Parental exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has been documented as a strong risk factor for subsequent externalizing behaviors in their youth. Although studies have investigated ACEs and their intergenerational association with youth externalizing behaviors, this association has not been investigated in Hispanic families. Additionally, substantial gaps in the literature exist explaining the mechanisms by which this association occurs. The purpose of this study was to examine whether parent–adolescent communication and parental depressive symptomatology explain the relationship between parent's ACE score and adolescent externalizing behaviors. This secondary data analysis utilized baseline data from an ongoing randomized controlled trial evaluating the relative effectiveness of an online parenting intervention for Hispanic adolescents. The sample consisted of 456 parents and their adolescents between the ages of 12–16. Using path modeling, parental depressive symptomatology and parent–adolescent communication were simultaneously examined as mechanisms that may explain the intergenerational relationship between parental exposure to ACEs and externalizing behaviors in Hispanic youth. Parental depressive symptomatology and parent–adolescent communication both significantly mediated the association between parental exposure to ACEs and adolescent externalizing behaviors. Understanding the mechanisms explaining the intergenerational association between parental exposure to ACEs and adolescent externalizing behaviors may aid future research examining problematic behaviors in Hispanic youth.

中文翻译：

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不良童年经历对西班牙裔家庭的代际影响：父母抑郁和亲子沟通的中介作用

父母接触不良童年经历 (ACE) 已被证明是其青年随后外化行为的一个重要风险因素。尽管研究调查了 ACE 及其与青少年外化行为的代际关联，但尚未在西班牙裔家庭中调查过这种关联。此外，文献中存在大量空白来解释这种关联发生的机制。本研究的目的是检验父母与青少年的交流和父母的抑郁症状是否可以解释父母的 ACE 评分与青少年外化行为之间的关系。该次要数据分析利用了一项正在进行的随机对照试验的基线数据，该试验评估了西班牙裔青少年在线育儿干预的相对有效性。样本包括 456 名父母及其 12-16 岁的青少年。使用路径建模，同时检查了父母抑郁症状和父母与青少年的沟通，作为解释父母接触 ACE 与西班牙裔青少年外化行为之间代际关系的机制。父母的抑郁症状和父母与青少年的交流都显着介导了父母接触 ACE 与青少年外化行为之间的关联。