Converging Evidence of a Specific Vulnerability of Young Boys to Parental Childhood Trauma.

Objective: Childhood trauma is common among parents and can have intergenerational effects. Preliminary evidence suggests that young boys may be more vulnerable to maternal childhood trauma than girls. This finding needs to be replicated, and it remains to be determined whether it also applies to paternal childhood trauma. The current study aims to examine the associations between parental childhood trauma and 3 indicators of early functioning (general development, socioemotional development, and temperament) in offspring and to assess the moderating role of child sex. Method: Childhood trauma was assessed during pregnancy in 3 community samples of women (N = 143; N = 195; N = 216) and postnatally in 1 community sample of fathers (N = 165). Child functioning was assessed using parental reports of child development and temperament between 6 and 38 months postnatal. Regression-based moderation analyses were conducted. Results: Significant associations between parental childhood trauma and adverse child outcomes were observed in all samples. A moderating role of child sex was supported in 3 of the 4 samples, all indicating greater vulnerability to parental childhood trauma among boys. Conclusion: These findings suggest that maternal and paternal childhood trauma are associated with poorer functioning in infants and toddlers, but only in boys. This has implications for personalized preventive interventions with parents exposed to childhood trauma. These results call for replication with large and diverse samples including biological measures and observational measures of child development.