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The relationship between parental adverse childhood experiences and offspring preschool readiness: the mediating role of psychological resilience

BMC Psychology volume 13, Article number: 136 (2025) Cite this article

Abstract

Parental adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may represent a risk for offspring school readiness. Previous studies suggested that children’s psychological resilience may mediate between the intergenerational transmission of parental ACEs and offspring school readiness. Using structural equation modeling, our study aimed to explore the role of psychological resilience in the association between parental ACEs and preschool readiness. A sample of 711 Chinese parents of preschool children aged three (53.3% boys) and their kindergarten teachers participated in this research. Parents reported their ACEs and their children’s psychological resilience, whereas teachers reported children’s preschool readiness. Parental ACEs directly affect children’s social competence, learning disposition, and classroom rules. Psychological resilience mediated the pathways from parental ACEs to self-care abilities, emotional maturity, cognitive and communicative skills, and social competence learning dispositions. This study highlights the importance of parental ACEs and psychological resilience in preschool readiness. Specific interventions related to children’s psychological resilience should help break the intergenerational cycle of ACEs in preschool readiness.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include traumatic events before the age of 18 years, such as maltreatment (sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and neglect) and family stressors, which include witnessing violence at home, parental mental health problems, parental divorce or separation, parental incarceration, and drug and alcohol abuse issues at home [1]. Previous studies have shown that ACEs are linked to children’s mental health and school readiness [2]. In recent years, research has focused on understanding the transmission of ACEs across generations; in particular, maternal ACEs increase the risk of behavioral problems and poor academic performance [3,4,5,6]. The rate of mothers experiencing at least one type of ACEs has reached 69.7% in China in 2021 [7]. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between parental ACEs and preschool readiness using Chinese samples. Unlike readiness for primary school, which focuses on foundational skills in literacy and numeracy [8], preschool readiness refers to a set of skills, such as self-care and emotional maturity, that help young children successfully transition to preschool, which may help them lay the foundation for school achievements and lifelong success [8,9,10].

Psychological resilience is the capacity to adjust and perform well in high-risk environments or after exposure to prolonged adversity [11]. Previous research has indicated that the children of parents with ACEs may have low levels of psychological resilience [12], which may lead to poor school readiness [13]. Psychological resilience may mediate the relationship between parental ACEs and preschool readiness. However, few studies have examined the mediating role of children’s psychological resilience in the intergenerational transmission of parental ACEs. Therefore, this study aimed to extend the literature by pursuing two research objectives. The first aim was to explore the direct effects of parental ACEs on preschool readiness in a Chinese kindergarten sample. The second aim was to test whether psychological resilience mediated this relationship.

Parental ACEs and preschool readiness

Chinese preschool enrollment rate has increased rapidly from 64.5% in 2012 to 98.7% in 2022 [14, 15], which means an increasing number of children make the transition from home to school at age three. Research suggests that preschool readiness may help children lay the foundation for later school achievements and lifelong success [10, 16]. Xie and Li [9] developed a Chinese preschool readiness scale to measure preschoolers’ readiness when they enter kindergarten. In the context of the Chinese culture, five domains are important for children’s transition into kindergarten: self-care and emotional maturity, cognition and communication, social competence, learning dispositions, and abilities to follow classroom rules [8]. This tool contains comprehensive and holistic aspects of preschool readiness. For this reason, we used it in this study [17].

