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The Role of Current Family Relationships in Associations Between Childhood Abuse and Adult Psychological Functioning.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:Childhood abuse has long-term negative effects on adult psychological well-being. This study examined whether and how adults with a history of childhood abuse may experience poor psychological functioning partly due to aspects of current family relationships. METHOD:We estimated multilevel mediation models using 3 waves of longitudinal data from 3,487 participants in the study of Midlife Development in the United States. Outcomes measured included negative affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being. We included aspects of family relationships as mediators: perceived support, perceived strain, frequency of contact, and hours of providing instrumental and emotional support. RESULTS:Multilevel mediation models showed that childhood verbal and physical abuse negatively affected diverse aspects of family relationships in later adulthood (i.e., less perceived support, more perceived strain, less frequent contact, and fewer hours of providing instrumental support). We also found that less perceived support and more family strain significantly mediated the associations between childhood abuse and all 3 psychological functioning outcomes. DISCUSSION:Childhood abuse appears to hinder perceived availability of family support in adulthood, which may undermine the psychological functioning of adults with a history of childhood abuse. To improve their psychological health, interventions should focus on facilitating supportive and functional family relationships.

SUBMITTER: Kong J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6566329 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Role of Current Family Relationships in Associations Between Childhood Abuse and Adult Psychological Functioning.

Kong Jooyoung J Moorman Sara M SM Martire Lynn M LM Almeida David M DM

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 20190601 5

<h4>Objectives</h4>Childhood abuse has long-term negative effects on adult psychological well-being. This study examined whether and how adults with a history of childhood abuse may experience poor psychological functioning partly due to aspects of current family relationships.<h4>Method</h4>We estimated multilevel mediation models using 3 waves of longitudinal data from 3,487 participants in the study of Midlife Development in the United States. Outcomes measured included negative affect, life ...[more]

PMID: 29924362

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Project description:ImportanceDuring an ongoing longitudinal cohort study, a casino opening created a natural cash transfer experiment. Some participating families received income supplements, and others did not. The children in this study are now adults.ObjectiveTo assess the long-term outcomes of family income supplements received in childhood.Design, setting, and participantsThis community-representative longitudinal cohort study set in western North Carolina assessed 1266 participants aged 9, 11, and 13 years at intake up to 11 times up to age 30 years from January 1993 to December 2015. Data were analyzed from January to December 2021.ExposuresIn 1996, a southeastern American Indian tribe implemented a cash transfer program of approximately $5000 annually per person for tribal members. Participants were compared on whether their family ever received the cash transfers (American Indian vs non-American Indian), the duration of the transfers, and annual amount based on the number of parents.Main outcomes and measuresParticipants were followed up at ages 25 and 30 years to assess mental health symptoms, substance use symptoms, and functional outcomes (physical health, risky or illegal behaviors, and financial and social functioning).ResultsOf 1266 included participants, 320 (25.3%) were American Indian and 581 (49.7%) were female. Participants whose families received cash transfers during childhood reported fewer anxiety symptoms (relative risk [RR], 0.33; 95% CI, 0.25-0.44), depressive symptoms (RR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.42-0.62), and cannabis symptoms (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.27-0.82). They also reported improved physical health (RR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.55-0.80) and financial functioning (RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.89) and fewer risky or illegal behaviors (RR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.46-0.72) compared with those who did not receive the cash transfer. This pattern was supported by a series of heterogeneity analyses in which children whose families received the transfers for the longest duration and whose families received the largest transfer (due to having multiple American Indian parents) had the lowest levels of symptoms and the highest levels of functioning.Conclusions and relevanceIn this natural experiment, a family cash transfer in childhood was associated with positive adult functioning 20 years later. The findings support programs like the child tax credit or universal basic income that provide cash directly to families with children.

Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies indicate that social functioning and resilience can mitigate the adverse psychological effects of interpersonal violence. Unfortunately, the role of these variables has not been studied in survivors of groups, organizations, and communities in which psychological abusive strategies are inflicted to recruit and dominate their members.ObjectiveTo examine the mediating role of social functioning and resilience in the relationship between psychological abuse experienced in the past while in a group and current psychosocial distress and psychopathological symptoms.MethodIn this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was administered to 794 English-speaking former members of different kinds of groups, such as religious, pseudo therapeutic, pyramid scheme groups, and others. Among them, 499 were victims of group psychological abuse and 295 were non-victims.ResultsVictims of group psychological abuse reported lower levels of social functioning and resilience than non-victims, and higher levels of psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms. Serial mediation analyses revealed that social functioning and resilience mediated part of the impact of group psychological abuse on psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms. Sex and age joining the group were included as covariates. Participants who had experienced higher levels of group psychological abuse tend to have poorer social functioning, which is related to lower resilience. In turn, lower levels of social functioning and resilience are related with higher distress.ConclusionsThis research sheds light on the underlying mechanisms involved in the relationship between group psychological abuse and distress suffered following this kind of traumatic experiences. Findings highlight the protective role of social adjustment, which can help promote and enhance resilience and mitigate psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms in survivors of group psychological abuse.

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The Role of Current Family Relationships in Associations Between Childhood Abuse and Adult Psychological Functioning.

Publications

The Role of Current Family Relationships in Associations Between Childhood Abuse and Adult Psychological Functioning.

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