Research findings have shown that parental history of childhood maltreatment (CM) increases the risk of insecure and disorganized attachment in offspring. However, the extent of the detrimental effects of childhood trauma on attachment in the next generation is unclear. The current meta-analyses aimed at synthesizing the available literature on the link between parental history of CM and offspring attachment insecurity and disorganization (with no restriction of offspring age). In total, 25 studies (23 unique samples; N = 2,592) comprising u = 61 effect sizes were included. Offspring age ranged from 12 to 79 months ( Mweighted = 18.69; SDweighted = 11.53). Findings from two three-level random effects meta-analyses revealed a weak but significant combined effect of parental history of CM on child attachment insecurity ( k = 20, u = 35, r = .06) and a non-significant effect on child attachment disorganization ( k = 12, u = 26, r = .03). For the meta-analysis on disorganization, effect sizes were weaker in more recent studies, and trim and fill analyses provided evidence of publication bias. These findings provide a nuanced view of the intergenerational transmission of childhood trauma phenomenon, whereby parents’ self-reported history of CM does not appear decisive for child attachment. Conclusions could not be drawn for specific types of CM because of the small number of studies. Research with more objective measures of parental exposure to CM is needed to gain a more comprehensive view of the possible intergenerational effects of CM on child attachment.

中文翻译：

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童年虐待的父母史和后代依恋不安全感和混乱：两项荟萃分析


研究结果表明，父母童年虐待（CM）史会增加后代不安全和混乱依恋的风险。然而，童年创伤对下一代依恋的有害影响程度尚不清楚。当前的荟萃分析旨在综合关于父母 CM 病史与后代依恋不安全感和解体（不限制后代年龄）之间联系的现有文献。总共纳入了 25 项研究（23 个独特样本；N = 2,592），其中 u = 61 个效应量。后代年龄范围为 12 至 79 个月（M 加权 = 18.69；SD 加权 = 11.53）。两项三水平随机效应荟萃分析的结果显示，父母的 CM 病史对儿童依恋不安全感有微弱但显着的综合影响（k = 20，u = 35，r = .06），而对儿童依恋的影响不显着混乱（k = 12，u = 26，r = .03）。对于混乱的荟萃分析，最近的研究中效应大小较弱，修剪和填充分析提供了发表偏倚的证据。这些发现为童年创伤现象的代际传播提供了一个细致入微的观点，即父母自我报告的 CM 病史对于儿童依恋似乎并不具有决定性作用。由于研究数量较少，无法针对特定类型的 CM 得出结论。需要对父母接触 CM 的情况进行更客观的研究，以更全面地了解 CM 对儿童依恋可能产生的代际影响。