Exploring the factors that affect preschool readiness can help design specific interventions. Previous research has indicated that parental ACEs may be a potential risk factor for preschool readiness. Children whose parents have higher levels of ACEs tend to show lower levels of self-care and emotional maturity [18], cognition and communication, social skills [19], learning dispositions [20], and externalizing problems [18]. A recent meta-analysis showed that a positive relationship between parental ACEs and their children's internalizing behavior, such as emotion disorder and separation anxiety [18]. Folger and colleagues found that maternal ACEs were positively associated with their offspring's cognition and communication development [18]. According to the attachment theory, individuals who receive insensitive and inconsistent care, as seen in cases of abuse and neglect, are more likely to establish mental representations of their caregivers as untrustworthy, which contributes to the formation of insecure and disorganized attachment [21]. The combined effects of ACE exposure and insecure child and adult connection may decrease a parent's capacity to be emotionally present and apply effective discipline to their offspring [18], and thus contribute to the intergenerational transmission of ACEs [22]. According to ecological system theory [23], parents who have experienced ACEs grew up in toxic stressful family environments [24]. These situations may remain unchanged from generation to generation due to low social mobility or a perpetual cycle of violence [25]. As a result, the children of these parents may grow up in a stressful household environment and have lower levels of academic achievement and social-emotional skills [26]. Exposure to ACEs has been shown to be related to poor adulthood socioeconomic outcomes [27]. Children living in low socioeconomic status (SES) families receive less investment, household wealth, and education [28]. Janus and Duku [29] suggested that SES-related developmental differences are apparent before children enter school. Moreover, parents with higher levels of ACEs tend to use harsh parenting strategies more frequently, which may increase the risk of their offspring behavioral problems [30]. A recent study has shown that maternal ACEs are related to lower academic performance in adolescent offspring [6]. However, no studies have examined the relationship between parental ACEs and preschool readiness among children in Chinese context.

The mediating role of psychological resilience in children

According to the attachment theory, parents with a history of maltreatment or household dysfunction are more likely to form insecure attachments with their parents and eventually their own children [31]. Previous research has demonstrated that the development of psychological resilience is significantly influenced by secure attachment [32], which is produced by the primary caregiver’s supportive, sensitive, and responsive parenting [33]. Empirical research has also suggested that children of mothers with higher levels of ACEs tend to have lower levels of resilience in a large representative Japanese 6–18-year-old sample [12]. Resilience refers to the ability to adjust and perform well in high-risk environments or after exposure to prolonged adversity [11], which can improve the mental capacity for risk aversion; resilient children have strong autonomy, competence, and self-efficacy [34]. Psychological resilience improves an individual's ability to contribute to positive developmental outcomes even in adverse environments [35]. Shi [13] found that psychological resilience is an important predictor of school readiness among elementary schoolchildren. Research has shown the difference in behavior and learning environment between resilient and non-resilient children in the classroom [36]. Resilient children report a more beneficial instructional learning environment and are more satisfied with their reading and language arts classrooms than non-resilient children. In addition, non-resilient children reported having more difficulties with their classwork than normal and resilient children. Resilient children were also noticed looking or listening substantially more than non-resilient children, while non-resilient children were recorded not attending to tasks more frequently [37]. Therefore, resilience may affect children’s different aspects of preschool readiness. Previous studies have indicated that higher parental ACEs may decrease the level of offspring psychological resilience, resulting in low levels of preschool readiness. However, few studies have explored the mediating role of psychological resilience on the relationship between parental ACEs and preschool readiness.

The current study

Our study aimed to extend this literature by examining the relationships between parental ACEs, psychological resilience, and preschool readiness. This study has two research goals. The first aim was to examine the direct effects of parental ACEs on preschool readiness. Based on the existing literature [18,19,20], we hypothesized that parental ACEs would be negatively associated with preschool readiness. The second goal was to examine the effects of psychological resilience on these relationships. Based on the attachment theory [31] and empirical evidence [12, 13], we hypothesized that psychological resilience mediates the relationship between parental ACEs and preschool readiness.

