ArticleChild and adolescent psychiatry and mental health2024
Association of parental adverse childhood experiences with offspring sleep problems: the role of psychological distress and harsh discipline.
Article in Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of parental adverse childhood experiences on offspring anxiety and depressive symptoms: a three-year longitudinal study.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Are Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences Associated with Their Preschool Children's Sleep Disruptions? Longitudinal Mediation Through Mothers' Depressive Symptoms and Children's Screen Time.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Adverse Experiences in Early Childhood and Emotional Behavioral Problems Among Chinese Preschoolers: Psychological Resilience and Problematic Media Use.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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Abstract
backgroundSleep problems are common in early childhood and may be affected by parental adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). However, few studies have examined the longitudinal effect of parental ACEs on offspring sleep problems and the underlying mechanism. This study examined parents' psychological distress and harsh discipline (psychological aggression and corporal punishment) as mediators in the longitudinal pathway from parental ACEs to offspring sleep problems.
methodsThe participants included 617 3-year-old children (mean age of 43.13 months, SD = 3.82) and their parents (mean age of 33.24 years, SD = 4.01) from Wuhu, China. The participants completed an online questionnaire on ACEs, psychological distress, and demographic characteristics in September 2022 (Time 1). Parents completed another online questionnaire in September 2023 (Time 2) on harsh discipline and offspring sleep problems. A path model was used to examine the associations.
resultsParental ACEs did not directly predict offspring sleep problems. Psychological distress (β = 0.041, 95% CI [0.005, 0.111]) and harsh discipline in the form of psychological aggression (β = 0.019, 95% CI [0.006, 0.056]) separately mediated the relationship between parental ACEs and offspring sleep problems. Psychological distress and psychological aggression also played a serial mediating role in the association of parental ACEs with offspring sleep problems (β = 0.014, 95% CI [0.007, 0.038]).
conclusionsOur findings showed the importance of psychological distress and psychological aggression in the intergenerational effect of trauma on offspring sleep problems. Specific interventions aimed at improving mental health and parenting practices should be provided for parents who were exposed to ACEs.
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