Linking family violence and children's trauma symptoms through attachment and emotional insecurity

Attachment theory and emotional security theory offer distinct but compatible accounts to explain the consequences for children growing up in families with child abuse and neglect (CAN) and intimate partner violence (IPV).

We examined the unique contributions of attachment security and emotional insecurity in explaining associations between CAN and IPV, on the one hand, and children's post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), on the other. We examined to what extent attachment security and emotional insecurity mediate the relationship between CAN and IPV and PTSS.

Participants were 718 Dutch parents reporting about their children (3-12 years) and 186 children (8-18 years) self-reporting. They were contacted through child protection services.

Participants completed questionnaires about CAN, IPV, attachment security, emotional insecurity, and PTSS. Using structural equation modelling, four mediation analyses were conducted: attachment security measured from fathers' (1) and mothers' (2) perspectives, and children's perspectives on fathers (3) and mothers (4).

The indirect effects of CAN and IPV on PTSS through emotional insecurity and attachment security from father's (B = 0.22, p < .05 and B = 0.04, p < .05, respectively) and mother's (B = 0.03, p < .01 and B = 0.15, p < .05, respectively) perspectives were significant. Indirect effects from children's perspectives on fathers and mothers were significant only for IPV (both B = 0.09, p < .01). Emotional insecurity clearly was a more consistent mediator.

Findings emphasize a family-level rather than a dyadic perspective on the relationship dynamics in families with CAN and IPV. Emotional security theory may be particularly relevant for understanding the psychological needs of children in these families.