Maternal and paternal adverse childhood experiences are linked to school-aged children’s psychosocial functioning

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have long-lasting effects on an individual’s wellbeing. Emerging research has demonstrated that the consequences of ACEs can extend across generations. Research on parental ACEs is scarce in families with a 7- to13-year-old child; especially the effects of fathers’ ACEs have remained unclear. This cross-sectional study investigated the number and type of parental ACEs and their associations with school-aged children’s psychosocial functioning, evaluating both the dose-response relationship and the influences of different types of ACEs in mother-child and father-child dyads. Participants were mothers or fathers of a 7- to13-year-old child (mean = 9.96, standard deviation = 2.07) from a Finnish nationwide community sample (n = 733). Ten-item ACE questionnaire was used to evaluate parental ACEs, Pediatric Symptom Checklist to measure children’s psychosocial functioning, and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 to screen parent’s depressive symptoms. A family background questionnaire was included. Descriptive statistics, crosstabulation, t-tests, and general linear models were used to analyze the data. Mothers reported higher number of ACEs than fathers. Both maternal and paternal ACEs were associated with poorer child psychosocial functioning, showing a dose-response relationship (ηp2 = 0.02–0.06, p < 0.01). Parent’s childhood neglect (ηp2 = 0.01− 0.03, p < 0.01) and abuse (ηp2 = 0.01–0.05, p < 0.05) had a more profound negative influence on child wellbeing than parent’s childhood household dysfunctions. Parental ACEs in both sexes are common and associated with poorer psychosocial functioning in school-aged children. Recognizing parental ACEs may be important for understanding children’s wellbeing, and future research should examine whether supporting parents with such histories with adequate interventions can help reduce risks for child’s psychosocial problems. Future studies should also address children’s own ACEs to clarify how parental ACEs may contribute to intergenerational patterns of adversity.