An Expanded View on ACEs: Familial- and Community-Level ACEs and Parenting among Adolescent Mothers

• In Event: Parenthood at Risk: Disentangling Influences of Maternal Childhood Maltreatment from Other Adverse Experiences

Abstract

To better understand how maternal histories of adversity impact children’s development, there is a need to examine the intergenerational effects of maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on parenting behaviors. Studies have linked maternal ACEs (including child maltreatment) to the functioning of their offspring—in infancy, preschool, and among school-age children (e.g., Letourneau et al, 2018). There is relatively little information on the mechanisms linking intergenerational effects, although parenting is one purported link. Studies suggest that parenting (behavior, cognitions) may be affected by ACEs, and that effects may be magnified among families with fewer opportunities to access economic and other resources (e.g., Guss et al., 2018; Lange, Callinan, & Smith, 2019; McDonald et al., 2019). There is a need to examine the intergenerational effects of maternal ACEs on parenting behaviors using samples that are heterogeneous in economic circumstances, race/ethnicity, and other characteristics to better understand the impact of ACEs. Further, the original ACE items may fail to capture important challenges associated with social disadvantage and diversity.

In the current study, our goals were (1) to examine the prevalence of ACEs, both intra-familial (e.g., child maltreatment, family dysfunction) and those encountered outside the family, at the community level (e.g., witnessing violence, neighborhood safety); (2) to explore differential patterns of mothers’ adverse experiences in childhood; and (3) to investigate their association with aspects of parenting (parenting stress, parental discipline/conflict behavior, and involvement with the child welfare system). The sample was 704 mothers (Mage = 18.80 at childbirth) and their children (54% boys) enrolled in an evaluation of a home visiting program for young parents (< 21 years). Data were collected using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods at six time points from infancy to early childhood. Over one third (34.6%) of participants identified as White (non-Hispanic), 20.7% as Black (non-Hispanic), 37.5% as Hispanic, and 7.2% as other (non-Hispanic). Interviews and standardized questionnaires were used to assess constructs of interest (ACEs questionnaire, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010, expanded to include community-based adverse exposures; Child Protective Services [CPS] reports; Parenting Stress Index, Abidin, 1995; Conflict Tactics Scale – Parent-Child, Straus et al., 1998).

Analyses were conducted using MPlus 8 (Muthen & Muthen, 2017). To identify differential patterns of mothers’ adverse experiences in childhood, we employed a latent class analysis (LCA; Collins & Lanza, 2009). The modified Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (BCH) method (Asparouhov & Muthen, 2018) estimated differences in maternal parenting stress, maternal use of nonviolent discipline and physical abuse, and involvement in DCF across identified classes. Mothers reported a high prevalence of ACEs and there were four distinct groups of ACE exposures - 1: High familial and community adversities; 2: High familial abuse and community adversities; 3: Low familial and high community adversities; and 4: High familial dysfunction and community adversities. Higher ACEs were associated with greater parenting challenges (parenting stress, abusive discipline, and contact with CPS). Program and policy implications highlight the importance of preventing community-based ACEs in addition to intrafamilial adversities that heighten risk for parenting stress and child maltreatment.

Authors

• Lauren E Stargel, American Institutes for Research - Illinois
  Presenting Author

• Rachel C Katz, Start Early
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ann Easterbrooks, Tufts University
  Non-Presenting Author