Intergenerational Transmission of Parental Adverse Childhood Experiences and Children’s Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are among the leading environmental causes of morbidity and mortality. Extending research on within-generation effects, more recent scholarship has explored between-generation consequences of ACEs. Despite growing interest in the intergenerational effects of parents’ ACEs on children’s outcomes, this line of scholarship has yet to be coalesced into a comprehensive review. The current study is a scoping review on the intergenerational transmission of parental ACEs and children’s outcomes. Ten databases such as PubMed, APA PsycArticles, and Social Work Abstracts were searched. To be included, empirical studies must have been published in English and analyzed associations between a cumulative measure of at least four parental ACEs and children’s outcomes. Sixty-eight studies qualified for the review and, among these, 60 were published in the most recent 5 years (2018–2022). Fifty-one studies had sample sizes smaller than 500, and 55 focused on the effect of maternal ACEs. Nearly all studies demonstrated that parental ACEs could affect children’s outcomes directly or indirectly via mechanisms like maternal mental health problems or parenting-related factors. By scoping the extant literature, this review advances the knowledge base regarding the intergenerational impacts of parental childhood trauma and children’s outcomes. It also reveals methodological limitations that should be addressed in future research to strengthen causal inferences along with practical implications for interventions that aim to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of trauma.

Parents’ Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences and Offspring Involvement With the Criminal Legal System

“…Potential factors contributing to the observed association between parent ACEs and adult child’s arrest may include intergenerational transmission of trauma, shared familial risks (eg, genetic propensity for developmental delay, behavioral health challenges, or other factors associated with the development of criminalized behaviors), and structural disadvantage and oppression (eg, racism and social or economic disadvantage) . For example, evidence suggests that parental mental health symptoms can be a consequence of parents’ ACEs, and parental trauma may influence parenting behaviors .…”

“…To achieve health equity, prevention of ACEs, coupled with dismantling of a carceral system that is racially biased and counterproductive, is an important focus for policymakers. Parental adversity begets later childhood adversity, and it is vital that every child be given the best chance at a healthy start . Early ACE identification can help detect risk, and a timely and effective response to a child’s identified ACE is paramount, as is a societal reorientation toward health equity and valuing the well-being of all children, including through poverty prevention measures such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and elimination of the school-to-prison pipeline.…”

“…Few published studies have examined the impact of parental ACEs or PCEs on their children beyond infancy and early childhood, and child outcomes have not included legal system involvement. Efforts to decrease the risk of criminal legal system involvement may be enhanced by examining parents’ ACE and PCEs and their associations with their children’s outcomes throughout their life course . Such studies could inform the development of interventions that support lifelong and intergenerational trajectories of health and well-being .…”

Maternal Controlling Parenting and Child-Perceived Mother-Child Attachment Mediate the Association between Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Behavioural Difficulties

“…Equally, individuals exposed to ACEs may also develop insecure attachment characteristics, implicated in difficulties with interpersonal relationships which would further affect their capacity to provide sensitive, responsive, supportive, and consistent parenting (Bowlby, 1958(Bowlby, , 1969Rowell & Neal-Barnett, 2022). Reviews (Arnold et al, 2023;Rowell & Neal-Barnett, 2022;Zhang et al, 2022) suggest that although several studies have shown a significant mediating effect of maternal parenting on the association between maternal ACEs and offspring mental health outcomes (e.g., Doi,et al, 2021;Delker et al, 2014), other studies fail to observe a mediating effect (e.g., Bödeker et al, 2019;Esteves et al, 2017). Further, the majority of studies examine this the mediating effect of maternal parenting among young children or amongst samples across childhood, with few studies (Plant et al, 2017;Yoon et al, 2019) examining the mediating effect of maternal parenting among adolescents.…”

“…Parenting and parent-child attachment represent two critical factors in parent-child interaction. In samples of young children, they have been identified as potential mediators of the association between maternal ACEs and child mental health outcomes (Zhang et al, 2022; Rowell & Neal-Barnett, 2022). However, it is unclear whether the effect of these mediators reduces over time or whether they continue to exert influence into adolescence.…”