Kristi Williams

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—the constellation of experiences of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction in childhood—affect the subsequent formation and maintenance of social relationships. Yet to date, there is limited knowledge on the potential consequences of maternal ACEs for the mother–adult child tie, one of the most important relationships across the life course. Insights from a life course perspective and research on the deleterious effects of ACEs suggest that mothers’ experiences of ACEs in childhood are so powerful that they may shape mother–adult child relationship quality decades later. To test this possibility, we draw on nationally representative, longitudinal cohort data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult Supplement to examine associations between maternal ACEs and mother–adult child estrangement, contact, and closeness. Multi-level logistic and ordinal logistic regression models show that greater maternal ACEs exposure is associated with greater odds of estrangement from, less frequent contact with, and lower levels of closeness to the mother as reported by the adult child. Our findings highlight and extend research on intergenerational relationships by demonstrating that a mother’s ACEs exposure may be a fundamental determinant of her relationships with her adult children, documenting lengthier intergenerational consequences of ACEs than uncovered by prior research.

Shutdowns of in-person school and childcare in spring 2020 in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic were associated with substantial reductions in mothers’ labor force participation (LFP). By fall 2020, in-person school and daycare were more widely available, but mothers’ LFP remained as low as it was in spring. Coincidently, by fall 2020, daily COVID deaths had also began to peak. Using unique panel survey data from partnered U.S. mothers ( n = 263), the authors use structural equation modeling to analyze how mothers’ concerns over COVID shaped their LFP in fall 2020. Findings show that mothers’ COVID concerns were associated with reduced LFP via children’s time at home, perceived stress, and remote work. Concerned mothers were more likely to keep children home, but this resulted in less paid work likely vis-à-vis work-family conflicts. The findings illuminate one reason mothers’ LFP failed to rebound in fall 2020 despite increased access to in-person school and daycare.

Although past research indicates that giving birth at a young age and prior to marriage negatively affects mental health, little is known about the role of individual expectations in shaping these associations. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, the authors consider how individual expectations for the sequencing of marriage and parenthood and the timing of first births shape mental health outcomes associated with premarital childbearing and age at first birth, and they investigate variation in the role of expectations across gender and race/ethnicity. Results indicate that expecting children before marriage ameliorates the negative mental health consequences of premarital first births and that subsequently deviating from expected birth timing, either early or late, results in increased distress at all birth ages. In both cases, however, the degree and manner in which expectations matter differ by gender and race/ethnicity. Expectations for premarital childbearing matter only for African Americans’ mental health, and although later-than-expected births are associated with decreased mental health for all groups, earlier-than-expected births are associated only with decreased mental health for women, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites.