Associations of Mothers' Childhood Trauma and Autistic Traits with Their Adolescent Child's Attachment Style, Depression and Anxiety.

ObjectiveCaregivers' childhood trauma (CT) and autistic traits (AT) are thought to impair the social and emotional competencies essential for proficient parenting. The intergenerational associations through which these caregiver factors affect adolescents' attachment relationships to with both mothers and peers, as well as their internalizing symptoms, remain unexamined. This study examined the correlation between maternal CT/AT and adolescents' attachment styles, anxiety, and depression to address this notable gap.

Methods

This cross-sectional study comprised 115 adolescent-mother dyads (aged 12-18, 38.3% male) who sought outpatient clinic services solely for counseling related to adolescent concerns and were without any psychiatric diagnoses. Mothers were evaluated for AT and CT, while adolescents were assessed for parental and peer attachment styles, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms using standardized instruments. Correlational and serial mediation analyses were conducted.

Results

Serial mediation analysis showed that maternal childhood trauma was directly associated with lower parental attachment (β = -0.281, p = .001) and indirectly through depression (β = -0.065, p = .025) and the sequential pathway via anxiety and depression (β = -0.030, p = .042), whereas anxiety alone was not significant. For peer attachment, neither direct nor indirect effects were significant. Maternal AT scores were not significantly associated with adolescent outcomes (all p > .05).

Conclusions

Maternal CT was linked to adolescents' internalizing symptoms and parental attachment security, with depression mediating these associations. These findings underscore the potential relevance of trauma-informed and attachment-focused interventions, although longitudinal research is needed to clarify causal processes.