Intergenerational Transference
Offspring of maltreated mothers are likely placed at risk due to a number of factors. First, the distorted sexuality exhibited by some abused mothers is a possible pathway to becoming a perpetrator of abuse. Second, due to possible disruptions in internal working models of attachment, mothers abused as children may have difficulty forming secure attachments with infants and/or forming healthy adult relationships and may thus inadvertently select potential abusers as mates. Third, inadequate parenting strategies may contribute to the re-creation of an environment in which abuse is allowed to persist. Fourth, offspring may be placed at risk from the very start of life due to developmental complications resulting from maternal prenatal substance abuse, high levels of maternal stress during pregnancy, and inadequate prenatal care, thus leading to heightened risk for prematurity and/or neonatal complications.
The most recent assessment of the longitudinal study (Time 6; recently completed in January of 2005) was chiefly focused on the transitions to young-adulthood of study participants. Funding for this time point allowed Dr. Noll and her research team to assess and evaluate over 100 offspring of the sexually abused and comparison females that have been followed from childhood through adolescence and into young adulthood.
Preliminary results from Dr. Noll's K01 research indicate that, through examination of hospital labor and delivery records of babies born during the course of this longitudinal study, over 15% of offspring were born preterm (less than 37 weeks gestational age), with 11% born to comparison mothers and 19% born to abused mothers. These preliminary analyses also show a relationship between preterm status and maternal pre-pregnancy cortisol levels, maternal stress during pregnancy, and teenage motherhood.
Additional analyses demonstrate that offspring of abused mothers were more likely to be involved in child protective services (CPS) than offspring of non-abused mothers (17% and 1%, respectively). Over 57% of CPS cases concerned offspring of teen mothers. These preliminary results provide some of the first evidence for an intergenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment, and demonstrate the compounded deleterious effects on offspring of teen mothers who were also abused in childhood.
This evidence detailing the profoundly damaging effects that teen mothers' childhood abuse experiences have on their offspring, provides increased impetus to elucidate the unique pathways from maltreatment to teen pregnancy.
Future Directions
Drs. Noll and Putnam are in the process of designing and piloting an intergenerational violence prevention program for maltreated adolescents with a long-range goal of packaging the program for dissemination.
Relevant Publications
Noll JG. (2005). Does childhood sexual abuse set in motion a cycle of violence against women? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(1), 455-462.
Noll JG, Trickett PK, Putnam FW. (2003). A prospective investigation of the impact of childhood sexual abuse on the development of sexuality. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(3), 575-586.
Funding Sources
(Noll) Principal Investigator KO1 Research Career Award The Offspring of Maltreated Mothers: Prenatal and Infant Health, K01 HD41402-01, $473,607 direct and indirect costs, period covered March, 2002 - February, 2007.
