A Model of Intergenerational Adverse Childhood Experiences in a Sample of Irish Families

A recent line of inquiry in the study of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) has considered their intergenerational impact, providing evidence that the number of adversities reported by parents correlates with the number experienced by their children. However, research approaches using cumulative ACE scores may not capture the complexity or nuance of different experiences of adversity. There is also a need to consider the interaction between the family and the historical and social context within which they live their lives. The current study builds upon previous findings by querying if intergenerational ACEs are best represented by descriptively different typologies or cumulative scores while considering the specific context of Ireland. The study includes 565 families who received therapeutic or educational support services with a non-governmental organization in Dublin, Ireland. Parents completed sociodemographic measures and ACE questionnaires (indicating the number of ACEs experienced) on behalf of themselves and their child engaged with services. A latent class analysis was conducted, which found parental ACEs were best described by three classes, distinguished based on a high, moderate, and low ACE total scores. Based on this, parental ACEs as a continuous variable was carried forward to a regression model. Parental ACEs, child age, and parent nationality all significantly predicted child ACEs and, together, the model predicted 23.0% of the variance in child ACEs (F[5, 533] = 31.86, p < .001). This finding supports the theory of intergenerational trauma and demonstrates a need for support services to consider families holistically. Further, the findings indicate a need for greater investment in context-specific understandings of trauma. The implications for both research and practice are discussed.