Disrupted parental behaviors in maltreating and high-risk families: The roles of maternal childhood maltreatment, psychological distress, and child gender

BACKGROUND: Maltreating parents and those at high-risk of maltreating their children are likely to display disrupted behaviors during parent-child interactions. Identifying risk factors associated with these behaviors can support tailored assessments and interventions in applied settings. OBJECTIVE: This study examines potential intervening factors linking maternal childhood maltreatment to disrupted parental behaviors, focusing on the indirect role of maternal psychological distress and the moderating role of child gender. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The sample included 88 mothers and their children (12 to 72 months) recruited through child protection or community services due to substantiated CPS maltreatment reports or a high potential for maltreatment. METHOD: Mothers completed questionnaires and participated in a filmed interaction with their child. Disrupted parental behaviors were coded using the AMBIANCE-Brief. RESULTS: Regression analyses showed that parental psychological distress was linked with increased disrupted behaviors, and that mothers exhibited more of these behaviors with their daughters than sons. There was no direct effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on disrupted behaviors, but childhood maltreatment was indirectly related with these behaviors through maternal psychological distress. The interaction between childhood maltreatment and child gender was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting parental psychological distress may help reduce disrupted parental behaviors. Child gender may evoke different maternal responses to child needs and distress.The relevance of both trauma- and gender-sensitive intervention approaches with high-risk mothers is highlighted. Findings support the clinical utility of the AMBIANCE-Brief.