Externalizing Problems in Children: Examining the Role of Caregiver and Child Adversities and Parental Involvement

Previous research has shown that exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with increased behavior problems in children. Few studies, however, have taken a multi-informant approach to examine how different factors involving both the child and caregiver affect children’s externalizing problems. Guided by Bowen’s Family Systems Theory, the current study examined how child age and gender, caregiver age, household income, child and caregiver adversity, and child and caregiver report of caregiver involvement were associated with children’s externalizing problems. The sample included 65 caregiver-child dyads recruited from community programs in the Midsouth, United States. Youth were aged 6-12 years and primarily identified as Black or African American (95.45%) and as boys (54.55%). Two linear regression models were run with caregiver-report of child externalizing problems as the dependent variable in both models. One model focused on child variables, including child age, child gender, child adversity, and child-report of parental involvement, while the other centered caregiver variables, including caregiver age, income, caregiver ACEs, and caregiver report of their own parental involvement. Only the caregiver model was significant, with more caregiver ACEs related to higher child externalizing problems. None of the other independent variables were related to child externalizing problems. These results demonstrate the impact of caregiver’s history of adversity on child functioning. Interventions that target children’s externalizing problems may benefit from incorporating an assessment of parent adversity history. Future research should explore underlying mechanisms that may explain this association to identify modifiable factors that could be included in treatments for youth experiencing externalizing problems. KEYWORDS: Intergenerational; Behavior Problems; Adverse Childhood Experiences; ACEs; Caregiver-child Dyads; Youth Functioning; Family Systems; Multi-informant