| Abstract [eng] |
SUMMARY Meier, K. (2026). Associations between adverse childhood experiences, dissociation and parental stress. Vilnius: Vilnius University, 60 p. In recent decades, scientific literature has paid increasing attention to the study of parental stress, as it is associated not only with poorer psychological and physical health of parents, but also with child development, parent-child relationships, etc. Therefore, the aim is to better understand this phenomenon and find out what factors can increase parental stress (Fang et al., 2024). The results of previous studies show that parental stress may be associated with adverse childhood experiences and dissociation. However, studies of parental stress and adverse childhood experiences often do not take into account possible dissociative symptoms and the age of the child, which is very important, because the first three years after the birth of a child are particularly challenging for parents. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse the links between adverse childhood experiences, dissociation and parental stress among parents raising children under 3 years of age. The study involved 254 parents (218 women and 36 men). The age of the study participants ranged from 20 to 49 years. The following instruments were used in the study: „Dissociative Symptoms Scale” („DSS“) (Carlson et al., 2018); „Childhood Experiences“ Questionnaire („VPK-S“) (Gerviskaitė-Paulaitienė and Barkauskienė, 2018); „The Parental Stress Scale“ (Berry and Jones, 1995). The study participants mostly indicated that they had experienced emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and the least physical neglect and sexual abuse in childhood. They also indicated that they had the most symptoms of dissociation of consciousness and memory gaps, and the least were false sensory perceptions. In addition, the subjects indicated that they experienced greater parental stress related to parental stressors, and lesser to parental achievements. The results of the study also revealed that the overall level of parental stress did not differ by gender, marital status, or the number of children growing up in the family. However, a higher level of parental stress is associated with older parents. A higher experience of adverse childhood experiences (except sexual abuse) is associated with more pronounced dissociation. Also, a higher experience of emotional neglect, emotional abuse, and a more pronounced dissociation are associated with greater parental stress. In addition, furthermore, dissociation was found to fully mediate the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and parental stress. The results of this study are important from a practical point of view, as they help to better understand how adverse childhood experiences are related to dissociation and parental stress. They also provide insight into what types of support parents need and what is important to pay attention to when consulting families raising children under 3 years old. |
