Childhood emotional abuse characteristics moderate associations with adult psychopathology and caregiving. (January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Berzenski, Sara R.; Madden, Amber R.; Yates, Tuppett M.
• Is Part Of: Child abuse & neglect. Volume 87(2019)
• Page Start: 77
• Page End: 87
• Publication Date: 2019-01
• Subjects: Childhood emotional abuse -- Maltreatment -- Frequency -- Intensity -- Severity -- Caregiving; Child abuse -- Periodicals; 362.76
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.06.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0145-2134

Abstract

Abstract: As the consequences of childhood maltreatment for adult adjustment become increasingly established in the literature, investigations of individual differences in these effects must evolve to examine more nuanced components of the maltreatment experience. This is particularly true for studies of childhood emotional abuse (CEA), which represents an umbrella label for numerous qualitatively different experiences. The present study examined the distinct contributions and potential interactive effects of CEA frequency and intensity on adult psychopathology, caregiving behaviors, and caregivers' representations of the caregiver-child relationship in a diverse sample of 62 female caregivers of 4-year-old children, all of whom had experienced CEA. Frequency and intensity emerged as orthogonal characteristics of CEA with differential effects on adult adaptation. Higher CEA frequency predicted increased adult psychopathology, whereas higher CEA intensity predicted increased boundary dissolution in caregivers' representations. Further, an interaction between frequency and intensity predicted negativity in caregivers' representations, such that higher frequency of high intensity, but not low intensity, CEA predicted decreased negativity. Neither frequency nor intensity of CEA predicted observed caregiving behaviors. These results provide evidence that characteristics of CEA signal important differences in its experience, with differential implications for later adjustment. The specific differences in caregiving representations associated with high vs. low intensity CEA suggest that diverging mechanisms by which these experiences eventuate in adult outcomes should also be investigated. Above all, this study suggests that the measurement of CEA, and childhood maltreatment broadly, will benefit from enhanced attention to specific characteristics of individuals' experiences.