Methods

Participants and procedures

This study utilized first-wave data from a longitudinal cohort investigation focused on the intergenerational transmission of parental Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Data were gathered from eight kindergartens spread across seven districts in Wuhu, China, strategically selected based on socioeconomic status and local child population density. Commencing in 2022, yearly data collection encompassed parental ACEs, parenting strategies, mental health, early childhood adversities, and preschool readiness. The study objectives were detailed to principals and teachers of the participating kindergartens. Upon obtaining informed consent, 950 invitations were extended to newly enrolled kindergarten children and their parents to join the cohort study. Parents were thoroughly informed about the study's aims, methodologies, and their option to withdraw at any stage. Exclusion criteria included children diagnosed with disabilities and those whose parents experienced physical or mental illnesses or communication difficulties. Data collection employed web-based questionnaires administered via the “WenJuanXing” platform, integrating study variables and demographic information. Following consent, paper questionnaires focused on preschool readiness were distributed to kindergarten teachers. Web-based questionnaires were sent to consenting parents who provided information on their adverse experiences before 18 years of age, their children's psychological resilience, and demographic data. Kindergarten teachers, trained by study specialists, assessed and reported on preschool readiness after observing children's behaviors for at least one month using paper questionnaires. A total of 711 valid responses were obtained from three-year-old children, which were subsequently analyzed. The study received ethical approval from the affiliated university's ethics committee. The details of study design and participants also can be found in our previous study [38].

The sample comprised 53.3% boys (n = 379) and 46.7% girls (n = 332), with a mean age of 42.55 ± 3.96 months. Mothers completed 79.7% (n = 567) of the questionnaires, while fathers completed the remaining 20.3% (n = 144). The average age of the parents was 33.26 ± 4.21 years. Notably, 95.2% of households reported an annual income exceeding 50,000 yuan, suggesting that the sample represented a higher economic level than the national average for economically disadvantaged families [4]. Further details on demographic characteristics and primary study variables are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1 Descriptive information for all variables
Full size table

Measures

Parental ACEs

The Chinese version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) was used to test for parental ACEs [39]. Wang et al. [7] adjusted the original ACE-IQ for Chinese culture. Owing to the sensitivity of this topic in China, questions about sexual abuse were excluded from the questionnaire [40]. Parents retrospectively reported adverse experiences before the age of 18. The ACE-IQ comprises seven categories: emotional neglect (two items), emotional abuse (two items), physical neglect (two items), physical abuse (three items), community violence (two items), peer bullying (three items), and household dysfunction (six items). Parents answer “Yes” or “No” to the 6 items of Household dysfunction. If they responded yes to any of the six items, they were considered to have been exposed and were coded “1” for household dysfunction; otherwise, they were coded “0.” The other 16 items measured the following responses: ‘never true, rarely true, sometimes true, often true, and very often true. They were determined to have been exposed to a category and coded “1” if they answered ‘rarely true, “sometimes true,” “often true,” or “very often true” to any item in that category; otherwise, they were labelled “0.” Accumulated ACE scores ranged from 0 to 7. The Cronbach’s alpha for the Chinese version of the ACE-IQ in this study was 0.72.

Psychological resilience

The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Preschoolers, Second Edition (DECA-P2) was used to measure children’s psychological resilience [41]. The 38-item DECA-P2 was completed by parents (caregivers) to assess internal child protective characteristics that are vital to social and emotional health and resilience as well as to serve as a screening tool for behavioral problems in children. The DECA-P2 contains four subscales: Initiative (nine items), Self-regulation (nine items), Attachment/Relationships (nine items), and Behavioral Concerns (11 items). Parents rated each item on a 5-likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (always). The total scores of the Initiative, Self-Regulation, and Attachment/Relationships subscales were added to measure the preschoolers’ psychological resilience [42]. The raw score was transformed into a T-score, according to the manual [41]. A high total score indicated a higher level of psychological resilience. The parent-reported DECA-P2 has shown good reliability and validity in Chinese children [43], and the Cronbach's alpha in this study was 0.95.

Preschool readiness

The Chinese Preschool Readiness Scale (CPRS) was used to test the children's readiness for preschool [9]. The CPRS contains five domains: Self-care abilities and emotional maturity (six items), cognitive and communication skills (five items), social competence (four items), learning dispositions (four items), and classroom rules (five items). Teachers rated the children’s readiness according to their performance since entering kindergarten on a 6-point scale (0 = Not applicable, from 1 = Extremely untrue to 5 = Extremely true). Seven negative statement items were reverse-scored (six items on the self-care abilities and emotional maturity subscales and one item on classroom rules). Cronbach's alphas for the five subscales were 0.88, 0.79, 0.90, 0.91, and 0.78, respectively, and 0.92 for total scale.

