ORIGINAL ARTICLE Developmental Origins of Ghosts and Angels in the Nursery: Adverse and Benevolent Childhood Experiences Angela J. Narayan 1,2 & Victoria M. Atzl 1 & Jillian S. Merrick 1 & William W. Harris 3 & Alicia F. Lieberman 2 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 Abstract The present study examined developmental antecedents of angels and ghosts in the nursery during the pregnancy and postnatal periods. Higher levels of benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) were hypothesized to predict higher levels of angels in the nursery at both periods, whereas higher levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were expected to predict higher levels of ghost in the nursery at both periods. Participants were 101 low-income, ethnically diverse pregnant women (M = 29.10 years, SD = 6.56, range = 18–44; 37% Latina, 22% African American, 20% White, 13% biracial/multiracial, 8% other) planning to deliver at an urban general hospital. During their second or third trimester, they reported on ACEs, BCEs, and demographic information. During pregnancy and 3–4 months of postnatal, they completed the Angels in the Nursery Interview (Van Horn, Lieberman, & Harris, 2008), coded by trained raters for quality of loving memories with childhood caregivers (angel memories) and traumatic intrusions of childhood adversity (ghost memories). Results revealed moderate stability of angel and ghost memories across the perinatal period. Higher levels of BCEs directly predicted higher levels of angel memories during pregnancy, and indirectly predicted higher levels of angel memories during the postnatal period through angel memories during pregnancy. Higher levels of ACEs directly predicted higher levels of ghost memories during both periods. BCEs did not predict ghost memories and ACEs did not predict angel memories. Findings support independent pathways of risk and resilience through the pregnancy period with distinct origins in women’s childhood adversity versus positive childhood experiences. Implications for promoting intergenerational resilience by linking and leveraging BCEs and angel memories and recovering from ACEs and ghost memories are discussed. Keywords BCEs . ACEs . Pregnancy . Intergenerational transmission . Trauma . Resilience In the literature on the intergenerational transmission of trau- ma, a wealth of attention has been devoted to clarifying what characterizes and influences pathways of risk across genera- tions. Meta-analytic studies have documented that exposure to childhood trauma, including maltreatment and other child- hood adversities, such as witnessing intimate partner violence and parental criminal behavior, has significant, albeit modest, effect sizes on rates of intergenerational transmission (Besemer, Ahmad, Hinshaw, & Farrington, 2017; Madigan et al. 2019; Stith, Rosen, Middleton, Busch, Lundeberg, & Carlton, 2000). A separate but related body of research has uncovered several promotive or protective factors in adult- hood that deter or buffer against the intergenerational trans- mission of trauma. Several of these factors include relation- ship resources such as support from romantic partners, family members, friends, or a therapist; high quality intimate relation- ships characterized by engagement, effective communication, and satisfaction; and internal/mental capacities such as high parental reflective functioning to mentalize about children’s emotional states as different from one’s own (Egeland, Jacobvitz, & Sroufe, 1988; Labella, Raby, Martin, & Roisman, 2019; Raby, Steele, Carlson, & Sroufe, 2015; Slade, Grienenberger, Bernbach, Levy, & Locker, 2005). Recently, a series of studies has identified angels in the nurs- ery as a novel intergenerational protective factor that blends relationship resources and internal/mental capacities. Angels in the nursery, or “angel memories,” are individuals’ positive memories of loving moments with childhood caregivers. Past research has demonstrated that mothers’ higher levels of angel * Angela J. Narayan Angela.Narayan@du.edu 1 Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA 2 Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA 3 Children’s Research and Education Institute, New York, NY, USA https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-020-00008-4 Adversity and Resilience Science (2020) 1:121–134 Published online: 3 2020 June