Intergenerational Continuity of Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Female Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Children

Background and Purpose: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are common among the general population with almost 64 percent reporting at least one ACE. Their various negative health outcomes (e.g. cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, diabetes, mental health problems, etc.) is now widely recognized. Among women, the number of ACEs is linked to increased risk for future intimate partner victimization. Despite the rapid development of ACEs knowledge and their impacts, relatively less understood are: 1) the prevalence of the various ACEs dimensions among domestic violence survivors; and 2) the patterns of intergenerational continuity of ACEs in their children. This study aims to fill these gaps, using data from a domestic violence program that serves an ethnically diverse population. We hypothesized that children’s ACEs have similar patterns to their mothers’ ACEs and they are significantly associated with each other. A broader scrutiny of the intergenerational continuity of ACEs could help us to better understand the complex adverse histories of women survivors of DV and to identify critical areas of vulnerability in both generations.

Methods: This study used data from the initial assessment of domestic violence survivors (N=409) seeking help at a local family violence program. We used the 10-item CDC ACE index that includes exposures to multi-form child abuse and neglect, violence in the home, parental substance use and mental health challenges, parental separation or divorce, and household member in prison. We calculated ACEs score for the mothers and for their children to examine intergenerational patterns. Descriptive statistics were calculated and Pearson chi-square tests of differences and independent sample t-tests for equality of means were used to test intergenerational differences. Multivariate regression was used to test whether the intergenerational link between mothers’ ACEs and their children’s ACEs is significant.

Results: Results showed significant differences between mothers’ ACEs and children’s ACEs. The average number of ACEs for mothers is slightly higher (mean = 3.69) than their children (mean = 3.49). Further, more mothers reported having experienced at least 1 ACE than their children. Significantly more children reported exposures to multi-form child abuse and neglect than their mothers. Conversely, more mothers reported having experienced ACEs related to economic challenges in their families, substance use, household member imprisonment, and parental divorce/separation. Regression results confirm the hypothesized intergenerational link between mothers’ ACEs and their children’s ACEs (beta = .168, p<.05).

Conclusion and Implications: These results provide evidence towards the increased risk for some families towards intergenerational continuity of ACEs exposure. Results further demonstrate the increased vulnerability of some children who are exposed to various dimensions of child abuse. Notably, children of domestic violence survivors have accumulated lesser ACEs than their mothers at the time of assessment, underscoring that the intergenerational continuity of adversity is potentially not inexorable. Examining multi-level resilient-fostering factors in the context of adversity helps to identify potential targets for preventive interventions to support DV survivors and their children. The two-generation approach employed here emphasizes the importance of simultaneously supporting parents and their children towards strengthening their resilience and promoting overall wellbeing.