The distal consequences of physical and emotional neglect in emerging adults: A person-centered, multi-wave, longitudinal study

Abstract

Despite being the most prevalent form of child maltreatment, the correlates and consequences of neglect are poorly understood, particularly during early adulthood. The present multi-wave, longitudinal study sought to address this gap in this literature by examining physical and emotional neglect in emerging adults in a diverse community sample. 580 adolescents (AgeMean = 18.25; AgeSD = 0.59; 58.3% female; 31% Hispanic, 28.9% Caucasian; 26.2% African-American; 13.9% other) completed self-report measures for child maltreatment at baseline, and measures for depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and substance use every year for three years. For our analyses, we used both variable-centered (mixed-level modeling) and person-centered (latent profile analysis) analyses to best understand a) how physical and emotional neglect relate to other forms of maltreatment and b) to determine physical and emotional neglect’s unique impact on prospective mental health functioning. Our person-centered analyses revealed that a three-profile model provided the best solution for our data (“No Trauma,” “Abuse”, and “Neglect”). In longitudinal analyses, the “the neglect” group had significantly elevated scores compared to the “no trauma” group on all outcomes except alcohol use (p < .01). Results from our variable-centered analyses showed comparable findings between physical and emotional neglect, with higher scores corresponding to elevated symptoms of depression, PTSD, illicit substance use, and cigarette use over time (p < .01). In conclusion, our results suggest that early neglect-exposure poses a risk for the subsequent development of internalizing symptoms and substance use behaviors among emerging adults.

Child Maltreatment and Illicit Substance Abuse: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

“…Child neglect is one of the most prevalent forms of CM, with important impacts on mental health functioning in adults, such as elevated symptoms of depression, PTSD, illicit substance use, cigarette use over time, the development of other psychiatric disorders (Brady and Back, ; Young et al, ) and risk of suicide (Barbosa et al, ; Cohen et al, ). In our study, child neglect was not statistically associated with an increased risk of substance abuse, although although there is a tendency to increase the likelihood of developing SUD.…”

Relationships Among Emerging Adult Psychological Problems, Maltreatment, and Parental Psychopathology: Moderation by Parent–Child Relationship Quality

“…Although some level of conflict between parents and children during adolescence is normative (Smetana, Campione‐Barr, & Metzger, ), enduring and intense conflict can reach the level of physical or psychological abuse. Some forms of conflict can constitute physical (e.g., hitting with an open hand, fist, or other hard object) or psychological (e.g., threatening removal from home, insulting) maltreatment, which contribute to increased risk for internalizing and externalizing problems (Cohen, Menon, Shorey, Le, & Temple, ; Hagan, Roubinov, Mistler, & Luecken, ). Child maltreatment during childhood tends to continue through adolescence and emerging adulthood (Mercer et al., ), whereas more normative conflict tends to decrease over time alongside more independence during emerging adulthood (Hadiwijaya, Klimstra, Vermunt, Branje, & Meeus, ).…”

“…Overall, negative demands can limit emerging adults' ability to form meaningful relationships with peers and potential romantic partners, putting the adult child at higher risk for developing psychopathology (Abraham & Stein, 2010). Temple, 2017;Hagan, Roubinov, Mistler, & Luecken, 2014). Child maltreatment during childhood tends to continue through adolescence and emerging adulthood (Mercer et al, 2017), whereas more normative conflict tends to decrease over time alongside more independence during emerging adulthood (Hadiwijaya, Klimstra, Vermunt, Branje, & Meeus, 2017).…”

Sex-Dimorphic Interactions of MAOA Genotype and Child Maltreatment Predispose College Students to Polysubstance Use

“…Several genes implicated in the predisposition to substance use disorders have been shown to be related to monoamine neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine (Guo et al, 2007;Ducci and Goldman, 2012); these molecules are known to serve a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of drug abuse (Volkow et al, 2007;Fitzgerald, 2013;Müller and Homberg, 2015). Early-life adversity, and particularly child maltreatment is another well-known variable associated with high risk of PSU (Galaif et al, 2001;Leeb et al, 2008;Goldstein et al, 2013;Cohen et al, 2017). It has been estimated that~70% of adolescents receiving substance abuse treatment have a history of trauma (Funk et al, 2003), and that maltreated children are 300% more likely to develop substance abuse (Kilpatrick et al, 2003).…”