Adult attachment, adverse childhood experiences and parenting stress

The current study explored the moderating effect of scores for coherence derived from the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) on the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and parenting stress measured by the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) in a sample drawn from community and clinical populations. Participants in the current study (N=64) were recruited from two samples, a clinical sample participating in the pilot study for The Group Attachment Based Intervention (GABI) (n=30) and a community sample (n=34) recruited to participate in research on parent-child relationships. All participants provided AAIs in addition to ACE and PSI-SF responses. This study found significant relationships between ACEs, AAI Coherence of Transcript and parenting stress, with AAI coherence shown to moderate the influence of ACEs on maternal reports of Total Parenting Stress, and to partially mediate the effects of ACEs on Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interactions. The discussion emphasizes the greater need for both ACE and PSI-SF screenings across healthcare settings, and the importance of targeting coherence in clinical interventions for mothers identified as being at risk for problem parenting.