Childhood abuse and neglect and adult intimate relationships: a prospective study

Abstract

Objective:

The present study extends prior research on childhood maltreatment and social functioning by examining the impact of early childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect on rates of involvement in adult intimate relationships and relationship functioning.

Method:

Substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect from 1967 to 1971 were matched on gender, age, race, and approximate family class with non-abused and non-neglected children and followed prospectively into adulthood. Between 1989 and 1995, 1,196 participants (676 abused and neglected and 520 controls) were administered a 2-hour in-person interview, including a psychiatric assessment and a variety of standardized rating scales.

Results:

Male and female abuse and neglect victims reported higher rates of cohabitation, walking out, and divorce than controls. Abused and neglected females were also less likely than female controls to have positive perceptions of current romantic partners and to be sexually faithful.

Conclusions:

Although previous research on childhood maltreatment and adult intimate relationships has emphasized outcomes for female victims of childhood sexual abuse, present findings suggest that other forms of early maltreatment (physical abuse and neglect) also have a negative effect on both males’ and females’ ability to establish and maintain healthy intimate relationships in adulthood.

Résumé

Objective:

Cette étude poursuit des recherches antérieures sur la maltraitance et le fonctionnement social en examinant les effets qu’ont la négligence et les mauvais traitements physiques et sexuels sur les relations intimes en âge adulte et sur le déroulement des relations.

Méthode:

Des cas prouvés de maltraitance et de négligence entre 1967 et 1971 on été appariés selon le sexe, l’âge, la race et le statut familial avec des cas d’enfants non abusés et non maltraités et ont été suivis jusqu’en âge adulte et au-delà. Entre 1989 et 1995, 1.196 sujets (676 enfants maltraités et négligés et un groupe contrôle comptant 520) ont fait l’objet d’une entrevue de deux heures y compris une évaluation psychiatrique et une gamme d’échelles normalisées.

Résultats:

Hommes et femmes victimes de mauvais traitements et de négligence dévoilent des taux de cohabitation plus élevés, ils quittent leur conjoint plus souvent et ils divorcent plus souvent que le groupe contrôle. Les femmes maltraitées et négligées étaient moins aptes que le groupe contrôle à percevoir de façon positive leur conjoint intime et à lui être fidèle.

Conclusions:

Bien que des recherches antérieures sur les mauvais traitements et les relations intimes aient souligné certaines conséquences pour les femmes victimes d’agressions sexuelles en enfance, les constats courants portent à croire que d’autres types de mauvais traitements (physiques et négligence) ayant lieu plus tôt exercent aussi des effets nocifs tant pour les hommes que pour les femmes à savoir leur habileté à pouvoir établir et soutenir des relations intimes saines au cours de leur vie adulte.

Abuso y negligencia en la niñez y relaciones adultas íntimas: un estudio prospectivo.

Resumen

Objetivo:

El presente estudio amplía las investigaciones anteriores sobre el maltrato infantil y la funcionalidad social al examinar el impacto del abuso físico, sexual y la negligencia en la niñez temprana con las tasas de involucramiento en las relaciones adultas íntimas y la funcionalidad relacional.

Método:

Los casos confirmados de abuso y negligencia en la niñez desde 1967 al 1971 fueron pareados en género, edad, raza, y clase familiar aproximada con niños no abusados que no habían sido víctimas de negligencia y seguidos prospectivamente hasta la adultez. Entre 1989 y 1995, a 1196 participantes (676 abusados y víctimas de negligencia y 520 de control) se les admisnistró una entrevista personal de 2 horas, incluyendo una evaluación psiquiátrica y una variedad de escalas estandarizadas.

Resultados:

Los hombres y las mujeres víctimas de abuso y negligencia reportaron mayores tasas de cohabitación, abandono y divorcio que los controles. Las mujeres abusadas y víctimas de negligencia también presentaron menos probabilidad que las mujeres del grupo control de tener percepciones positivas de las parejas románticas actuales y de ser sexualmente fieles.

