母亲童年期不良经历可以通过育儿压力和儿童虐待，对子代学龄前执行功能产生代际影响

The Chain Mediating Role of Parenting Stress and Child Maltreatment in the Association Between Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Executive Functions in Preschool Children: A Longitudinal Study

育儿压力和儿童虐待在母亲童年期不良经历与学龄前儿童执行功能之间关系中的链式中介作用：一项纵向研究

Authou: Jinhong Zha, Ruoyu Li, Haiyan He, Peifei Fang, Rongling Huang, Tian Xing, Yuhui Wan

Source: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

DIO: 10.1186/s13034-024-00837-6

Abstract

Background: Previous researches found that maternal adverse childhood experiences not only affect the psychological behavior of preschool children, but also have direct or indirect negative effects on the executive functions and cognition of offspring. And, the possible social psychological mechanism between maternal adverse childhood experiences and preschool children's executive functions is still not clear.

Objectives：This study mainly tries to understand the association between parenting stress and child maltreatment in maternal adverse childhood experiences and children's executive functions through longitudinal cohort.

Participants and Setting: Participants were 2160 preschool children and their mothers who finally completed baseline and 3 waves of follow-up.

Methods: Using a cohort study, a baseline survey of junior kindergartens was carried out in June 2021 and followed up every six months, with a total of 3 follow-ups.

Results: We found that executive functions in preschoolers were significantly positively correlated with maternal adverse childhood experiences, parenting stress, physical assault, psychological aggression, neglect and nonviolent discipline (r = 0.180, 0.386, 0.274, 0.302, 0.189, 0.148, respectively, P<0.01). Further, parenting stress and child maltreatment showed a chain mediating effect between maternal adverse childhood experiences and executive functions in preschoolers, and the total indirect effects accounted for 70.56%, 78.69%, 65.38%, and 68.07% of the total effect, respectively.

Conclusions: This study found that maternal adverse childhood experiences have a significant impact on the executive functions of preschool children, and parenting stress and child maltreatment are the mediating factors of their association, revealing the potential mechanism between the two associations from the perspective of social psychology.

Keywords: Maternal adverse childhood experiences, Preschoolers' executive functions, Parenting stress, Child maltreatment, Chain mediating.

摘要

背景：前期研究发现，母亲童年期不良经历不仅影响学龄前儿童情绪行为问题，而且对后代的执行功能和认知也会产生直接或间接的负面影响。但目前母亲童年期不良经历与学龄前儿童执行功能之间的社会心理学机制尚不清楚。

目的：本研究通过一项纵向队列研究，探索母亲童年期不良经历、育儿压力和儿童虐待与学龄前儿童执行功能之间的关联。

参与者：参与者是安徽省2160名学龄前儿童及其母亲，最终完成基线调查和3次随访调查。

方法：采用队列研究方法，在2021年6月对幼儿园小班进行基线调查，之后每半年进行一次随访，共进行3次随访。

结果：研究发现，学龄前儿童执行功能情况与母亲童年期不良经历、育儿压力、躯体攻击、心理攻击、忽视和非暴力管教行为均显著正相关（r = 0.180, 0.386, 0.274, 0.302, 0.189, 0.148，P值均<0.01）。进一步分析发现，育儿压力和儿童虐待在母亲童年期不良经历与学龄前儿童执行功能之间显示链式中介效应，总间接效应分别占总效应的70.56%，78.69%，65.38%和68.07%。

结论：研究发现母亲童年期不良经历对学龄前儿童执行功能有显著影响，育儿压力和儿童虐待是二者关联的中介因素，从社会心理学的角度揭示两者之间可能潜在的机制。