The mediating role of attachment and anger: exploring the impact of maternal early-life maltreatment on child abuse potential

Background

Maternal early-life maltreatment (ELM) increases the risk of subsequent child maltreatment, but the underlying mechanisms of these intergenerational effects remain largely unknown. Identifying these mechanisms is crucial for developing preventive interventions that can break the cycle of abuse. Notably, previous research has shown that ELM often results in attachment insecurity and altered anger characteristics. Therefore, this study determines whether these characteristics mediate the relationship between maternal history of ELM and child abuse potential.

Methods

The study sample included 254 mothers, of whom 149 had experienced ELM to at least a moderate degree. Maternal ELM was assessed using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA) interview. Attachment insecurity, trait anger and anger expression, and maternal abuse potential were assessed using the Vulnerable Attachment Questionnaire (VASQ), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), and Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI), respectively.

Results

The severity of maternal ELM predicted higher child abuse potential, with attachment insecurity and anger suppression mediating this effect. Specifically, higher levels of maternal ELM were associated with greater attachment insecurity and increased anger suppression, resulting in a higher child abuse potential. Although higher levels of trait anger were directly associated with higher child abuse potential, this parameter did not mediate the relationship with ELM. In addition, no significant associations were observed between outwardly expressed anger and ELM or child abuse potential. All analyses were adjusted for maternal mental disorders, years of education, and relationship status.

Discussion

Attachment insecurity and anger suppression may serve as pathways linking the maternal history of ELM to the risk of child abuse, even when considering maternal psychopathology. Overall, our findings indicate that interventions aimed at strengthening attachment and improving anger suppression may be beneficial for all mothers with ELM history and high child abuse potential, not just those who suffer from mental illness.

Exploring Insecure Romantic Attachment and Justifications for the Use of Intimate Partner Psychological Aggression in Couples

The attachment theory has commonly been used to examine intimate partner psychological aggression (IPPA), but few studies have examined its association with self-reported justifications for one's own use of IPPA. Behaviors, including the use of IPPA, are influenced, maintained, and function within the context of their justifications, highlighting the importance of investigating these justifications to obtain a clearer picture of IPPA. This study examined whether insecure romantic attachment (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) in both partners of a couple was associated with their justifications for their own use of IPPA. A community sample of 81 mixed-sex couples who reported using IPPA in the last year completed self-reported questionnaires on adult romantic attachment and their justifications for their use of IPPA. Results of a path analysis based on the actor-partner interdependence model revealed moderate positive associations between attachment anxiety and one's use of internal and external justifications for their IPPA perpetration in men and women. An unexpected dyadic positive association is discussed. These results suggest that the use of justifications for one's use of IPPA may reflect a strategy of hyperactivation that could contribute to the cycle of psychological aggression. Uncovering the function of these justifications could provide important therapeutic benefits, which are discussed in the study's implications.

Lay Beliefs About Romantic Relationships: A Mediator of the Effect of Family Dysfunction on Romantic Relationship Satisfaction

This paper tested why people differ with regard to whether they believe it is possible to find enduring love. Variations were assumed to be due to differences in people’s experiences. Those who experienced dysfunction in their family of origin and who did not have positive relationships role-modelled to them were expected to be less likely to have positive lay beliefs about romantic relationships. Positive lay beliefs, in turn, were hypothesised to impact on dysfunction in own romantic relationships later on in life, which were in turn expected to affect relationship satisfaction. In other words, positive lay beliefs were tested as one potential mechanism through which family dysfunction whilst growing up impacts on relationship dysfunction in later adult life. This paper presents a pilot study (N = 176) which introduces a measure for ‘positive lay beliefs about romantic relationships’, and finds this measure to be associated, as expected, with dysfunction in the family of origin. The main study (N = 435) then tested the full hypothesised model (family-of-origin dysfunction → positive lay beliefs → romantic relationship dysfunction → relationship satisfaction) with structural equation modelling, and found that the model fitted the data very well, confirming the hypotheses. It was concluded that lay beliefs about whether or not it is possible to find enduring love are an important mediator of the effects of family-of-origin dysfunction on later romantic relationship satisfaction.

Anger Can Help: A Transactional Model and Three Pathways of the Experience and Expression of Anger

Anger is a significant human emotion with far-reaching implications for individuals and relationships. We propose a transactional model of anger that highlights its relational relevance and potentially positive function, in addition to problematic malformations. By evolutionary design, physical, self-concept, or attachment threats all similarly trigger diffuse physiological arousal, psychologically experienced as anger-emotion. Anger is first a signaling and motivational system. Anger is then formed to affirming, productive use or malformed to destructive ends. A functional, prosocial approach to anger organizes it for protective and corrective personal and relational adaptation. In our model, threat perception interacts with a person's view of self in relation to other to produce helpful or harmful anger. Inflated or collapsed views of self in relation to other produce distinct manifestations of destructive anger that are harmful to self, other, and relationship. Conversely, a balanced view of self in relation to other promotes constructive anger and catalyzes self, other, and relationship healing. Clinical use of the model to shape healing personal and relational contact with anger is explored.

Dyadic Transition to Parenthood: A Longitudinal Assessment of Personal Growth among Parents of Pre- and Full-term Infants

This study examined the contribution of birth circumstances (premature and full-term birth) and individual and spousal factors (attachment orientations, parental self-efficacy and perceived infant temperament), measured 1 month post-partum, to the personal growth of first-time parents (n = 121) 1 and 5 months post-partum. The study overcame the limitations of prior research by accurately measuring actor effects while controlling for and assessing partner effects, by applying the actor-partner interdependence model. The findings confirm that becoming a parent, under normative and stressful circumstances, can lead to personal growth and parents of premature babies experience higher levels of growth than parents of full terms. Moreover, 1 month post-partum, actor effects were found for higher attachment anxiety and higher parental self-efficacy. Furthermore, personal growth at 1 month post-partum was found to be the strongest predictor of personal growth 5 months after childbirth. Five months post-partum, a positive partner effect was found for parental self-efficacy. Mothers reported higher growth than fathers only 5 months after the birth. It seems time plays an important role as to which variables contribute to personal growth. In the early stages of parenthood, personal growth is mostly an individual experience. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.