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Natural mentoring relationships among survivors of caregiver childhood abuse: findings from the Add Health Study
Author(s) -
Weber Ku Elyssa B.,
Hagler Matthew A.,
Parnes McKenna F.,
Schwartz Sarah E.O.,
Rhodes Jean E.,
Erickson Lance D.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.14313
Subject(s) - sexual abuse , adverse childhood experiences , physical abuse , closeness , psychology , clinical psychology , child abuse , verbal abuse , psychological abuse , psychological resilience , longitudinal study , childhood abuse , mental health , suicide prevention , psychiatry , poison control , medicine , medical emergency , mathematical analysis , mathematics , pathology , psychotherapist
Social support promotes resilience to adverse childhood events, but little is known about the role of natural mentors—caring, nonparental adults—in the lives of childhood abuse survivors. The current study draws from a large, longitudinal, nationally representative sample (Add Health) to examine the prevalence and characteristics of natural mentoring relationships for adolescents with a history of caregiver childhood abuse, and the extent to which these relationships are associated with psychological and health outcomes in adulthood. Among the sample ( n = 12,270), 28.82% and 4.86% reported caregiver childhood physical and sexual abuse, respectively. Youth who reported caregiver childhood physical abuse were more likely than those who did not endorse abuse to report having a natural mentor, but their mentoring relationships were characterized by lower interpersonal closeness, shorter duration, and less frequent contact. Exposure to caregiver childhood abuse was associated with adverse outcomes during adulthood, including antisocial behavior, physical health limitations, and suicidality; the presence of a natural mentor did not buffer the negative impact of trauma on adult outcomes. However, longer mentoring relationships during adolescence buffered the strength of the association between both caregiver physical and sexual abuse during childhood and suicidality during early adulthood.