TOPLINE

Children whose fathers reported one or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) had a higher likelihood of having behavior problems than children whose fathers reported none.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers analyzed data from 893 fathers based in the US with children aged 1-6 years to assess the link between ACEs of fathers and behavior problems in their children.
• Fathers completed questionnaires about ACEs that happened at home and in the community. Home-based ACEs comprised mental illness, substance misuse, incarceration, domestic violence, physical abuse, and emotional abuse; community-based ACEs comprised racial or ethnic discrimination, bullying, and exposure to unsafe neighborhoods and violence.
• Children’s behavior problems were assessed using a symptom checklist, with behavior problems that needed more attention being considered.

TAKEAWAY

• Children of fathers who reported one home-based ACE were more likely to have behavior problems than children of fathers who reported no ACEs (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.28; 95% CI, 1.01-1.61); the likelihood was even higher for children whose fathers reported two or more ACEs vs no ACEs (aRR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.05-1.67).
• Children whose fathers reported one community-based ACE and those whose fathers reported two or more community-based ACEs had a higher likelihood of having behavior problems than children whose fathers reported no community-based ACEs (aRR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.06-1.66 and aRR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.07-1.83, respectively).
• Fathers’ depressive symptoms explained 37.24% of the total effect of one or more vs no home-based ACEs on their children’s behavior problems and 26.66% of the total effect for one or more vs no community-based ACEs.

IN PRACTICE

“Given the high prevalence of ACEs and associations with fathers’ depressive symptoms and children’s behavior problems, there is a need to better attend to fathers’ behavioral health, potentially through screening of fathers’ depressive symptoms during pediatric and other healthcare encounters,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Natalie Grafft, PhD, of the Boston College School of Social Work in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It was published online on June 24, 2026, in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

LIMITATIONS

The study included well-educated, predominantly White, higher-income fathers who predominantly lived with their biological children, which may have limited how the results applied to other groups. The authors did not assess sexual abuse and neglect, which are important indicators of ACEs. All data were self-reported by fathers, and maternal variables were not accounted for.

DISCLOSURES

This study received support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The authors reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.