Gender-specific linkages of parents' childhood physical abuse and neglect with children's problem behaviour: evidence from Japan.
BACKGROUND
Childhood abuse has far-reaching effects, not only for survivors of maltreatment but also for subsequent generations. However, the mechanism of such intergenerational linkages has not been fully explored. This study investigated this linkage with special reference to its gender-specific features.


METHODS
A dataset of parents and their children, obtained from a cross-sectional survey in the Tokyo metropolitan area of Japan, was used. The study sample consisted of 1750 children aged between 2 and 18 years (865 daughters and 885 sons) and their parents (1003 mothers and fathers). Regression models were estimated to assess the associations among 1) both parents' childhood physical abuse and neglect (childhood abuse), 2) parents' psychological distress, as measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), and 3) children's problem behaviour, as measured by the clinical scales of the Child Behavior Checklist.


RESULTS
Daughters' problem behaviour was more closely associated with mothers' than fathers' childhood abuse, whereas sons' problem behaviour was more closely associated with their fathers' experience. The impact of mothers' childhood abuse on daughters' problem behaviour was mediated at a rate of around 40 % by both parents' psychological distress. The proportion of the effect mediated by parents' psychological distress was less than 20 % for the impact of fathers' childhood abuse on sons' problem behaviour.


CONCLUSION
The intergenerational impact of parental childhood abuse on children's problem behaviour is gender specific, i.e. largely characterized by the same gender linkages. Further studies that explore the mechanisms involved in the intergenerational impact of childhood abuse are needed.
['Oshio|Takashi|T|', 'Umeda|Maki|M|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007564:Japan D008297:Male D010287:Parent-Child Relations D010290:Parents D000066553:Problem Behavior D012737:Sex Factors D013315:Stress, Psychological D014041:Tokyo
Problem behaviour Childhood abuse Psychological distress