What is it about?
Adverse experiences in childhood (ACEs; e.g., abuse, neglect, marital separation, mental illness in the family) can lead to serious mental and physical health problems later in life. It’s important to prevent them early, especially by understanding how these experiences differ between boys and girls. This long-term study followed 316 German families over 18 years to see how childhood adversity is passed from parents to children, and whether boys and girls are affected differently. Mothers and daughters reported more ACEs than fathers and sons, especially involving abuse and neglect. People with more ACEs tended to have worse mental health and lower life satisfaction. Children were less likely to experience ACEs if their mothers had higher income, took part in a parenting program (Triple P), and if the children had fewer emotional problems when they were young.
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Why is it important?
Both mothers’ and fathers’ experiences matter when planning prevention strategies. Even though women report more ACEs, men can be just as emotionally affected—so prevention should consider both sexes equally.
Perspectives
Adverse childhood experiences are linked to health outcomes across the entire lifespan, which is why early prevention is highly important.
Max Supke
Leibniz-Institut für Resilienzforschung (LIR) gGmbH
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sex-specific differences in the experience of adverse childhood experiences: transmission, protective, and risk factors from the perspectives of parents and their children-results of an 18-year German longitudinal study, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, April 2025, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/s13034-025-00904-6.
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