Adverse childhood experiences and behavior problems among poor Black children: Nonresident father involvement and single mothers' parenting stress 

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in early childhood and developmental outcomes during the middle childhood and adolescent years have been understudied among low-income Black families. The authors tested a model linking economic hardship, single mothers' parenting stress, ACEs, and nonresident fathers' involvement in early childhood to behavior problems in middle childhood and adolescence. The authors used six waves of longitudinal data from a subsample of 800 unmarried Black mothers, nonresident fathers, and their children (at child birth and ages 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative data set. Nonresident Black fathers' involvement in single-mother families may buffer the adverse consequences over time for economically and socially disadvantaged Black children of exposure to ACEs in early childhood. Interventions that encourage sustained involvement by nonresident Black fathers with young children and their single mothers are recommended.