Childhood Maltreatment and Later-Life Intergenerational Solidarity

Thesis advisor: James LubbenThesis advisor: Sara M. MoormanEvery year, more than three million allegations of childhood maltreatment are received by child protective services, many of which involve cases of abuse or neglect inflicted by the victims’ parents. A number of studies found that negative consequences of childhood maltreatment can last for a lifetime. Despite the long-term impact of childhood maltreatment, later-life relationships between adult victims of childhood maltreatment and their abusive parent have rarely been examined. This dissertation aims to address the gap in the literature by examining how adult victims of childhood maltreatment relate to their abusive parent when the parent becomes old and requires long-term care assistance. This three-paper dissertation utilized existing data sources: Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States. The first paper examined the mediating effect of intergenerational solidarity with the aging mother in the association between maternal childhood maltreatment and adult psychological functioning. The second paper used longitudinal data analysis to compare long-term changes in affectual solidarity with aging mothers between adults with a history of childhood abuse and those without. This paper also examined moderating effects of the correlates of childhood abuse (i.e., poor social competency and lack of emotional regulation) in the association between childhood abuse and affectual solidarity with the aging mother. The third paper focused on the caregiving situation in which adult victims of childhood abuse provided care to their abusive parent. This paper investigated whether and how providing care to the abusive parent was associated with psychological distress among abused adult children, and whether self-esteem mediated the association. By revealing the dynamics of later-life relationships between adult victims of childhood maltreatment and their abusive parent, this three-paper dissertation not only contributes to creating new knowledge to the aging literature, but also provides future direction for social work practice and policy.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work.Discipline: Social Work

It\u27s all in the lens: Differences in views on obesity prevention between advocates and policy makers

Background: Intervention strategies to reduce obesity include policy and environmental changes that are designed to provide opportunities, support, and cues to help people develop healthier behaviors. Policy changes at the state level are one way to influence access, social norms, and opportunities for better nutrition and increased physical activity among the population. Methods: Ten states were selected for a broad variance in obesity rates and number of enacted obesity prevention policies during the years of 2006–2009. Within the selected states, a purely qualitative study of attitudes of childhood obesity policy using semistructured telephone interviews was conducted. Interviews were conducted with state policy makers who serve on public health committees. A set of six states that had more than eight childhood obesity policies enacted were selected for subsequent qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of well-established advocates. Results: Policy makers in states where there was more childhood obesity policy action believed in the evidence behind obesity policy proposals. Policy makers also varied in the perception of obesity as a constituent priority. The major differences between advocates and policy makers included a disconnect in information dissemination, opposition, and effectiveness of these policies. Conclusions: The findings from this study show differences in perceptions among policy makers in states with a greater number of obesity prevention bills enacted. There are differences among policy makers and advocates regarding the role and effectiveness of state policy on obesity prevention. This presents an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to improve communication and translation of evidence to policy makers, particularly in states with low legislation

State Legislation Savvy: A Primer and Tools for Online Legislative Research in the United States

We describe sources and methods for state legislative research and provide access to the State Legislative Search Guide tool. State legislation creates and regulates chronic disease prevention interventions both directly through programs targeted to reduce the chronic disease burden and legislation affecting environments such as parks and trails that support health behaviors. Researching state legislation helps advocates, policy makers, researchers, and practitioners make informed recommendations to improve chronic disease prevention policies. Several online sources exist for state legislative information, including subscription databases that cover all 50 US states, single-state subscription databases, and public domain state legislative databases administered by each state. The State Legislative Search Guide, in full-length and condensed versions, uses free public domain databases to facilitate comparison of state legislation for all US states. Links to both versions are provided in the article. Legislative research tips on creating search phrases, searching bill content, bill tracking, and selecting databases and also a table of major subscription databases are provided

A History of Childhood Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization Among Native American Adults

This study examined the association between childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among Native American adults. Based on Riggs\u27s theoretical model of the long-term effects of childhood abuse, we also examined the mediating roles of insecure attachment patterns and depressive symptoms. The current study was a secondary data analysis using the 2013 General Well-Being Among Native Americans dataset ( N = 479). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized relationships among key constructs. Consistent with existing literature of revictimization, our findings showed that the experience of childhood maltreatment was positively associated with IPV victimization. Mediation analyses indicated that depression was a significant mediator in the association between childhood maltreatment and IPV victimization. In addition, all the paths linking childhood maltreatment, fearful attachment, depressive symptoms, and IPV victimization were statistically significant, although the overall mediation effect was not significant. The results of this study suggest that Riggs\u27s model can serve as a useful theoretical framework for understanding the long-term effects of childhood maltreatment among Native American adults. Practitioners in the area of IPV should include maltreatment history and current attachment patterns in client assessments, which could help address conflict and violence within intimate relationships

Supplemental Material - Filial Caregiving and Chinese Adults’ Depressive Symptoms: Do Early-Life Parent-Child Relationships Matter?

Supplemental Material for Filial Caregiving and Chinese Adults’ Depressive Symptoms: Do Early-Life Parent-Child Relationships Matter? by Yue Qin, Jooyoung Kong, and Sara Moorman in Journal of Applied Gerontology</p

Supplemental Material - Lifetime Abuse Victimization and Prospective Health Outcomes in Older Adults

Supplemental Material for Lifetime Abuse Victimization and Prospective Health Outcomes in Older Adults by Jooyoung Kong, Sara M. Moorman, and Yue Qin in Journal of Applied Gerontology</p