Conclusiones:

A pesar de que las investigaciones anteriores sobre el maltrato infantil y las relaciones íntimas adultas han enfatizado las consecuencias del abuso sexual en la niñez en las víctimas mujeres, los hallazgos presente conprueban que las otras formas de maltrato temprano (abuso físico y negligencia) también tienen un efecto negativo sobre la capacidad de hombres y mujeres de establecer y mantener rrelaciones íntimas en la adultez.

Introduction

Several theoretical perspectives have hypothesized a link between childhood maltreatment and impaired social functioning. Social learning theory maintains that individuals learn how to interact with social partners by observing and modeling the actions of significant others. Likewise, a number of developmental theories (e.g., object relations, attachment) propose that individuals construct expectations of self, others, and relationships out of experienced interaction patterns with primary caregivers. When applied to cases of childhood maltreatment, these perspectives predict that individuals abused and neglected in childhood should develop thoughts and behaviors detrimental to the formation and maintenance of positive interpersonal relationships (Crittenden & Ainsworth, 1989; Ornduff, 2000).

Consistent with this assumption, child maltreatment has been associated with poor social functioning in early and middle childhood. When presented with ambiguous social stimuli, maltreated children are more likely than other children to describe interpersonal relationships as threatening and painful (Ornduff, 2000; Ornduff & Kelsey, 1996; Stovall & Craig, 1990) and to attribute hostile intentions toward social partners (Dodge, Petit, Bates, & Valente, 1995). Maltreated children are more aggressive than their nonmaltreated peers (Bolger, Patterson, & Kupersmidt, 1998; Haskett & Kistner, 1991; Mueller & Silverman, 1989; Salzinger, Feldman, Hammer, & Rosario, 1993; Tricket & McBride-Chang, 1995) and often avoid or withdraw from social interactions (Haskett & Kistner, 1991; Mueller & Silverman, 1989). Examinations of interpersonal relationships indicate that maltreated children are less popular with peers and are less likely than other children to have their self-reported friendships reciprocated by classmates (Bolger et al., 1998, Salzinger et al., 1993; Sheilds, Ryan, & Cicchetti, 2001). Children with abuse histories also experience more conflict and less intimacy when interacting with close friends (Parker & Herrera, 1996) and are more likely than nonmaltreated children to endorse statements suggestive of dissatisfaction with their relationships when describing their best friends (Lynch & Cicchetti, 1991).

Whether similar relational difficulties are experienced in adulthood, however, is largely unknown. Studies examining adult outcomes of child maltreatment are few in number, and only a handful include measures of interpersonal functioning. Available evidence suggests that individuals maltreated in childhood continue to experience problems in their relationships in adulthood. Women who report a history of childhood sexual abuse have been found to be more likely than non-sexually abused women to report feeling socially isolated (Harter, Alexander, & Neimeyer, 1988) and distrustful and/or fearful of others (Davis & Petretic-Jackson, 2000; Roche, Runtz, & Hunter, 1999). A significant association has also been reported between childhood sexual abuse and lower rates of marital involvement in some studies (Bagley & Ramsay, 1986; Bifulco, Brown, & Adler, 1991); however, other studies have not reported this association (Hunter, 1991; Mullen, Martin, Anderson, Romans, & Herbison, 1994). Moreover, when relationships are formed, women with sexual abuse histories are more likely than non-abused women to report dissatisfaction (Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1989; Fleming, Mullen, Sibthorpe, & Bammer, 1999; Hunter, 1991, Mullen et al., 1994), and marital disruption (i.e., separation/divorce) within their romantic partnerships (Felitti, 1991, Fleming et al., 1999, Mullen et al., 1994). Information on the associations between other types of childhood maltreatment (e.g., physical abuse or neglect) and adult intimate relationships is largely absent from the current literature. Recent work, however, linking divorce rates to physical abuse in females suggests that similar patterns of association may exist (Mullen, Martin, Anderson, Romans, & Herbison, 1996).