Covariates

Parental gender (1 = father, 2 = mother), age (years), children’s gender (1 = boy, 2 = girl), and family socioeconomic status (SES) were considered covariates, according to previous studies [5]. Family socioeconomic status included five indicators: father’s occupation and education level, mother’s occupation and education level, and annual family income. The average standardized scores of the five were used to represent SES in this study [5].

Analysis

First, descriptive and correlation analyses of the study variables were performed. Structural equation model with maximum likelihood estimation was used to test the conceptual model. Full information maximum likelihood (FIML) was applied to handle missing data. First, we tested the measurement model for the latent variables. We also examined the direct and indirect pathways between parental ACEs and preschool readiness via psychological resilience. Bootstrapped 95% confidence interval estimation with 1000 resamples for the significant indirect effects.

All analyses were performed using SPSS 28 and Mplus 8.6. The comparative fit indices (CFI), Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) were used to assess the model fit [44,45,46]. Acceptable model fit (CFI/TLI > 0.90, SRMR/RMSEA < 0.10) and good model fit (CFI/TLI > 0.95, SRMR/RMSEA < 0.08) were defined using standard benchmark values [47].

Results

Descriptive information

A descriptive analysis of the study variables is presented in Table 1. The means and standard deviations of the ages of the children and their mothers were 42.55 ± 3.96 months and 33.26 ± 4.21 years. The average scores of parental ACEs and psychological resilience were 3.04 ± 1.81 and 44.19 ± 10.23. The mean scores for the five preschool readiness domains were 3.93 ± 0.90, 4.33 ± 0.76, 3.66 ± 0.92, 3.31 ± 0.93, 3.77 ± 0.78. The correlation analysis for the main study variables is presented in Table 2. Parental ACEs were negatively correlated with psychological resilience, social competence, learning disposition, and classroom rules. Psychological resilience and all five subscales of preschool readiness were significantly positively correlated with the others.

Table 2 Bivariate correlations among the main variables
Full size table

Measurement model

A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the measurement model of preschool readiness. Results showed an acceptable model fit: χ2(242) = 1145.85, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.07, 95%CI = [0.07, 0.08]; CFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.90, SRMR = 0.05. However, when we reviewed the modification indices, two items of the cognitive and communication skills subscale were correlated (“Recognizes basic shapes, such as square, circle, and rectangle” and “Recognizes basic colors, such as yellow, blue, and green”), which were similar to a previous study [17]. In previous research, children’s ability to recognize basic shapes and colors significantly correlated with each other [48]. Therefore, we allowed these two items to co-vary freely, and the model fit was satisfactory: χ2(241) = 878.07, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.06, 95%CI = [0.06, 0.07]; CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, SRMR = 0.05. The results of the measurement model indicate that the latent variables can be included in the structural model.

Structural equation model

Direct effect

The full structural equation model showed a satisfied model fit: χ2(359) = 1070.65, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.05, 95%CI = [0.05, 0.06]; CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.04. Standardized coefficients of the structural equation model are shown in Fig. 1. Table 3 presents the direct effect that parental ACEs significantly associated with social competence (β = −0.11, p = 0.01), learning dispositions (β = −0.09, p = 0.02), and classroom rules (β = −0.08, p = 0.04). Furthermore, parental ACEs significantly predict children's psychological resilience (β = −0.20, p < 0.001). Children’s psychological resilience was significantly related to self-care abilities, emotional maturity (β = 0.12, p = 0.004), cognitive and communication skills (β = 0.11, p = 0.006), social competence (β = 0.17, p < 0.001), and learning disposition (β = 0.20, p < 0.001).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Standardized coefficients of the structural equation model. Note: SEM R2 = 0.02, CC R2 = 0.05, SC R2 = 0.06, LD R2 = 0.08, CR R.2 = 0.04. SEM, self-care abilities and emotional maturity; CC, cognitive and communication skills; SC, social competence; LD, learning dispositions; CR, classroom rules. * p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Full size image
Table 3 Standardized bootstrap mediation results
Full size table

Indirect effects

The results of the indirect effects are presented in Table 3. The results showed psychological resilience fully mediated the relationship between parental ACEs, self-care abilities, and emotional maturity (β = −0.02, p < 0.05). Psychological resilience fully mediated the association between parental ACEs with cognitive and communications skills (β = −0.02, p < 0.05). Furthermore, psychological resilience had a partial mediation effect on the relationship between parental ACEs and social competence (β = −0.04, p < 0.01) as well as on the relationship between parental ACEs and learning dispositions (β = −0.04, p < 0.01).

