Emotional Support Among Parents of Children With Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Phillip M Hughes, Genevive Graaf, Neal A deJong and 1 others
PMID 37245128WHAT IT FOUND
Having a child with two or more ACEs was associated with a 1.7 percentage point higher probability of any emotional support, but financial hardship was associated with a 3.3 percentage point lower probability. 18.2% of parents reported no emotional support.
Key findings
01Having a child with two or more ACEs was associated with a 1.7 percentage point increase in the probability of having any emotional support.
02Financial hardship was associated with a 3.3 percentage point lower probability of any emotional support, while having an incarcerated parent was associated with a 3.2 percentage point higher probability.
03Among parents reporting any emotional support, having a child with two or more ACEs was associated with a 4.9 percentage point higher probability of accessing any formal emotional support.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that ACEs cause changes in emotional support or that support changes because of ACEs. The survey included only certain adverse experiences and did not assess events such as sexual abuse. ACEs were reported by the caregiver, not the child, which may introduce measurement bias. ACEs were asked as ever occurring, while emotional support was asked about the past 12 months, so timing may be mismatched. The study could not separate parents who used only formal support from those who used both formal and informal support. The survey is weighted for children, not parents or caregivers, so it may not represent all caregivers nationally. About 7.9% of the sample had missing data and was dropped from multivariable models.
Declared interests
The authors declared no relevant conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that ACEs screening or emotional support referral improves family support. This is a cross-sectional survey and did not test an intervention.