Parents’ early life stressful experiences, their present well-being, and that of their children
Research SummaryAPA Citation:
O’Neal, C. W., Richardson, E. W., Mancini, J. A., & Grimsley, R. N. (2016). Parents’ early life stressful experiences, their present well-being, and that of their children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86(4) 425-435. http://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000140
Abstract Created by REACH:
The current study sampled military families in the Army (N = 266) that included data from both Active Duty and civilian parents and their adolescent children. Researchers examined associations between parents’ early life stressful experiences, their present well-being, and that of their children. Results indicated that parents’ current functioning may impact their children’s well-being.
Focus:
Children
Mental health
Parents
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Child of a service member or veteran
Military families
Spouse of service member or veteran
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Authors:
O'Neal, Catherine Walker, Richardson, Evin W., Mancini, Jay A., Grimsley, Rebecca Neilann
Abstract:
Parents’ early life stressful experiences have lifelong consequences, not only for themselves but also for their children. The current study utilized a sample of military families (n = 266) including data from both active-duty and civilian parents and their adolescent children. Hypotheses reflecting principles of persistence, transmission, and proximity as pertaining to parents and their children were examined. The impact of parents’ childhood experiences on their functioning later in life and, consequently, their adolescent children’s well-being were examined. Adults who encountered more stressful childhood experiences, including relatively prevalent and less severe adversities (e.g., verbal conflict between parents) experienced poorer functioning than adults who encountered little early stress. Civilian parents’ current functioning was related to adolescent children’s well-being, whereas the functioning of active-duty parents was generally not related to children’s well-being. Persistence, transmission, and proximity hypotheses were generally supported but with variations attributable to whether an adult was a military member. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
American Psychological Association
Publication Type:
Article
REACH Publication
Author Affiliation:
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, CWO
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, EWR
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, JAM
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, RNG
Keywords:
adolescence, adolescent behavior, adult, adversity, depression, early experience, female, humans, life changing events, major depression, male, mental health, military families, military personnel, parent-child relations, parenting, parenting quality, parents, physical health, social support, stress, symptoms, well-being
REACH Publication Type:
Research Summary