Transmission of parental childhood trauma to child behavior problems: Parental Hostile/Helpless state of mind as a moderator

Little attention has been given to intergenerational transmission of risk, mainly whether caregivers’ history of childhood maltreatment is linked to behavioral symptoms in their children and which protective/risk factors are involved in this transmission process. This study examined if parental Hostile/Helpless (H/H) state of mind with respect to attachment moderated the association between parental childhood trauma and behavior problems in maltreated children. The sample included 61 parents and their children victims or at very high risk of maltreatment, aged between 1 and 6 years old. Parents retrospectively reported their childhood trauma and completed a measure of their children’s behavior problems. Independent observers assessed H/H attachment representations. Among parents with H/H states of mind, more severe traumatic childhood experiences were associated with more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in their children. Among non-H/H parents, associations between parental childhood trauma and child behavior problems were not significant. In the context of trauma, this study suggests that the absence of a H/H state of mind in parents (i.e., the presence of an organized attachment state of mind) is a protective factor for child adjustment. H/H mental representations of self and attachment experiences as targets of intervention for parents with histories of maltreatment may help reduce the transmission of risk in maltreating families.