Adverse childhood experiences, poverty, and parenting stress.

Howard Steele, Jordan Bate, Miriam Steele, Shanta Rishi Dube, Kerri Danskin, Hannah Knafo, Adella Nikitiades, Karen A. Bonuck +1 more

2016-01-01articleCanadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement282 citationshybrid

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Child Abuse and Trauma Child Welfare and Adoption Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with physical and mental health problems in adulthood, as well as unresolved or discordant states of mind regarding attachments that have implications for problematic parenting. Currently, there are no studies on the association between ACEs and adults' subjective experiences of stress in the parenting role, where socioeconomic status (SES)−related poverty effects have been controlled for--the central question behind the current study. We examined exposure to ACEs among 118 mothers (n = 33 low SES/impoverished and n = 85 middle/high SES) and parenting distress. Participants completed an ACE questionnaire that assessed exposure to 10 adverse experiences from childhood (e.g., abuse, neglect, household dysfunction), and the Parenting Stress Index−Short Form. Parenting distress and ACEs were significantly higher in the low SES group; yet, even after controlling for SES, higher ACE scores added significant explained variance in parental distress in a linear regression model. DISCUSSION focuses on the need to administer ACE screening in prenatal and pediatric settings to identify and to offer trauma- and attachment-informed treatment, so to reduce the intergenerational transmission of risk associated with problematic parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) Language: en

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2019Adverse experiences in early childhood and their longitudinal impact on later behavioral problems of children living in poverty

2021Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences and Parenting Attitudes: the Role of Cumulative Protection in Understanding Resilience