Moderating effects of childhood maltreatment on associations between social information processing and adult aggression

BackgroundAssociations between early life maltreatment, social information processing (SIP) and aggression in childhood and adolescence have been widely documented. Few studies have examined the importance of childhood maltreatment independent of SIP in the etiology of adult aggression. Furthermore, moderating effects of childhood maltreatment on the SIP–aggression links have not been explored.MethodHierarchical, multi-level models were fitted to data from n=2752 twins aged 20–55 years from the PennTwins Cohort. Adult aggression was assessed with the Life History of Aggression questionnaire. Childhood maltreatment was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Two aspects of SIP were examined: hostile attribution biases (HAB); negative emotional responses (NER).ResultsChildhood maltreatment was positively correlated with adult aggression, independently of HAB and NER. In addition, childhood maltreatment moderated the relationships between both aspects of SIP and adult aggression. Specifically, the relationship between NER and aggression was stronger among individuals with higher levels of childhood maltreatment and NER was not associated with aggression for adults who experienced low levels of childhood maltreatment. Moderating effects of childhood maltreatment on the NER–aggression link were supported for total childhood maltreatment, emotional neglect and emotional abuse. In contrast, HAB was more strongly associated with adult aggression at lower levels of emotional abuse and physical neglect.ConclusionsThe current study provides insight into the mechanisms by which early life experiences influence adult aggression. Our findings suggest that childhood maltreatment may not only lead to increased levels of aggression in adulthood but may also modify the associations between SIP and adult aggression.

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Roles of Self-Monitoring and Situational Ambiguity in the Social Information-Processing Model

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1998.83.3f.1447 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 83 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1447-1453 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Thomas C. Head

Keyword(s):

Information Processing ◽

Social Information Processing ◽

Social Information ◽

Social Cues ◽

Work Outcomes ◽

Moderating Effects ◽

Information Processing Model ◽

Performance Task ◽

Self Monitoring ◽

The Social

A laboratory experiment was designed to assess the moderating effects of self-monitoring and situational ambiguity on the social cues with work outcomes relationships proposed by the Social Information Processing Model. In this 2 × 2 × 2 model, social cues were predicted to influence performance, task perceptions, and job satisfaction for high self-monitors on ambiguous tasks. Data from 130 subjects indicated moderate support for the 3-way model but only on the measure of satisfaction.

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Childhood Maltreatment Predicts Specific Types of Dysfunctional Attitudes in Participants With and Without Depression

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.728280 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Raj Jugessur ◽

Yan Zhang ◽

Xuemei Qin ◽

Mi Wang ◽

Xiaowen Lu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Childhood Trauma ◽

Childhood Maltreatment ◽

Emotional Abuse ◽

Strong Association ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Dysfunctional Attitudes ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽

Physical Neglect

Background: Studies have shown a strong association between childhood maltreatment (CM) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Dysfunctional attitudes (DAs) play a crucial role in the development of MDD. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether (1) DAs are associated with CM, (2) specific CM types predict specific types of DAs, and (3) higher childhood trauma counts (CTCs) predict more DAs.Methods: One hundred seventy-one MDD participants and 156 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled for the study. CM was assessed retrospectively with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. DAs were evaluated using the Chinese version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale–Form A (C-DAS-A). A series of analyses, including multiple analyses of covariance and hierarchical regression analyses, were used in this study to examine the hypotheses.Results: The proportion of CM was 60.2% in the MDD group and 44.2% in the HC group. The 2 × 2 analysis of covariance results showed no interaction effect between CM and MDD on C-DAS-A total score. When the factor scores replaced the C-DAS-A total score, a similar trend was observed. Within the MDD group, emotional abuse (EA) predicted two forms of DAs: self-determination type and overall DAs; physical neglect (PN) was predictive of attraction and repulsion-type DAs. Higher childhood trauma counts significantly predicted more types of DAs in the MDD group.Conclusion: DAs are a trait feature of CM. EA and PN predict specific types of DAs in MDD patients. Higher CTCs predict more DAs in MDD patients.

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Recognition of children’s emotional facial expressions among mothers reporting a history of childhood maltreatment

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0243083 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. e0243083

Author(s):

Jessica Turgeon ◽

Annie Bérubé ◽

Caroline Blais ◽

Annie Lemieux ◽

Amélie Fournier

Keyword(s):

Emotion Recognition ◽

Childhood Maltreatment ◽

Emotional Abuse ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Short Form ◽

Equation Model ◽

Emotional Facial Expressions ◽

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽

History Of ◽

Physical Neglect

Several studies have shown that child maltreatment is associated with both positive and negative effects on the recognition of facial emotions. Research has provided little evidence of a relation between maltreatment during childhood and young adults’ ability to recognize facial displays of emotion in children, an essential skill for a sensitive parental response. In this study, we examined the consequences of different forms of maltreatment experienced in childhood on emotion recognition during parenthood. Participants included sixty-three mothers of children aged 2 to 5 years. Retrospective self-reports of childhood maltreatment were assessed using the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Emotion recognition was measured using a morphed facial emotion identification task of all six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise). A Path Analysis via Structural Equation Model revealed that a history of physical abuse is related to a decreased ability to recognize both fear and sadness in children, whereas emotional abuse and sexual abuse are related to a decreased ability to recognize anger in children. In addition, emotional neglect is associated with an increased ability to recognize anger, whereas physical neglect is associated with less accuracy in recognizing happiness in children’s facial emotional expressions. These findings have important clinical implications and expand current understanding of the consequences of childhood maltreatment on parents’ ability to detect children’s needs.

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Moderating effects of childhood trauma on relationships between social information processing and adult aggression

Comprehensive Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.comppsych.2011.04.015 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 52 (6) ◽

pp. e3-e4

Author(s):

P. Chen ◽

E.F. Coccaro ◽

R. Lee ◽

K.C. Jacobson

Keyword(s):

Information Processing ◽

Childhood Trauma ◽

Social Information Processing ◽

Social Information ◽

Moderating Effects

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Hostility and Perceptions of Support in Ambiguous Social Interactions

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.27.2.108 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 108-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ana-Maria Vranceanu ◽

Linda C. Gallo ◽

Laura M. Bogart

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Networks ◽

Information Processing ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Social Information Processing ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Social Information ◽

Inverse Association ◽

Processing Bias ◽

Information Processing Bias

The present study investigated whether a social information processing bias contributes to the inverse association between trait hostility and perceived social support. A sample of 104 undergraduates (50 men) completed a measure of hostility and rated videotaped interactions in which a speaker disclosed a problem while a listener reacted ambiguously. Results showed that hostile persons rated listeners as less friendly and socially supportive across six conversations, although the nature of the hostility effect varied by sex, target rated, and manner in which support was assessed. Hostility and target interactively impacted ratings of support and affiliation only for men. At least in part, a social information processing bias could contribute to hostile persons' perceptions of their social networks.

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