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Adverse childhood events and adolescent mental health: The moderating role of parent-child relationships

Bourke, Ashling orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-3997-895X, O'Brien, Fearghal and Hadfield, Kristin (2026) Adverse childhood events and adolescent mental health: The moderating role of parent-child relationships. Journal of Family Psychology (JFP) . ISSN 1939-1293

Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the moderating role of the mother-child and father-child relationship on the association between Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) and mental health problems from childhood through to early and late adolescence. ACEs can detrimentally affect mental health later in life, but protective factors – including parent-child relationship quality - can alleviate some of these effects. We used data from a large, nationally representative, longitudinal study to conduct pre-registered analyses examining the relationship between ACEs experienced before 9 years of age on mental health problems in childhood (age 9), early adolescence (age 13), and late adolescence (17/18 years) among children in Ireland (n=8568), controlling for child gender and household social class. We also explored the role of parentchild relationship quality in moderating these associations. ACEs predicted poorer mental health in late childhood, early adolescence, and late adolescence. Mental health problems decreased over adolescence, but contrary to our hypothesis, the rate of that change was not impacted by ACEs. Mother-child but not father-child relationship quality moderated the association between ACEs and mental health. The results indicate that the association between ACEs and mental health persists through later childhood and adolescence. Interventions to support and strengthen mother-child relationships may be especially useful for the mental health of children who have experienced ACEs.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:ACEs, adolescence, adverse childhood experiences, parent-child closeness, father–child relationship, mother–child relationship
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Social psychology
Social Sciences > Sociology
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education
DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of Human Development
Publisher:American Psychological Association
Official URL:https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Ff...
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:32705
Deposited On:18 May 2026 13:20 by Gordon Kennedy . Last Modified 18 May 2026 13:20
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