Existing research has built concrete links between trauma exposure and lifelong behavioral health outcomes. However, the ways by which father engagement buffers the detrimental effects of trauma on early childhood behavioral health remains unexplored. Using the data of 3001 mothers from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, we conducted a moderation analysis to examine the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), child behavioral health, father engagement, and maternal education. We found that ACEs at child age three were positively associated with child externalizing and internalizing behaviors at child age five. Father engagement at child age one buffered the harmful effects of ACEs on child externalizing behaviors, but this effect was only significant for children living with mothers with an education level lower than high school. Child psychiatrists should view father engagement as a critical factor in fostering child resilience, particularly for children living in families with limited resources.

现有研究已经在创伤暴露与终生行为健康结果之间建立了具体联系。然而，父亲订婚减轻创伤对儿童早期行为健康的不利影响的方法仍待探索。利用脆弱家庭和儿童幸福研究的3001名母亲的数据，我们进行了适度分析，以检验不良儿童时期经历（ACE），儿童行为健康，父亲敬业度和母亲教育之间的关联。我们发现，三岁以下儿童的ACE与五岁以下儿童的外在化和内化行为呈正相关。一岁时父亲的订婚减轻了ACEs对儿童外在行为的有害影响，但是，这种影响仅对于母亲与教育程度低于高中的母亲一起生活的孩子有意义。儿童精神科医生应将父亲的敬业度视为增强儿童适应能力的关键因素，特别是对于生活在资源有限的家庭中的儿童而言。