ArticleCMAJ open
Relative contribution of maternal adverse childhood experiences to understanding children's externalizing and internalizing behaviours at age 5: findings from the All Our Families cohort.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Associations between Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences, Stressful Life Events, and Child Behavioral Outcomes in Racially/Ethnically Diverse Families.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2026Article
- Maternal Depression Mediated the Association Between Moderate Income Inequality and Physical Aggression in Five Year Old Children.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2025Article
- Psychological Interventions and Those With Elements of Positive Psychology for Child and Youth Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Literature Review, Lessons Learned, and Areas for Future Knowledge Dissemination.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2024Review
- Maternal childhood trauma and observed maternal care behaviors with 4-month-old infants.Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy · 2024Article
- Maternal and Paternal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Offspring Health and Wellbeing: A Scoping Review.Maternal and child health journal · 2024Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences in Autistic Children and Their Caregivers: Examining Intergenerational Continuity.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2023Article
- Women's Mental Health up to Eight Years after Childbirth and Associated Risk Factors: Longitudinal Findings from the All Our Families Cohort in Canada.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2023Article
- Maternal attachment insecurity, maltreatment history, and depressive symptoms are associated with broad DNA methylation signatures in infants.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Article
- Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: a longitudinal analysis.The lancet. Psychiatry · 2021Observational
- Adverse childhood experiences are associated with illicit drug use among pregnant women with middle to high socioeconomic status: findings from the All Our Families Cohort.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe negative effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on physical and mental health has led to calls for routine screening for ACEs in primary care settings. We aimed to examine the association between maternal ACEs and children's behaviour problems (externalizing and internalizing) at age 5 in the context of other known predictors.
methodsWe analyzed data from mother-and-child dyads participating in the All Our Families cohort in Calgary, Canada, between 2011 and 2017. Data were collected for factors related to the individual child (sex, age, temperament and behaviour), the mother (adverse childhood experiences, mental health, personality and parenting) and sociodemographic characteristics (family income, ethnicity and family structure) when the children were 3 and 5 years of age. We used logistic regression models to estimate crude and adjusted associations between maternal ACEs and children's externalizing (hyperactivity and aggression) and internalizing (anxiety, depression and somatization) behaviours.
resultsData were available for 1688 mother-and-child dyads. In the crude models, the presence of 4 or more maternal ACEs was associated with children's externalizing and internalizing behaviours at age 5. However, these associations were attenuated with adjustment. Persistent maternal mental health symptoms were associated with both externalizing and internalizing behaviours at age 5 (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 4.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.50-7.05, and adjusted OR 2.52, 95% CI 1.66-3.81, respectively). High levels of ineffective parenting behaviours were also associated with both externalizing and internalizing behaviours at age 5 (adjusted OR 6.27, 95% CI 4.30-9.14, and adjusted OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.03-1.99, respectively).
interpretationThe association between maternal ACEs and children's behaviour at age 5 was weakened in the presence of other maternal and family-level factors. Assessments of maternal mental health and parenting behaviours may be better targets for identifying children at risk of behavioural problems.
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