Little is known about the relationship between early exposure to trauma and parenting stress in adult women. This study was designed to determine whether there was a relationship between parenting stress, ethnicity, and the symptoms of depression, anger/irritability, anxiousness, and intrusive experiences related to childhood trauma in mothers. Archival data was obtained from three drug treatment programs in the Los Angeles area. Participants included women 18 years of age and older who were parents of children under the age of 18. All participants had a history of childhood trauma and were in treatment for a dual diagnosis including substance abuse and at least one DSM-IV-TR Axis I diagnosis. Participants' scores on the Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) and the Parent Stress Index (PSI) were compared using multiple regression to determine whether there was a significant relationship between participants' scores on each of four TSI subscales (Depression, Anger/Irritability, Anxiousness/Arousal, and Intrusive Experiences) and parenting stress within this population. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and parenting stress among African American and Hispanic women involved in substance abuse and mental health treatment programs in the Los Angeles area. There was also no significant relationship between ethnicity and the amount of parenting stress that this population experienced.