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Developmental cascades from child maltreatment to negative friend and romantic interactions in emerging adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2019

Elizabeth D. Handley ,
Justin Russotti ,
Fred A. Rogosch  and
Dante Cicchetti
Elizabeth D. Handley*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Justin Russotti
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Fred A. Rogosch
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Dante Cicchetti
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
*
Author for Correspondence: Elizabeth Handley, Mt. Hope Family Center, 187 Edinburgh Street, Rochester, NY 14608; E-mail: elizabeth_handley@urmc.rochester.edu.
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Abstract

Maltreatment during childhood is associated with difficult interpersonal relationships throughout the life course. The aim of the current study was to investigate differential pathways from child maltreatment to emerging adult relationship dysfunction. Specifically, we prospectively tested whether child maltreatment initiates a developmental cascade resulting in coercive negative romantic and friend interactions in emerging adulthood via childhood antisocial tendencies and via childhood relational aggression. Utilizing a longitudinal sample of emerging adult participants (N = 392; mean age = 20 years old) who took part in a summer research camp program as children (mean age = 11 years old), results supported pathways via both childhood antisocial behavior and childhood relational aggression. We found specificity within these pathways such that childhood antisocial behavior was a mediator of child maltreatment effects on emerging adult negative romantic interactions, whereas childhood relational aggression was a mediator of child maltreatment effects on emerging adult negative friend interactions. Taken together, results indicate that children exposed to maltreatment face significant interpersonal challenges in emerging adulthood, within both the friend and the romantic domains, and point to distinct childhood pathways to these negative interactions. Our findings are consistent with Dishion's (2016) theoretical framework for understanding the development of coercion in relationships and highlight the criticality of early intervention with maltreating families.

Keywords

antisocial behaviorchild maltreatmentcoercionfriendshipsrelational aggressionromantic relationships
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Special Issue 5: Honoring the Contributions and Legacy of Thomas Dishion , December 2019 , pp. 1649 - 1659
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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