Introduction: Childhood maltreatment is a well-established risk factor for health problems in adulthood and may also have intergenerational consequences for infant health. Childhood maltreatment may confer risk for infant health by undermining caregiver capacities for sensitive and responsive caregiving. However, associations among childhood maltreatment, maternal sensitivity, and infant health are not well understood. These processes may be of particular importance among low-income and ethnic minority populations for whom disparities in maltreatment exposure and poorer health outcomes are well-established.
Method: The current study drew data from a sample of low-income, Mexican American families to examine whether maternal childhood maltreatment would be associated with more infant health concerns, and whether lower maternal sensitivity would explain their associations. Data were collected from 322 mother-infant dyads during home visits completed during pregnancy and when infants were 12, 18, and 24 weeks old.
Results: Maternal childhood maltreatment exposure and lower maternal sensitivity were both associated with more infant health concerns. Maternal childhood maltreatment was not associated with maternal sensitivity.
Discussion: These findings highlight potential intergenerational consequences of maternal childhood maltreatment for infant health and underscore a need for evaluating pre- and postnatal mechanisms through which these effects may be perpetuated. Furthermore, results indicate that maternal sensitivity may represent a promising target for interventions seeking to counteract intergenerational transmission processes. Clarification about underlying risk processes and potentiating resiliency characteristics may elucidate ways to better support mothers and infants across the lifespan.
Keywords: Child maltreatment; Infant health; Intergenerational transmission; Maternal sensitivity; Mexican American.
Childhood maltreatment is associated with a variety of health outcomes across an individual’s lifespan and may have intergenerational consequences as well. The present study is among the first to investigate maternal co-regulatory behaviors (i.e., sensitivity) as a potential mechanism through which maternal exposure to childhood maltreatment may influence infant health concerns. Results suggest that both maternal childhood maltreatment history and sensitivity may shape infant outcomes before 24 weeks of age. Increasing understanding of the mechanisms through which maternal childhood maltreatment may exert cascades of influence on infant health may help to inform the development of early intervention services.
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