Tailoring health-related messages for young adults with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with increased odds of high‐risk behaviors and adverse health outcomes. This study examined whether ACE exposure among individuals living in rural areas of the United States is associated with adult activity limitations, self‐reported general poor health status, chronic diseases, and poor mental health. Data from the 2011 and 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (N=79,810) from nine states were used to calculate the prevalence of ACEs in rural and urban areas. ACE scores were determined by summing 11 survey items. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association between ACE scores and health outcomes, including self‐reported general health status, chronic diseases, and health‐related quality of life. Approximately 55.4% of rural respondents aged ≥18 years reported at least one ACE and 14.7% reported experiencing ≥4 ACEs in their childhood, compared to 59.5% of urban residents who reported at least one ACE and 15.5% reporting ≥4 ACEs. After adjusting for sociodemographic covariates, compared to rural respondents who never reported an ACE, rural respondents who experienced ≥1 ACEs had increased odds of reporting fair/poor general health, activity limitations, and heart disease, which is consistent with previous studies. The odds of experiencing a heart attack were higher for rural residents reporting 2 and ≥4 ACEs; the odds of diabetes were higher for those with 3 ACEs; and the odds of ever having asthma or poor mental health was higher for those with ≥3 ACEs. Although individuals in rural areas are less likely to experience ACEs, over half of rural respondents reported experiencing an ACE in childhood. Programs aimed at preventing ACEs, including child maltreatment, can benefit rural areas by reducing adult morbidity and increasing quality of life.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Intimate Partner Violence; Findings From a Community Sample of Hispanic Young Adults

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211035881 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110358

Author(s):

Myriam Forster ◽

Christopher J. Rogers ◽

Bethany Rainisch ◽

Timothy Grigsby ◽

Carmen De La Torre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Young Adults ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽

Negative Binomial ◽

The United States ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Childhood Experiences ◽

Adverse Childhood ◽

History Of

In the United States, a substantial proportion of the adult population (36% of women and 34% of men) from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds report experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) over the life course. Family risk factors have been linked to adolescent and young adult IPV involvement, yet few studies have examined the effect of multiple, co-occurring adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the stability and change of IPV behaviors over young adulthood—the period of highest risk for IPV. We investigated the relationship between the degree of ACE exposure and IPV victimization and perpetration at age 22 and two years later at age 24 among a sample of Hispanic young adults ( N= 1,273) in Southern California. Negative binomial regression models compared the incident rate ratio (IRR) of past-year verbal and physical IPV victimization and perpetration of respondents with 1–3 ACE and with ≥4 ACE to their peers who reported no history of ACE cross-sectionally (age 22) and longitudinally (age 24). At age 22, participants with 1–3 and ≥4 ACE were overrepresented in all IPV behaviors and had higher IRRs of verbal and physical victimization and perpetration compared to their peers with no ACE. By age 24, respondents with a history of ≥4 ACE were at significantly greater risk for escalating IPV behaviors over this time period than their peers with 1–3 ACE and no ACE. These findings highlight the importance of investing in coordinated efforts to develop strategies that help young people cope with the downstream effects of early life adversity. Research should continue to identify what individual, community, and cultural assets that promote resilience and are promising foci of IPV prevention approaches among vulnerable populations.

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Adverse childhood experiences: prevalence and associated factors among South African young adults

Heliyon ◽

10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e03003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (12) ◽

pp. e03003 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mercy Manyema ◽

Linda M. Richter

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

South African ◽

Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Childhood Experiences ◽

Adverse Childhood

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Adverse childhood experiences and their relationship to gender and depression among young adults in Iraq: a cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-019-7957-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ameel F. Al Shawi ◽

Yassen T. Sarhan ◽

Mahasin A. Altaha

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Physical Abuse ◽

Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽

Emotional Abuse ◽

Statistical Tests ◽

Emotional Neglect ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Childhood Experiences ◽

Adverse Childhood ◽

Physical Neglect

Abstract Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are considered as universal public health problem that associate with mental disorders and risky behaviors during adulthood. The aims of the paper are to estimate the prevalence of Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among young adults in Iraq as well as to estimate the association between ACEs and depression. Methods A convenience sample of young adults of 18–20 years was chosen from centre and west of Iraq, mainly from universities. The adverse childhood experiences were measured by Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. A depression scale was derived from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS). Statistical tests: chi square was used to measure the association between adverse childhood experiences and other variables like gender and depression. Odds ratios were computed to estimate the risk for depression. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The total number of participants was 401, 38.9% of the subjects were men, while 61.1% were women. The mean age of the participants was 18.88 ± 0.745. The results revealed that the most common forms of ACEs among the subjects were physical neglect (19.8%) and emotional neglect (19.2%) followed by physical abuse (17.21%) while sexual abuse was 7.52%. There was statistically significant association between most forms of adverse childhood experiences especially emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse and physical neglect with depression. Conclusion ACEs are not uncommon among young adults in Iraq and are associated with depression in adulthood. National programmes to support mental health rehabilitation might be necessary to reduce the effect of ACEs among Iraqi people, especially for adolescents and young adults.

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