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Abstract
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Background
Parents with adverse childhood experiences may have mental health concerns. Depressed parents may be less attuned to their child’s cues, contributing to behavioural problems in their child.
Aim
We examined whether parental depression influences the mechanism of relationship between parental childhood adversity and their child’s behavioural problems, in the DayOne programme, which screens for and supports parents’ mental health, in a specialist child development clinic.
Methodology
Parents were screened for 2 childhood adversities (physical hurt and emotional neglect). Parental depression and child’s behaviours were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire respectively.
Mediation analysis with simple linear regression was used while controlling for child’s gender, parent education and household income.
Results
Of 514 recruited parents, 439 (85.4%) completed screening. 89.2% were mothers. Parents’ and children’s mean ages were 36.1 years (SD 4.9) and 3.2 years (SD 1.4) respectively. 126 (28.7 %) parents reported that during childhood, they sometimes felt afraid, not cared for or all alone and 77(17.5%) reported that they were sometimes physically hurt by an adult. 82 (18.7%) screened positive for depression.
Parental depression significantly mediated the child’s behavioural problems with indirect effect = 1.067, 95% CI [0.544,1.589], se =0.267. Higher parental childhood adversity was associated with greater depressive symptoms which in turn were associated with greater behavioural problems in their child.
Conclusions:
Parental depression significantly mediated the effect of parental childhood adversity on child’s behavioural problems. Embedding trauma informed approaches when supporting parents’ mental health may improve outcomes for the family.
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