History of Childhood Abuse and Intergenerational Support to Mothers in Adulthood

The authors examined the association between maternal childhood abuse and the frequency of providing social support to mothers when the victim is an adult and investigated the mediating effects of internal working models (self-esteem, positive relations with others) and maladaptive coping. Using data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States II, they analyzed a sample of 887 adult children using a structural equation modeling approach. The results showed that maternal childhood abuse was associated with providing less frequent emotional support to mothers, although the authors did not find significant mediating effects of internal working models and maladaptive coping in the association between child abuse and intergenerational support giving. The findings suggest implications for theory, practice, and policy to address specific concerns and possible challenges that adults with a history of childhood abuse may experience in the relationship with their mothers.