Figure 1 displays standardized coefficients, which are understood as effect sizes and allow us to compare the size of the effects across the models. Specifically, a 1 standard deviation (SD) difference in parental ACEs related to 0.11 SD lower social competence, 0.09 SD lower learning dispositions, and 0.08 SD lower classroom rules. Furthermore, a 1 standard deviation (SD) difference in children psychological resilience related to 0.12 greater self-care abilities and emotional maturity, 0.11 greater cognitive and communication skills, 0.17 greater social competence, and 0.20 greater learning dispositions.

Discussion

This study extends previous research by examining the relationships between parental ACE, psychological resilience, and preschool readiness. Our results revealed a direct pathway between parental ACEs and social competence, learning dispositions, and classroom rules. Additionally, we found that psychological resilience mediated the association between parental ACEs and self-care abilities, emotional maturity, cognitive and communication skills, and social competence learning dispositions. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine the direct and indirect pathways between parental ACEs, psychological resilience, and preschool readiness. These results have important implications for improving preschool readiness.

Our results showed that parental ACEs were directly related to preschool readiness, consistent with previous studies [6]. Specifically, parental ACEs were significantly negatively related to preschool social competence and classroom rules when entering kindergarten. Social skills and behavioral problems are often influenced by home-rearing environments [49]. Parental ACEs increase the risk of mental health problems and unfavorable parenting practices [50]. Moreover, experiencing ACEs may be related to more socioeconomic challenges (i.e., lower income, education level, and unemployment [51], and these challenges can worsen stress and decrease education investments in the home environment [28, 30]. Family environments characterized by mental health problems, unfavorable parenting strategies, and low SES may cause delays in social skills and problematic behaviors [52, 53]. According to attachment theory [21], children whose parents are exposed to ACEs are more likely to develop insecure attachments [31]. Children with insecure attachment may have low social affiliation and perform more rule-breaking [54, 55]. Furthermore, our study found that higher levels of parental ACEs were associated with preschool learning dispositions when children entered kindergarten. Previous studies have suggested that the growth of the child's motivation and perceived competence may be promoted by security attachment [56], secure children pay more attention and participate more in class [57].

The results indicate that psychological resilience mediates the relationship between parental ACEs and preschool readiness. Similar to previous studies [12], this study found that parental ACEs were negatively related to preschooler psychological resilience. According to Bronfenbrenner [58], for a child to become resilient, they require at least one adult who cares for them and provides support. Children with parent-experienced ACEs tend to experience harsher parenting and less warm conditions, which may cause insecure attachment and lower levels of psychological resilience [32]. Resilience, as a crucial stress-coping resource, contributes to psychological and behavioral adjustment [59]. Murphy (1976) found that resilient preschool children exhibited significant autonomy and sociability, as well as a strong sense of independence, therefore they could show better self-care ability when they entered kindergarten [60]. Research suggested that increased psychological resilience may have a beneficial relationship with adaptive emotional regulation skills [61]. Lower resilience is related to cognitive and communication problems [62]. Previous studies have suggested that lower resilience is related to more social-emotional problems and poorer school performance [63]. Therefore, parental ACEs were negatively related to preschooler resilience, thus decreasing children’s different aspects of preschool readiness. Studies conducted among Chinese elementary and middle school children also indicate that resilience mediates early adversities and school performance [64, 65]. However, our result did not show a significant relationship between psychological resilience and classroom rules. Caregiver behaviors, daycare quality, and level of daycare chaos can predict children's compliance behavior in early childhood classroom settings [66].

