Pathways Between Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) And Psychotic-Like Experiences: The Mediating Role Of Parental Style

The relationship between ACEs and long-term detrimental outcomes are well established within the literature. Research has also demonstrated how childhood adversities act as significant risk factors in the onset of mental health problems and particularly psychosis. Less is known however, about the mechanistic pathways that may contribute to, or effectuate these long-term negative outcomes. Pathogenic parenting and sub-optimal parental styles such as indifference, abuse and over-control have been suggested as potential mediators in this relationship, and have been shown to predict poorer outcomes in later life. The present study sought to investigate the mediating role of parental style in the relationship between ACEs and Schizotypy in 124 “high-risk vulnerable” 18-25 year old (mean age= 20.71, SD =2.37, mean ACE =5.29, SD =3.00) emerging adults, sampled from the Northern Ireland Childhood Adversity Study (NICAS). The proposed relationships were examined and findings revealed that overall maternal parental style, but not paternal, mediated the relationship between high adversity and schizotypy albeit partially (β =.829, CI= [0.12, 1.63]). Further mediation models revealed that of the three parenting style factors, only maternal over-control demonstrated a mediating relationship (β =.099, CI= [0.009, 0.20]) and this again was partial. Current findings suggest that negative and over-controlling mother child relationships may act as a unique mechanism, compounding the risk associated with ACEs further, which in turn may increase vulnerability to the development of psychotic-like experiences. These findings may also highlight a pathway where improvements in positive mother-child relationships could potentially mitigate the long-term consequences of ACEs.