Mediators and moderators in the relationship between maternal childhood adversity and children's emotional and behavioural development: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Craig Morgan, Paola Dazzan, Chiara Nosarti, Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, Giovanni Montana, Mitul Mehta, Carmine M Pariante, Gunter Schumann, Alessandra Simonelli, Seeromanie Harding, Xuemei Ma, Katie Hazelgrove, Nuria Mackes, Maryam Matter, Rebecca Pollard, Pei-Jung Chen, Andrew J Lawrence, Chiara Sacchi, Alessandra Biaggi
Journal: Psychological medicine
2022;52(10):1817-1837
PMID: 35730541
Abstract
["Maternal experiences of childhood adversity can increase the risk of emotional and behavioural problems in their children. This systematic review and meta-analysis provide the first narrative and quantitative synthesis of the mediators and moderators involved in the link between maternal childhood adversity and children's emotional and behavioural development. We searched EMBASE, PsycINFO, Medline, Cochrane Library, grey literature and reference lists. Studies published up to February 2021 were included if they explored mediators or moderators between maternal childhood adversity and their children's emotional and behavioural development. Data were synthesised narratively and quantitatively by meta-analytic approaches. The search yielded 781 articles, with 74 full-text articles reviewed, and 41 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Maternal mental health was a significant individual-level mediator, while child traumatic experiences and insecure maternal-child attachment were consistent family-level mediators. However, the evidence for community-level mediators was limited. A meta-analysis of nine single-mediating analyses from five studies indicated three mediating pathways: maternal depression, negative parenting practices and maternal insecure attachment, with pooled indirect standardised effects of 0.10 [95% CI (0.03-0.17)), 0.01 (95% CI (-0.02 to 0.04)] and 0.07 [95% CI (0.01-0.12)], respectively. Research studies on moderators were few and identified some individual-level factors, such as child sex (e.g. the mediating role of parenting practices being only significant in girls), biological factors (e.g. maternal cortisol level) and genetic factors (e.g. child's serotonin-transporter genotype). In conclusion, maternal depression and maternal insecure attachment are two established mediating pathways that can explain the link between maternal childhood adversity and their children's emotional and behavioural development and offer opportunities for intervention."]
Address:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.; Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK.; Department of Health Service & Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.; Division of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.; Biological Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.; Department of Neuroimaging & Psychopharmacology, Centre of Neuroimaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.; Department of Data Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.; Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Life Course and Population Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.; Centre for the Developing Brain, Department of Perinatal Imaging & Health, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
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