Abstract Attachment theory has been proposed as one explanation for the relationship between childhood maltreatment and problematic mental and physical health outcomes in adulthood. This study seeks ...to determine whether: (1) childhood physical abuse and neglect lead to different attachment styles in adulthood, (2) adult attachment styles predict subsequent mental and physical health outcomes, and (3) adult attachment styles mediate the relationship between childhood physical abuse and neglect and mental and physical health outcomes. Children with documented cases of physical abuse and neglect (ages 0–11) were matched with children without these histories and followed up in adulthood. Adult attachment style was assessed at mean age 39.5 and outcomes at 41.1. Separate path models examined mental and physical health outcomes. Individuals with histories of childhood neglect and physical abuse had higher levels of anxious attachment style in adulthood, whereas neglect predicted avoidant attachment as well. Both adult attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) predicted mental health outcomes (higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower levels of self-esteem), whereas only anxious adult attachment style predicted higher levels of allostatic load. Path analyses revealed that anxious attachment style in adulthood in part explained the relationship between childhood neglect and physical abuse to depression, anxiety, and self-esteem, but not the relationship to allostatic load. Childhood neglect and physical abuse have lasting effects on adult attachment styles and anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles contribute to understanding the negative mental health consequences of childhood neglect and physical abuse 30 years later in adulthood.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
This study assessed relations among placement instability, inhibitory control, and caregiver-rated child behavior. The sample included 33 adopted children who had experienced placement instability, ...42 adopted children who had experienced 1 stable placement, and 27 children never placed in foster care. Five- and 6-year-old children completed the day-night task, which requires children to inhibit a prepotent response, and a control task that presents similar memory demands but does not require inhibition (
C. L. Gerstadt, Y. J. Hong, & A. Diamond, 1994
). Adopted children who had experienced placement instability performed worse on the inhibition task than did both other groups of children, when the authors controlled for age, verbal intelligence (as measured with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised;
D. Wechsler, 1989
; or the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition;
L. M. Dunn & L. M. Dunn, 1997
), and control task performance (
p
< .01). Children who had experienced placement instability were also rated on the Child Behavior Checklist as more oppositional than other children (
p
< .01;
T. M. Achenbach & L. A. Rescorla, 2000
). Inhibitory control did not mediate the association between placement instability and oppositional behavior (
p
> .05). These results suggest that placement instability may adversely affect the social-emotional development of adopted children.
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CEKLJ, FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PEFLJ, UPUK
Early adversity, including disruptions in care and exposure to maltreatment, threaten the healthy development of adopted children's self-regulation skills, specifically their inhibitory control ...skills. This study examined the impact of early adversity and current family influences on inhibitory control skills among adopted preschoolers (3-6 year olds). Eighty-four parent/child dyads participated. Children's inhibitory control skills were measured during parent child play interactions (Carmichael-Olsen, Greenberg & Slough, 1985; Kochanska & Aksan, 1995; Murray & Kochanska, 2002). Number of foster placements significantly predicted inhibitory control skills in a clean up task, controlling for child age. Family expressivity was a significant predictor of inhibitory control skills in a waiting task, controlling for child age and temperament. Hypothesized mediation models between early adversity, current family stress, family emotional expressivity, emotion knowledge and inhibitory control skills were not supported.
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