Positive Functioning Moderates the Association between Classes of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms

Early Adverse Childhood Experiences and Positive Functioning during Adolescence

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to have consequences for adolescent development, yet little is known about the association between ACEs and positive functioning. Positive functioning evaluates engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness, and happiness, which are intimately related to pro-social behavior. As skills associated with sociability in adolescence often carry on into adulthood, understanding the developmental origins in inequalities in pro-social behavior, as measured by positive functioning, is key to ensuring equitable life chances across the life course. Subsequently, the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS; n = 3444) was used to examine how early exposure to cumulative ACEs, plus the timing and duration of those ACEs may be associated with positive functioning development in adolescence. The sample consisted of urban-born youth (49% female) with the mean age of 15. Racial/ethnic breakdown of the sample is 18% non-Hispanic White, 49% non-Hispanic Black, 25% Hispanic, and 8% "Other". Overall, estimates suggest that roughly 88% of these youth experienced at least one ACE by age five. The findings indicate that cumulation, timing, and duration of early ACEs are related to overall adolescent positive functioning and four out of the five domains (perseverance, optimism, connectedness, and happiness), even after controlling for more recent ACEs. This study highlights the critical impact of very early ACEs on youth positive functioning, which may confer further physical, mental, and social disadvantages into adulthood. Positive functioning can serve as a protective factor against some of the negative consequences of adversity, and ensuring that all families receive proper supports may limit the lifelong effects of adversity, and most importantly, prevent ACEs from occurring in the first place.

The gendered relationship between maternal depression and adolescent internalizing symptoms

It is well-established that adolescents whose mothers are depressed are themselves more likely to experience internalizing symptoms (e.g., depressive and anxiety symptoms). Even as extensive work shows that internalizing symptoms are more prevalent among adolescent girls compared to boys, it is unclear if the maternal-offspring mental health relationship is gender-neutral or gender-specific: Does maternal depression act as an equalizing force for adolescents' risk of internalizing symptoms, or does it contribute to adolescent gender differences? This study analyzes whether adolescent gender moderates the association between maternal depression and adolescent internalizing symptoms using data from the Year-15 survey of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which follows a cohort of children born in large U.S. cities, primarily to unmarried parents. This sample of 2159 primary caregiver mothers and adolescent offspring (ages 14-18 years) has numerous social risk factors for internalizing symptoms, affording the opportunity to carefully assess the possibly gendered nature of mother-adolescent linkages. Adjusted ordinary least squares regression models showed that maternal depression is associated with significantly higher adolescent depressive and anxiety symptoms. However, the relationship between maternal depression and adolescent internalizing symptoms is substantially larger for daughters compared to sons. The gendered nature of these concurrent mother-adolescent symptoms highlights the need to consider the effect of gender on other risk processes within families. Moreover, the strong clustering of internalizing symptoms among mothers and daughters highlights the value of prevention and treatment efforts that attend to adult and adolescent mental health simultaneously.