The main strength of this study is that it reveals the intergenerational transmission of parental ACEs and preschool readiness, and the mediating role of psychological resilience. Our results showed that parental ACEs directly affect preschool readiness and that psychological resilience plays a mediating role in this relationship. The results of this study can be implemented by governments, teachers, and parents. Interventions to improve preschool readiness should focus on parents who have experienced ACEs and their children’s psychological resilience. Assessing and building psychological resilience may be a useful strategy for increasing preschool readiness among Chinese preschoolers. Additionally, we should be aware that parental ACEs might serve as a predictor to later problems with preschool readiness. Parental ACE screening can improve their children's psychological resilience and preschool preparation while creating the opportunities to early trauma-focused treatments. The results further emphasize the significance of the broader use of family-based therapies that simultaneously address the problems of the parent and the child. However, this study had several limitations. First, the parental ACEs relied on retrospectively reported events by parents, which may have caused recall bias [67]. Future studies should use a longitudinal design to track ACEs’ effects over time rather than relying on retrospective self-reporting. Second, despite the fact that early childhood is thought to be an opportune period for investigating psychological resilience and implementing early intervention strategies aimed at improving preschool readiness [68], and that DECA-P2 is a reliable tool for screening young children’s psychological resilience, resilience remains a complex construct (i.e., personal-level resilience and family level resilience) to be explored in early childhood. Future research should examine the factors that contribute to children’s psychological resilience (i.e., parent–child relationship). Third, the current study was cross-sectional; we suggest that future studies follow up on the development trajectories of psychological resilience and preschool readiness [17]. Finally, the current research did not measure cultural classroom norms and external daycare influences when examine the effect of parent ACEs on offspring preschool readiness. Previous studies have indicated that cultural classroom norms and external daycare influences may affect classroom behaviors when children enter preschool [69,70,71]. We suggested future research should explore the effect of cultural classroom norms and external daycare influences factors when examine the relationship between parental ACEs and offspring preschool readiness.

Conclusion

This study is one of the first to reveal the effect of the intergenerational transmission of parental ACEs to children on preschool readiness and its underlying mechanisms. Our findings suggest that parental ACEs reduce preschool readiness by lowering children’s psychological resilience. These results shed new light on the importance of psychological resilience in the effects of parental ACEs on preschool readiness. We recommend that future research be conducted on interventions to enhance the psychological resilience of children whose parents are exposed to ACEs.

Data availability

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

ACEs :

Adverse childhood experiences

ACE-IQ :

Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire

CPRS:

Chinese Preschool Readiness Scale

CFI:

Comparative fit index

DECA-P2:

Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Preschoolers, Second Edition

RMSEA:

Root mean square error of approximation

SES:

Socioeconomic status

SRMR:

Standardized root mean square residual

TLI :

Tucker-Lewis index

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Acknowledgements

We express our deepest gratitude to all the participants and staff members.

Funding

This work was supported by the Anhui Province Philosophy and Social Science Planning Program (grant number: AHSKY2019D037).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marxism, Anhui Business College, Wuhu, China

    Jing Shen

  2. Faculty of Educational Science, Anhui Normal University, 2 Beijng Zhong Lu, Wuhu, Anhui Province, China

    Yantong Zhu & Gengli Zhang

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  1. Jing Shen
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  2. Yantong Zhu
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  3. Gengli Zhang
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Contributions

Shen Jing: Methodology, writing of the original draft, and conceptualization. Yantong Zhu: Formal analysis, data curation, editing and review. Gengli Zhang: Visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Gengli Zhang.

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This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Anhui Normal University (AHNU-ET2021034). All participants were informed of the study’s aims and methods, as well as their right to withdraw at any time. After parents provided informed consent, they completed a questionnaire online. All procedures carried out in studies involving human participants in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Shen, J., Zhu, Y. & Zhang, G. The relationship between parental adverse childhood experiences and offspring preschool readiness: the mediating role of psychological resilience. BMC Psychol 13, 136 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02408-6

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Keywords

BMC Psychology

ISSN: 2050-7283

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