Mothers\u27 Temperament, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Psychological Symptoms: How Are Enduring Maternal Characteristics Related to Mothers\u27 Perceptions of Children\u27s Temperament, Behavior Problems, and Adaptive Functioning?

Extant literature documented the impact of mothers\u27 characteristics and parenting behaviors on young children\u27s psychosocial outcomes. Additionally, previous studies demonstrated the importance of mothers\u27 adverse childhood experiences in the relationships among some of these constructs. To expand on the existing knowledge, the present study examined the relationships among mothers\u27 temperament, reflective functioning, attributions, and specific parenting behaviors, with reflective functioning and attributions serving as two potential mediating variables in these relationships. A community sample of 224 diverse mothers of young children who were between 2- to 5-years of age rated their own adverse childhood experiences, temperament, reflective functioning, attributions, specific parenting behaviors, satisfaction with their maternal role, and psychological symptoms. Additionally, mothers rated their children\u27s temperament, behavior problems, and adaptive functioning. Statistical analyses were conducted on the overall sample as well as on a subsample of participants who reported a high exposure to adverse childhood experiences. Correlational analyses indicated a variety of significant relationships among the variables of interest. Next, mediational analyses indicated that mothers\u27 attributions mediated the relationship between mothers\u27 temperament and parenting behaviors in both the overall sample and the subsample of mothers who reported high exposure to adverse childhood experiences. Further, hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that a number of maternal characteristics predicted young children\u27s outcomes. Overall, this study identified unique predictors of mothers\u27 parenting behaviors and of mothers\u27 perceptions of the outcomes experienced by their young children. Most importantly, this study highlighted the importance of serving families as a whole when wanting to provide lasting improvements to individual and family functioning through intervention services