Intergenerational Pathways of Adversity: From Maternal Childhood Experiences to Perinatal Mental Health and Early Child Development

This symposium brings together four empirical and review-based contributions that collectively examine the mechanisms through which maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape perinatal wellbeing and early offspring development. Drawing on longitudinal, meta-analytic, and no experimental methodologies, the symposium addresses both risk and protective factors across the intergenerational transmission of adversity, with the aim of identifying leverage points for preventive intervention.

The first contribution presents meta-analysis synthesizing evidence on the biopsychosocial pathways through which maternal ACEs influence offspring outcomes from birth to age three. Across 41 studies, maternal mental health emerged as the most consistent mediator, with psychological distress, depression, and anxiety each showing robust indirect effects. Additional mediators — including parenting practices and physical health complications — yielded more heterogeneous findings, while biological moderators such as child sex and cellular aging markers also shaped intergenerational risk.

The second contribution, a longitudinal study with 381 pregnant women, examines whether difficulties in psychological adjustment during pregnancy mediate the relationship between maternal childhood maltreatment and postnatal outcomes. Findings indicate that adjustment during pregnancy fully mediates the effects of early adversity on both maternal postnatal wellbeing and infant health indicators, highlighting pregnancy as a critical window for targeted intervention.

The third contribution focuses on a sample of 114 mother-infant dyads assessed at six months postpartum, investigating the links between maternal ACEs, postpartum depression, mother-infant bonding, and infant developmental outcomes. Results reveal that although maternal maltreatment predicted depressive symptoms and bonding difficulties, these challenges did not translate into detectable developmental delays in infants at this age, suggesting a degree of early developmental resilience that may be partially explained by favorable socioeconomic conditions.

The fourth contribution examines obstetric violence as a proximal traumatic factor contributing to posttraumatic stress symptoms after childbirth, within a prospective design including 404 women. Obstetric violence and prenatal resilience emerged as the strongest predictors of posttraumatic symptomatology — in opposing directions — while ACEs assessed before birth contributed as a distal vulnerability factor consistent with a diathesis-stress model. Benevolent childhood experiences did not exert a direct protective effect, calling for further examination of indirect pathways.

Taken together, these four studies map a continuum of risk from early adversity to perinatal mental health and infant outcomes, while consistently pointing to modifiable factors — psychological adjustment during pregnancy, resilience, and the quality of obstetric care — as promising targets for prevention and early intervention. The symposium will conclude with an integrative discussion of clinical and policy implications.