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Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) are temporally distinct risk factors that negatively impact mothers and their offspring. Risk associated with ACEs and IPV begin during pregnancy, a period of increased physical and psychological demands. The current study examined a person-centered method to empirically identify profiles of pregnant women based on type and severity of ACEs and past-year IPV. Profiles were then differentiated on psychosocial functioning indicators. A primarily Latinx, low socioeconomic sample of women (n = 225) completed measures assessing ACEs and past-year IPV, perceived and experienced stress, emotion regulation, and trauma-related symptoms during their third trimester. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify unique profiles of women based on seven dimensional indicators reflecting threat- and deprivation-based ACEs and IPV. A 4-class solution best fit the data: (1) low probability of ACEs or IPV (64.9%), (2) childhood neglect-only (20.4%), (3) childhood abuse/neglect (10.2%), and (4) polytrauma characterized by a combination of childhood abuse, neglect, and IPV (4.4%). Women with the 'childhood abuse/neglect' or 'polytrauma' profiles reported more stress and symptoms than women with the 'low exposure' profile. Women in the 'childhood neglect-only' profile were generally similar to women in the 'low exposure' profile, but did report greater difficulties in emotion regulation. These results suggest that childhood abuse and IPV, exposure types involving threat, are potent correlates of stress, emotion regulation, and mental health difficulties during pregnancy. However, exposure characterized by deprivation alone generally did not increase difficulties., Author(s): Brandon L. Goldstein [sup.1] , Margaret J. Briggs-Gowan [sup.1] , Damion J. Grasso [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.208078.5, 0000000419370394, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, , [...]

Objective: This study examined mechanisms that might account for the association between early childhood abuse and neglect, and substance use and related problems in adulthood for women. Method: Women with documented cases of early childhood abuse and/or neglect and matched controls were interviewed in young adulthood (mean age = 29 years) and again in middle adulthood (mean age 40) (n = 582). We examined the mediating effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, stressful life events, and delinquent and criminal behavior measured in young adulthood on substance use-related problems and illicit drag use measured in middle adulthood. Results: We found that all three potential mediators mediated the effects of abuse and neglect on substance-use problems and illicit drug use. When all three mediators were considered simultaneously, only stressful life events mediated the effects of child abuse and neglect for substance use-related problems and PTSD mediated for illicit drug use. These relationships were not moderated by race/ethnicity, although the effects of abuse and neglect on the mediators differed for white and nonwhite women. Conclusions: These findings suggest that interventions are needed with maltreated girls to recognize and attend to their PTSD symptoms and to assist them in developing coping strategies to deal with stressful life events in an attempt to reduce risk of subsequent substance use and related problems., CHRONIC AND ACUTE STRESS have been cited as major factors in the development of substance use and dependence, including increasing vulnerability for escalation from use to abuse/dependence and for relapse [...]