Weaving Invisible Threads: The Impact of Caregiver Trauma on Parenting and Child Brain Development.

Authors

• Riser M
• Trentacosta C
• Jovanovic T

Publication

Brain sciences · 2025

• doi: 10.3390/brainsci15070726
• pmid: 40722317
• pmcid: PMC12293999

Study type: Research study

Population: families/children

Abstract / summary

Trauma exposure has severe consequences for the exposed individuals as well as their children. The current paper is a conceptual narrative review that uses the intergenerational transmission of trauma (ITT) framework to synthesize the literature on the association between a parent's exposure to trauma and the brain and behavioral outcomes in their children. There are likely multiple mechanisms for the ways in which parental history of trauma exposure can lead to these negative outcomes. However, this review highlights parenting as a key pathway through which caregiver trauma conveys both the risk and resilience in the child's neurodevelopment, emphasizing the need for trauma-informed, relationship-focused interventions.

What this does not prove / limitations

• ridges the gap between theory and practice.However, several limitations should be acknowledged. First, as a conceptual review, this paper does not employ systematic review protocols, which may introduce selection bias. Second, many of the studies revi

Topics

sleep, parenting, behavior, development, education, attachment, adolescence