Date of Award
8-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Psychology
Committee Chair
Sara Jordan
Committee Chair School
Psychology
Committee Member 2
Stephanie Smith
Committee Member 2 School
Psychology
Committee Member 3
Kristy McRaney
Committee Member 3 School
Psychology
Committee Member 4
Bonnie Nicholson
Committee Member 4 School
Psychology
Abstract
Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), with specific ACEs subtypes (i.e., maltreatment; household dysfunction) have consistently been linked to emotional and behavioral problems in preschool-aged children. Additionally, other factors that may affect child behavior problems have also been examined throughout the literature, such as parenting practices and emotion regulation. However, no known study to date has examined maternal ACEs, mothers’ difficulty in emotion regulation, parenting practices, and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors in one model. Therefore, the aim of this study was to expand upon the literature and better understand the relations between these constructs. An existing sample of mothers of preschool-aged children (n = 96) was used, and additional data were collected (n = 68) to expand the size and diversity of the sample. A path analysis was conducted using MPlus to test the fit of a theoretical model of maternal ACEs subtypes to child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, including examining several indirect effects to examine the role of difficulty in emotion regulation and parenting practices. The original hypothesized model had poor model fit, and all indirect effects were non-significant. A modified model with additional direct paths informed by modification indices, and the removal of non-significant paths was tested, and model fit improved. All direct paths were significant but hypothesized indirect effects remained non-significant. The results suggest that ACEs subtypes may affect child behavior through different factors. Further, targeting emotion regulation difficulties and negative parenting practices may decrease behavioral and emotional problems in children among mothers with adverse childhood experiences.
ORCID ID
0009-0002-0949-5970
Copyright
Maddison Knott, 2026
Recommended Citation
Knott, Maddison, "A Path Analysis Examining Relations Between Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Preschoolers’ Emotional and Behavioral Problems" (2026). Dissertations. 2494.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2494