Maternal History of Childhood Maltreatment and Control Strategies: A Search for Mechanisms

Objective: The current study examined whether and how mothers' personal history of childhood maltreatment related to control strategies toward their children during infancy in mainland China. Background: Although previous studies have linked mothers' history of childhood maltreatment to negative control with their children, no study has systematically investigated the effect of maternal history of childhood maltreatment on control strategies varying in the levels of power assertion and its underlying mechanisms. Method: Drawn from a two-wave observational study, participants were 233 Chinese mother–infant dyads. The mothers reported their history of childhood maltreatment at 6 months of child age (T2), and executive function and marital satisfaction at 14 months of child age (T2). Additionally, maternal control strategies toward children were coded from videotaped mother–infant interactions at both T1 and T2. Results: The results showed that T1 maternal history of childhood maltreatment was negatively predictive of T2 gentle control, after controlling for T1 gentle control and maternal education status. Furthermore, a chained mediation path from T1 maternal history of childhood maltreatment to T2 negative control through T2 executive function and then T2 marital satisfaction was found. Conclusion: Mothers with a childhood maltreatment history tend to use less gentle control toward their 14-month-old infants, whereas the intergenerational transmission of maternal history of childhood maltreatment to negative control is prevented by better executive function and higher satisfaction in marital relations.