Browsing by Author "Walden, Emily"

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    Intergenerational Trauma of Mothers to Children: Relation to Preschoolers' Negative Life Events and Social Emotional Skills
    (University of Oregon, 2021-09-13) Walden, Emily; McIntyre, Laura Lee
    Childhood trauma has negative effects across development and into adulthood, including within parenting. Young children may be vulnerable to intergenerational trauma when their mothers have past histories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), given the importance of mother-child attachment and lifelong risks associated with ACEs. When children transition to preschool, their social emotional learning (SEL) skills develop rapidly as they navigate friendships and emotions, but these skills may be at risk if early negative life events (NLEs) are experienced, especially if those are linked with mothers’ early traumas. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between mothers’ ACEs and their children’s SEL skills, and to see whether children’s NLEs and mother-child SEL behaviors separately moderated this relationship. Participants included 88 biological mother-child dyads, with children 3- to 5-years-old. Results indicated that mothers’ ACEs and children’s SEL skills were negatively associated; early NLEs, especially those connected to mothers’ traumas, were negatively associated with child SEL skills. ACEs were related differently across mother and child SEL behaviors. This study provides understanding that may inform prevention and intervention efforts related to mothers with ACE exposure and their preschool children.