Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma: The Mediating Effects of Family Health

Emma M. Reese, Melissa Jane Barlow, Maddison Dillon, Sariah Villalon, Michael D. Barnes and AliceAnn Crandall
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Emma M. Reese: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Melissa Jane Barlow: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Maddison Dillon: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Sariah Villalon: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Michael D. Barnes: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
AliceAnn Crandall: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: Family health is important to the well-being of individual family members and the collective family unit, and as such, may serve as a mediator for the intergenerational transmission of trauma (ITT). This study aimed to understand the intergenerational impact of parent’s adverse and positive childhood experiences (ACEs and PCEs) on their children’s adverse family experiences (AFEs) and how family health mediated those relationships. The sample consisted of 482 heterosexual married or cohabiting couples (dyads) in the United States who had a child between the ages of 3 and 13 years old. Each member of the dyad completed a survey, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Parental ACEs were associated with more AFEs. The fathers’, but not the mothers’, ACEs were associated with worse family health. Parental PCEs were associated with better family health, and family health was associated with lower AFE scores. Indirect effects indicated that parental PCEs decreased AFEs through their impact on family health. Family health also mediated the relationship between the father’s ACEs and the child’s AFEs. Interventions designed to support family health may help decrease child AFEs.

Keywords: adverse childhood experiences; adverse family experiences; positive childhood experiences; family health; intergenerational transmission of trauma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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