Maternal childhood adversity and the effect of COVID-19 on mental health outcomes

This study investigates the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in depression and perceived stress reported among mothers of young children following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (May 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and emergency responses have been widely associated with increased mental health issues. The effects of the pandemic and social distancing measures were particularly concerning for mothers, who were under relatively more stress due to the implications for primary caregivers. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected low-income and minority populations, who may not have had the resources to alleviate health or economic problems. Maternal mental health is critical for healthy child development and has long-term implications for individuals and families. The mothers in this sample (N = 113) were recruited from two prenatal clinics in the South-Central United States in 2017-2018 and have since participated in up to nine waves of online data collection. Initial assessments measured demographic variables and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) scores. The eighth wave of data collection, administered in May 2020, measured depression and perceived stress scores, in addition to asking about pandemic-related stressors (e.g., loneliness, economic insecurity, and health concerns). Linear regression analyses showed number of maternal ACEs to be significantly associated with perceived stress (b = .48, p < .05) and depression (b = .88, p < .05) scores. Loneliness scores appeared to mediate the association between ACEs and perceived stress (b = .99, p < .001), as well as that of ACEs and depression (b = 1.61, p < .001). Neither of the other two COVID-19 stressors measured were significant to either measured mental health outcome. The results from this study indicate that mothers who experienced childhood adversity may be especially vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, particularly as they relate to feelings of isolation and lack of social support

Maternal Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences and Prenatal Smoking

Prenatal smoking is associated with adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes as well as health problems in early childhood. Recent research determined that maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the odds of smoking during pregnancy. We consider the role of protective and compensatory childhood experiences (PACEs) in an effort to examine the extent to which positive childhood experiences are protective factors for maternal smoking behaviors. Between 2015-2018, 309 pregnant women in Oklahoma recruited from high-risk prenatal clinics, childbirth education classes, and social media were surveyed about their childhood experiences and smoking behaviors during pregnancy. Ordinal regression analysis was used to examine the association between ACEs, PACEs, and prenatal smoking frequency. Similar to prior studies, we found women with more ACEs reported smoking more frequently during pregnancy. Women with more PACEs reported significantly less frequent prenatal smoking. With both ACEs and PACEs in the model, however, ACEs was no longer a significant predictor of maternal prenatal smoking. Our findings suggest that protective and compensatory childhood experiences may be more salient for prenatal smoking behaviors than adverse childhood experiences. Identifying protective factors for pregnancy health risk behaviors such as smoking can offer a target for intervention and prevention

A Regularized Framework for Feature Selection in Face Detection and Authentication

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