scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences, mindfulness and happiness in Chinese college students during the COVID‐19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien‐Chung Huang ◽  
Yafan Chen ◽  
Shannon Cheung ◽  
Hongwei Hu ◽  
Enjian Wang
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafan Chen ◽  
Kai Hua ◽  
Chienchung Huang ◽  
Gaosheng Zhou ◽  
Jianfeng Wang

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child abuse/neglect and household challenges, are a prevalent social issue that impacts individuals' well-being worldwide. Relatively few ACEs studies orient to the presence of psychological wellness, especially in ethnically Chinese populations. Furthermore, less is known about resilience as a mechanism between ACEs and psychological well-being, in addition to the moderating effect of gender. This study examined the relationship between ACEs and psychological well-being among Chinese college students and the potential mediating and moderating effects of resilience and gender, respectively. A total of 1,871 college students studying social science from 12 Chinese colleges completed an anonymous online survey between late September and early October 2020. Multiple-group path analyses were conducted to examine whether the relationships among ACEs, resilience, and psychological well-being differed as a function of gender. Results suggested that gender moderated the relationships studied. For female students, resilience mediated the association between abuse/neglect and psychological well-being, where abuse/neglect was negatively associated with resilience, which in turn had a negative relationship with psychological well-being. For male students, household challenges were negatively related to psychological well-being through reduced resilience. Based on the findings, various ACE-informed initiatives may be essential to prevent and protect individuals from ACEs. We also call for resilience-based interventions to enhance individuals' resilience and thus strengthen their psychological well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Cheung ◽  
Chien-Chung Huang ◽  
Congcong Zhang

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to have deleterious effects on individuals across the life span, but less is known about how they affect grit, a strong predictor of achievements and well-being. This study seeks to investigate the effect of ACEs on grit in a sample of Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 1,871 students across 12 universities in China. Findings indicated a significant effect of ACEs on grit, particularly abuse and neglect dimensions of ACE. Since grit is particularly important for professional success, those who have experienced abuse and neglect victimization may struggle throughout their education, and subsequently, in their careers. This calls for interventions to buffer the effects of ACEs on grit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chienchung Huang ◽  
Meifen Yang ◽  
Yun Geng ◽  
Yafan Chen ◽  
Shannon P. Cheung ◽  
...  

Mindfulness has been found to have many positive effects on life outcomes, including mental health and educational achievement. However, less is known about the antecedents of mindfulness, particularly in Chinese college students. This study examines the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mindfulness among Chinese college students in September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that ACEs negatively affected students' mindfulness. The data were collected from 1,871 college students from 12 colleges across China. The results aligned with our hypothesis that ACEs was negatively associated with mindfulness. In particular, emotional abuse and neglect in childhood appear to have the most negative effects on mindfulness compared to other dimensions of ACEs such as physical abuse and household challenges.


Author(s):  
Chien-Chung Huang ◽  
Yuanfa Tan ◽  
Shannon P. Cheung ◽  
Hongwei Hu

Literature on the antecedents of psychological well-being (PWB) has found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mindfulness are associated with PWB; less is known, however, about the role of mindfulness, a type of emotional and self-regulation, in the pathway between ACEs and PWB. This study used data from 1871 college students across China to examine the relation between ACEs and PWB, and whether the relation was mediated by mindfulness. The findings from structural equation modelling indicate a statistically significant negative association between ACEs and PWB, while mindfulness was strongly and positively associated with PWB. The effect of ACEs on PWB was reduced once mindfulness was controlled for in the analysis. This provides evidence that mindfulness was able to partially mediate the effects of negative life experiences on psychological well-being. This calls for mindfulness interventions targeted toward students with a history of ACEs to buffer the effects of ACEs on PWB.


Author(s):  
Brianne N. Kramer

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the author's experiences in teaching and mentoring high school and college students. One experience shared identifies the challenges students from minoritized populations may have with teachers from the dominant majority and the effects this has on students. Another experience shared details the importance of strong teacher-student relationships and how many times they are forged during participation in extra- or co-curricular activities. The third experience shared focuses on working with students who have had trauma in their backgrounds or who have had adverse childhood experiences. The chapter concludes with some helpful tips for teachers.


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