Child maltreatment and cognitive and academic functioning in two generations

•Child maltreatment is associated with cognitive and academic functioning deficits.•Not abuse, parent cognitive functioning predicts offspring cognitive functioning.•Parents’ maltreatment and family SES predict offspring academic functioning.•Maltreatment may not directly cause deficits in cognitive and academic functioning. Childhood maltreatment has been associated with deficits in cognitive functioning and poor academic performance. Not known is whether these characteristics are the direct consequence of the childhood maltreatment (that is, maltreatment plays a causal role) or whether other factors explain the relationship. To examine whether childhood maltreatment predicts cognitive and academic functioning and whether these relationships are explained by other factors (parent cognitive and academic functioning, family social class, or parent maltreatment). Data are from a longitudinal study of previously maltreated children, matched controls, and a subset of their offspring (697 parent-offspring dyads) interviewed in 2009−2010. Cognitive and academic functioning were assessed in both parents and offspring with the same measures. Maltreatment was determined through official records. Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to examine predictors of offspring cognitive and academic functioning. Childhood maltreatment was associated with poorer cognitive functioning and worse academic performance in both generations. Controlling for age, sex, race, and whether the parent had more than one child in the study, offspring maltreatment predicted offspring cognitive functioning when it was the only predictor in the model. In a final model with all variables, only parent cognitive functioning predicted offspring cognitive functioning and parent academic functioning and parent history of maltreatment predicted offspring academic functioning. These results challenge assumptions that childhood maltreatment directly causes deficits in cognitive and academic functioning. Policy makers and practitioners may need to rethink the design of interventions to improve the cognitive and academic functioning of maltreated children.