Intergenerational Pathways Between Parental Experiences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Child Weight: Implications for Intervention

[摘要] Background/Objective: Prior research suggests an association between parental experiencing of 1 or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and increased risk for overweight/obesity in children. However, the pathways through which parental experiences of ACEs lead to child weight are unclear.Methods: Participants were parent and child dyads from racially/ethnically diverse and low-income households in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2015. Parents completed an online survey regarding their own adverse experiences in childhood, their height and weight, parenting practices, and mental health. Child height and weight were obtained from electronic medical records. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the extent to which parent mental health and parenting practices mediate associations between parental ACEs and child body mass index (BMI) percentile.Results: 25, and parent overweight was positively related to higher child BMI percentile.Conclusions: Study findings suggest that intervening on parent low mental health may be a key factor in reducing the intergenerational transmission between parental ACEs and child weight.

[学科分类] 过敏症与临床免疫学

[关键词] Adverse Childhood Experiences;Body Mass Index;Childhood Obesity;Mental Health;Minnesota;Parenting;Structural Equation Modeling