alati et al, 2020). Neurobiological effects of CM—such as alterations in the stress response system cascading into negative impacts on myelination, neuronal morphology, neurogenesis, and synaptogenesis—lead to functional changes in the brain and are believed to underlie these emotion regulation difficulties (Dvir et al, 2014).…”

Maternal History of Child Sexual Abuse and Maladaptive Outcomes in Sexually Abused Children: The Role of Maternal Mental Health

“…The present study examined maternal psychological distress, maternal PTSD symptoms, and maternal dissociation as potential mediators of the relationship between maternal CSA and children’s internalizing, externalizing, and dissociation symptoms in a large sample of sexually abused children. Based on previous findings and theoretical models linking maternal CSA to later mental health difficulties and increased risks of maladaptation in sexually abused children ( Baril & Tourigny, 2015 ; Cabecinha-Alati et al, 2020 ; Courtois & Ford, 2009 ), it was hypothesized that maternal history of CSA would be associated with increased maternal psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, and dissociation following children’s CSA, and that these increased mental health difficulties would in turn be associated with increased child internalizing, externalizing, and dissociation symptoms.…”