Additional support for the hypothesized association between childhood maltreatment and dysfunctional intimate relationships can also be found in research on childhood victimization and adult partner violence. Adult males with histories of both physical and sexual abuse are more likely than non-abused males to engage in violence toward intimate partners and family members (Alexander, Moore, & Alexander, 1991; Bevans & Higgins, 2002; Clarke, Stein, Sobota, Marisi, & Hanna, 1999; Dutton & Hart, 1992; White & Widom, 2003). Likewise, women with histories of child abuse are more likely than non-abused women to both commit (Clarke et al., 1999; White & Widom, 2003) and receive (Ornduff, Kelsey, & O’Leary, 2001) intimate partner aggression.

Taken together, these findings suggest that adults maltreated as children may differ from other adults in both their tendency to become involved in intimate relationships and in the overall quality of their romantic partnerships when relationships are formed. Nonetheless, methodological limitations common to much research on adult outcomes of child maltreatment require that such interpretations be made cautiously. First, with the exception of White and Widom (2003), all of the studies reviewed above have relied upon retrospective reports of childhood victimization. Previous research comparing adults’ recall of abuse experiences to case records indicates that a significant proportion of adults maltreated as children fail to report their experiences of abuse retrospectively (Widom & Morris, 1997; Widom & Shepard, 1996). As a result, reliance on retrospective reports of childhood abuse may distort the relationship between child maltreatment and adult outcomes. Moreover, studies collecting measures of childhood victimization and the functioning of intimate relationships simultaneously may unwittingly encourage respondents to reinterpret their own histories in accordance with their current circumstances.

Second, studies of childhood maltreatment often do not account for background characteristics associated with child maltreatment, such as family disruption and social class, that may be responsible for associations observed between childhood victimization and later relationship outcomes. Similar to the arguments put forth in regard to child maltreatment, many scholars have argued that inter-parental conflict and divorce increase the likelihood of children developing poor interpersonal skills and negative expectations regarding intimate relationships. Likewise, children whose parents divorce or never marry may be less likely than children from married homes to be exposed to successful models of adult intimate relationships, placing them at greater risk of later relationship dysfunction (see Amato, 1994). In keeping with this hypothesis, prior research indicates that adults with divorced parents are more likely than adults with married parents to experience high levels of interpersonal behavioral problems and to become divorced themselves (Amato, 1996). Low socioeconomic status has also been associated with higher rates of marital conflict and divorce (e.g., Conger, Ge, Elder, & Lorenz, 1994). Thus, children from economically disadvantaged homes may be more likely than other children to be exposed to less stable marital models. Research designs controlling for the impact of family background variables are therefore needed before conclusions regarding the impact of childhood maltreatment on adult intimate relationships can be drawn. If childhood maltreatment exerts an independent effect on later relationship involvement and functioning, associations between child maltreatment and relationship variables should remain significant even when the effects of parents’ marital status and social class are controlled.

Finally, the majority of research conducted on child maltreatment and adult intimate relationships has been conducted with female survivors of child sexual abuse. This focus on childhood sexual abuse raises the question of whether these findings can be generalized to other groups of maltreated children and male victims.

The present study draws upon data from a large, prospective study of childhood maltreatment to describe the intimate relationships of a grown up sample of abused and neglected and control children. Specifically, the extent to which adults with court-documented histories of child abuse and neglect differ from a matched control group on indicators of intimate relationship involvement and functioning is explored. Based on previous research on child sexual abuse, we anticipated that adult victims of child abuse and neglect would be less likely than their nonmaltreated counterparts to marry or be in a current romantic relationship. Conversely, it was anticipated that abused and neglected adults would be more likely than controls to select less committed forms of romantic involvement (i.e., cohabitation). Moreover, when involvements do occur, adults with abuse and neglect histories are expected to be more likely than controls to manifest signs of relationship dysfunction (e.g., separations, infidelity, and divorce) and to characterize their current partners as less caring and unsupportive. To explicate the relations between childhood maltreatment and later relationships more fully, we examine these hypotheses separately for male and female victims, and for both general and specific indicators of maltreatment (e.g., childhood neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse). In addition, in order to disentangle the impact of childhood maltreatment on adult intimate relationships from those of associated risk factors, measures of parents’ marital status and receipt of welfare are included as controls within the final set of analyses presented.