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Children with internalizing and externalizing difficulties are at risk for long-term negative effects in adulthood and are impacted by several caregiver factors. Findings of the present study are consistent with previous studies that found direct associations between caregiver victimization history (e.g., physical and sexual abuse) and child behavior problems. Examination of potential mechanisms revealed that caregiver everyday stress related to relationships/responsibilities (RR) served as a mediator between caregiver victimization history and increased children's internalizing symptoms. Though there may be other pathways that contribute to this relation, there does seem to be clinical and policy utility of this knowledge, particularly for at-risk families that are faced with high levels of everyday RR stress. Attenuation of this impact may be accomplished through connection to community resources such as access to family counseling to mitigate relational stress and policy addressing disparities.

Preschool children with externalizing problems are at risk for short- and long-term difficulties and preschool externalizing problems (PEP) are influenced by several caregiver factors. One such factor is caregiver adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Researchers have investigated how caregiver ACEs are related to PEP by identifying risk factors to account for this association. However, research on caregiver factors associated with fewer PEP is limited. Particularly, factors that contribute to caregiver resilience may be adaptive caregiver characteristics that negatively relate to PEP, even when adjusting for caregiver ACEs. The present study sought to address a gap in the literature by examining the impact of different types of factors that contribute to caregiver resilience (e.g., caregiver social-ecological factors or caregiver positive childhood experiences) as promotive factors of lower PEP. Participants included 125 caregiver-child dyads recruited from the community. Participating caregivers completed measures of their own and their child's demographic information, caregiver ACEs, caregiver social-ecological factors, caregiver positive childhood experiences, and PEP. Overall, positive caregiver childhood experiences (r = −0.25, p <.01), and not caregiver social-ecological factors (r = −0.13, p =.15), demonstrated a significant negative association with PEP. However, this relation became statistically non-significant when adjusting for caregiver ACEs (β = −0.12, p =.20). Given the association between caregiver ACEs and PEP, this study highlights the importance of assessing a caregiver's ACEs, specifically when working with caregivers seeking parent training for disruptive child behaviors. There should be a continued focus on ecological and family strengths and differential impacts as they relate to PEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]