Browsing by Subject "Child Maltreatment"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Developmental Pathways from Childhood Maltreatment to Adolescent Psychopathology, Substance Use, and Revictimization
    (2019-06) Brown, Michelle Patrice
    Decades of research have demonstrated the detrimental influence that childhood maltreatment has on various aspects of child development and it is important to gain a more complete understanding of the developmental pathways that confer risk for or protection from adverse outcomes. To examine this, the aim of the first study is to determine whether adolescent revictimization mediates the relationship between maltreatment and adolescent psychopathology and substance use. The second study examines whether the quality of relationships with close friends mediates the relationship between child maltreatment and adolescent revictimization, psychopathology, and substance use. Participants were 545 (295 maltreated, 250 non-maltreated) racially diverse (52.8% Black, 27.5% White, 12.8% Bi-racial) children and their families who participated in a weeklong summer camp in middle childhood (mean age= 7.6 years). They were followed up twice in early-mid adolescence (mean age = 13.8 years) and mid-late adolescence (mean age = 16.2 years). Maltreatment was coded using Department of Human Services records. Psychopathology, substance use, revictimization, and friendship quality were assessed using adolescent self-report questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze cross-lagged panel mediation models that allowed for examination of main effects, cross-lagged effects, and mediation simultaneously. Results of Study 1 revealed that revictimization occurring between early-mid and mid-late adolescence did not mediate the relationship between maltreatment and mid-late adolescent psychopathology or substance use. However, revictimization strongly and significantly predicted these outcomes whereas maltreatment was weakly related to psychopathology and unrelated to substance use. Results highlight the importance of further examining the mechanisms by which revictimization increases risk for psychopathology and substance use and whether the relationship between maltreatment and adverse outcomes is attenuated when later victimization is accounted for. Results for Study 2 demonstrated that relationship quality with close friends in early-mid adolescence did not mediate the relationship between maltreatment and later adolescent revictimization, psychopathology, or substance use. Furthermore, friendship quality was actually unrelated to maltreatment and each of the outcomes examined. Results suggest the critical need for future research to seek greater understanding of the unique nature of maltreated children’s friendships and the specific ways they may protect from, or even increase risk for, negative outcomes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Effects of Child Maltreatment, Genetic Factors, and HPA Axis Functioning on Internalizing Symptoms in African American Children: A Moderated Mediation Model
    (2017-08) VanZomeren, Adrienne
    Child maltreatment is a potent relational pathogen that alters functioning across diverse developmental domains, and has been shown to increase risk for a host of mental health problems, including internalizing disorders. Similarities in the neuroendocrine profiles of individuals who develop internalizing symptoms and individuals who have been maltreated are striking, and suggest a role of neuroendocrine functioning, specifically the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, in the pathogenesis of internalizing disorders following child maltreatment. Risk and protective genetic factors, particularly relevant to HPA axis functioning, have been discovered, further highlighting involvement of the HPA axis and offering ideas about how some maltreated children may evade the biological impact of maltreatment. There has been movement in the field toward identifying mediators and moderators at multiple levels of analysis to best inform developmental mechanisms, which may ultimately aid in the treatment and prevention of deleterious outcomes following child maltreatment. Utilizing a large, ethnically homogenous sample, the current study employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to examine associations among child maltreatment, risk across multiple HPA-related genes, daytime cortisol patterns, and internalizing symptoms in effort to clarify biological mechanisms. Results revealed that experiences of maltreatment prior to age 5 were most predictive of internalizing symptoms in African American youth, whereas maltreatment occurring at or after age 5 was most predictive of HPA axis dysregulation in the form of blunted diurnal decrease of cortisol. Genetic factors did not alter the relationship between maltreatment and cortisol, nor were genetic risk patterns reflected in HPA functioning. There was no mediation of the relationship between maltreatment and internalizing symptoms by HPA dysfunction. Results are interpreted through a developmental psychopathology lens, emphasizing the principle of equifinality, whereby children follow multiple pathways toward internalizing symptoms. Implications for future research, particularly the need for longitudinal studies in this area, are discussed.