Transgenerational impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences on children's mental health among families experiencing homelessness

Background

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) threaten the livelihood of individuals and their families. This may be particularly detrimental for mothers facing homelessness and their children's behavioral adjustment.

Objective

This study compared two models to examine the impact of maternal ACEs on children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Rather than using the cumulative approach to conceptualize ACEs, we analyzed a model that assessed the effect of each maternal ACE individually (i.e., specificity model) and another model that categorized them into two subtypes of maltreatment and household dysfunction (i.e., dimensional model).

Participants and setting

We evaluated a sample of 164 children and their mothers in a residential vocational training program in Northern California.

Methods

ACEs for both mother and children and children's behavioral outcomes were collected via questionnaires completed by the mothers with the assistance of trained researchers. Additional demographic data was collected via trained case managers at the residential facility. Two models (i.e., specificity model; dimensional model) were utilized to better understand how to best assess adversity in settings with limited resources.

Results

Results of the specificity ACE model identified maternal childhood physical abuse and parental incarceration as predictors of internalizing problems and parental substance problems as a predictor of externalizing behaviors. The dimensional ACE model indicated that only the broad category of maltreatment predicted internalizing behavioral difficulties. The individual ACE model demonstrated a better fit for the data and highlighted specific events relevant to children's outcomes.

Conclusions

These results suggest that programs focusing on ending generational trauma may benefit from screening participants for individual ACE and tailoring services for mothers and children accordingly.