The Moderating Effect of Relationships on Intergenerational Risk for Infant Neglect by Young Mothers

Infant neglect is the form of child maltreatment that occurs most often, yet has been least amenable to prevention. A maternal history of childhood maltreatment is a potent risk factor for child neglect, yet most maltreated mothers break intergenerational cycles of child abuse and neglect. Little is known about what protective factors support discontinuity in intergenerational transmission. This study examined whether certain factors (positive childhood care, older maternal age, social support) buffer intergenerational risk for neglect among the infants of young mothers, a population at high risk of being victimized. For young mothers in the sample (<21 years at birth; n = 447), the effect of a maternal history was assessed separately for different maltreatment types according to data on substantiated reports from Child Protective Services. Early risk for neglect was assessed using maternal self-report of parenting empathy. The results revealed that both infants and their mothers experienced neglect more often than any other maltreatment type. However, approximately 77% of maltreated mothers broke the cycle with their infants (<30 months). Maternal age moderated the relation between a maternal history of neglect and infant neglect, and social support moderated the relation between childhood neglect and maternal empathy. Neglected mothers had considerably higher levels of parenting empathy when they had frequent access to social support than when they had less frequent support, whereas the protective effect of social support was not nearly as strong for nonmaltreated mothers. Study findings highlight resilience in parenting despite risk for infant neglect, but underscore the context specificity of protective processes.