Naval Health Research Center Role of Adult Attachment in the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence: Mediator, Moderator, or Independent Predictor?

Problem: The associations between different forms of childhood violence (parental and nonparental child physical abuse [CPA], parental and nonparental child sexual abuse [CSA], and domestic violence [DV]) and adult CPA risk have not been thoroughly examined. A study is needed to examine the effects of different forms of childhood violence on both adult attachment and adult CPA risk to determine if they are additive, interactive, or redundant, and whether they could be accounted for by (or varied depending on) associated demographic factors (e.g., sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status). Additionally, three possible roles for adult attachment—as mediator or moderator of interpersonal violence effects, or as an independent predictor of adult CPA risk—have not been addressed in a large and demographically diverse sample of young men and women. Objective: (1) To examine the role of adult attachment in the intergenerational transmission of violence. (2) To assess the effects of exposure to several forms of childhood violence (CPA, CSA, DV) on adult CPA risk. (3) To examine whether adult attachment serves as a mediator or moderator of these relationships, or as an independent predictor of CPA risk. Approach: During their first week of basic training, U.S. Navy recruits (N = 11,195) completed a package of questionnaires assessing childhood violence, adult attachment, and adult CPA risk. Results: Childhood violence (especially parental CPA and DV) and adult attachment (especially the self-attitude dimension) were both predictive of increased adult CPA risk. Effects of childhood violence on CPA risk were partially but not entirely mediated by adult attachment. In contrast, there was no evidence that adult attachment or demographic factors moderated the relationship between childhood violence and adult CPA risk.