The Legacy of Adversity? The Impact of Caregivers’ Childhood Experiences and Children’s Mental Health on Family Dynamics and Perceived Burden During the COVID-19 Pandemic

TL;DR

The study finds that caregivers with more childhood adversity experience higher child mental health issues, which in turn increases their pandemic-related burden, but unexpectedly shows resilience in family dynamics.

Contribution

It reveals a mediated pathway from caregiver adversity to pandemic burden via child psychopathology and unexpected resilience in family adjustment.

Findings

Child psychopathology mediates the link between caregiver ACEs and perceived pandemic burden.

Higher ACEs in caregivers were associated with less negative family relationship changes during the pandemic.

Caregivers with more ACEs showed unexpected resilience in family dynamics, especially in 2023.

Abstract

This study explores how caregivers’ adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) relate to their perceived COVID-19 burden, child psychopathology, and perceived changes in family relationships during the pandemic in a clinical sample of families.

What are the main findings?
Higher caregiver ACEs were not directly linked to perceived COVID-19 burden but were indirectly linked via increased child psychopathology, which significantly predicted caregiver burden.While caregivers generally perceived pandemic-related family changes as slightly negative, higher ACEs were unexpectedly associated with less negative changes, especially in 2023.

Higher caregiver ACEs were not directly linked to perceived COVID-19 burden but were indirectly linked via increased child psychopathology, which significantly predicted caregiver burden.

While caregivers generally perceived pandemic-related family changes as slightly negative, higher ACEs were unexpectedly associated with less negative changes, especially in 2023.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Child psychopathology plays a key role in the intergenerational transmission of stress, highlighting the need to address children’s mental health in families with high caregiver adversity.Unexpected resilience among high-ACE caregivers suggests that support systems, coping strategies, or shifted expectations may buffer family relationship burden during prolonged crises.

Child psychopathology plays a key role in the intergenerational transmission of stress, highlighting the need to address children’s mental health in families with high caregiver adversity.

Unexpected resilience among high-ACE caregivers suggests that support systems, coping strategies, or shifted expectations may buffer family relationship burden during prolonged crises.

Background: This cross-sectional observational study examined the relationship between caregivers’ adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), their perceived COVID-19-related burden, child psychopathology, and changes in family relationships during the pandemic. Methods: The final sample included 285 children (M = 10.19, SD = 3.36) from clinical settings and their caregivers. Caregivers reported their own ACEs and their children’s psychopathology. Perceived caregiver COVID-19 burden and changes in family relationships were also assessed. Correlational analyses, regressions, and mediation models were conducted to test direct and indirect associations. Results: Caregivers reported an average of 1.63 ACEs, with 18.4% reporting four or more. Children of caregivers who reported four or more ACEs exhibited significantly elevated psychopathology scores. However, caregiver ACEs did not directly predict the perceived COVID-19 burden. A mediation analysis revealed that child psychopathology mediated the association between caregiver ACEs and caregiver COVID-19 burden. Unexpectedly, higher caregiver ACEs were associated with less negative perceived changes in family relationships, particularly in 2023, indicating heterogeneous family adjustment trajectories. Conclusions: These findings highlight that child psychopathology is a key mechanism in the intergenerational transmission of caregiver burden linked to childhood adversity. They also suggest that support systems, resilience, or differing expectations among high-ACE caregivers may help buffer changes in family relationship. Early identification and trauma-informed, family-centered interventions beyond acute crisis are essential. However, limitations include the reliance on caregiver self-report and cross-sectional design. Further, longitudinal, multi-informant research is needed to clarify these dynamics and inform targeted support strategies.

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