Positive Childhood Experiences as Protective Factors for Relationships, Parenting, and Mental Health Across Three Generations
Research on intergenerational transmission of trauma has largely centered on adversity—documenting how abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction increase risk for later relational and mental health difficulties. Far less attention has been devoted to protective developmental experiences that may disrupt these pathways. A growing body of work suggests that positive childhood experiences (PCEs) may operate not merely in the absence of adversity, but often alongside it. PCEs often co-occur – indeed, the vast majority of individuals who experienced childhood adversity also report many positive influences. PCEs often have distinct promotive or buffering effects, with independent predictive value on long-term health outcomes. Yet multi-generational tests of this hypothesis remain limited.
An MRI-funded project led by Dr. Angela Narayan (University of Denver) addresses this gap in Positive Childhood Experiences as Protective Factors for Better Relationships, Parenting Practices, and Mental Health Across Three Generations. Building on Dr. Narayan’s widely used Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) scale, the study examines whether supportive, stable, and relationally affirming early experiences predict healthier relational functioning and parenting practices across generations—even in the context of adversity exposure.
Conceptually, the project advances a strengths-based model of intergenerational resilience. Rather than treating resilience as an individual trait or post-hoc outcome, the study operationalizes PCEs as measurable developmental inputs—such as consistent caregiving, safe home environments, supportive non-parental adults, close friendships, and predictable routines—that may shape later attachment representations, emotion regulation, relational expectations, and parenting behaviors.
The study includes 150 families from the Denver metropolitan area and employs a multi-generational design, bringing grandparents and parents into the research lab for structured, two-hour assessment sessions. Data collection integrates standardized self-report measures with in-depth, audio-recorded narrative interviews. Participants reflect on childhood adversity and benevolent experiences, current relational functioning, mental health symptoms, and parenting practices. This design enables simultaneous modeling of risk (e.g., abuse, neglect, household dysfunction) and protective experiences, rather than treating them as opposite ends of a single continuum.
The central analytic questions move beyond simple associations. The study tests whether grandparents’ and parents’ PCEs are linked to (1) healthier adult romantic and family relationships, (2) fewer internalizing and trauma-related symptoms, and (3) more supportive, consistent, and emotionally responsive parenting practices. A key extension examines whether these associations translate into reduced trauma exposure and improved relational climates for the youngest generation. In doing so, the project evaluates whether PCEs function as intergenerational buffers—attenuating the transmission of trauma-related risk through relational and caregiving pathways.
Methodologically, the integration of multi-generational quantitative data with narrative interviews strengthens inference about how protective experiences are remembered, interpreted, and enacted across time. Narrative data allow the team to examine meaning-making processes—how individuals link past positive experiences to present caregiving intentions and relational behaviors—while standardized measures permit testing of mediational and intergenerational models.
If findings support the buffering hypothesis, the implications are both theoretical and translational. Theoretically, the study contributes to models of developmental resilience by specifying promotive mechanisms that coexist with adversity. Translationally, it offers a framework for assessment and intervention that identifies and amplifies protective developmental ingredients. Rather than focusing exclusively on mitigating past harm, clinicians and community providers could leverage identified PCEs—naming and intentionally recreating relational safety, predictability, and connection for the next generation.
By situating resilience within family systems across three generations, this project reframes the intergenerational narrative. The transmission of trauma is well-documented; this work investigates the transmission of protection.