Does parental attachment moderate the association between childhood victimization and young adults’ internalizing behaviors?
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2023-02-01
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nl
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The present study aims to investigate whether parental attachment moderates the association between childhood victimization and young adults’ internalizing behaviors. Participants were initially 9 years of age (n=88, 51% female), and were part of the Nijmegen Longitudinal Study. The Nijmegen Longitudinal Study includes multiple measures of constructs, a selection of which have been used in this research. Participants in this research were asked to complete questionnaires that included: demographic information, victimization, parental attachment, and internalizing behaviors. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that victimization in childhood (age 9) predicted internalizing behaviors in young adulthood (age 22); and that parental attachment moderated the link between victimization and internalizing behaviors. The hypotheses were not confirmed by the results. Results showed that there is no statistically significant effect of childhood victimization on young adults’ internalizing behaviors; and no statistically significant interaction between parental attachment and victimization when predicting internalizing behaviors in young adulthood. Thus, it has been concluded that parental attachment does not moderate the association between childhood victimization and young adults’ internalizing behaviors. These findings contribute to the long-term effects of victimization and the role of parental attachment. Future studies could focus on using a more systematic and thorough measurement of these concepts.
Keywords: victimization, parental attachment, internalizing problems, longitudinal
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen