scholarly journals Stress begets stress: the association of adverse childhood experiences with psychological distress in the presence of adult life stress

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy Manyema ◽  
Shane A. Norris ◽  
Linda M. Richter
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood

scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences and trajectories of psychological distress in adulthood: an analysis of the 1958 British birth cohort

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawid Gondek ◽  
Praveetha Patalay ◽  
Amanda Sacker ◽  
Thierry Gagne ◽  
Andrea Danese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Growth Curve Analysis ◽  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood

Background The evidence on the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and psychological distress in adulthood tends to rely on cross-sectional studies. In this 50-year long longitudinal study, we examined the association between both prospectively and retrospectively reported ACEs and adulthood trajectories of psychological distress between age 23 and 50. We also studied potential effect modifiers of these associations, spanning social and developmental domains of child development. Methods The sample comprised 8,055 participants of the 1958 National Child Development Study. Psychological distress was measured by the Malaise Inventory at ages 23-50. We used growth curve analysis and multinomial regression. Results After accounting for covariates, those with more ACEs experienced persistently higher psychological distress between age 23 and 50, with a graded relationship observed. The associations were relatively consistent across prospectively and retrospectively reported ACEs. Those with prospective or retrospective ACE score of 1 compared with 0, had on average between 0.27 and 0.39 higher distress throughout adulthood. In relative terms, the prospective ACE score of 2+ (vs 0) was associated with 3.31 and the retrospective ACE score of 4+ (vs 0) with 5.76 (95% CI 4.24 to 7.82) times higher risk of being in the 'high symptoms' compared with the 'low symptoms' trajectory of distress. None of the potential effect modifiers altered the association between ACEs and trajectories of distress. Conclusion If the associations between ACEs and trajectories of distress are causal, this emphasises the need to act early to prevent psychopathology across the adult life course.

Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Direct Support Professionals

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Keesler
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Direct Support ◽  
Direct Support Professionals

Abstract Direct support professionals (DSPs) provide integral support to many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Yet, individuals' access to qualified DSPs is often compromised as organizations struggle to hire and retain DSPs. Despite a vast body of research exploring factors associated with turnover, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among DSPs remain absent from the literature. ACEs encompass abuse and familial dysfunction prior to the age of 18 and, in the general population, have been linked to compromised well-being and work-related challenges in adult life. An online survey was conducted to explore the prevalence of ACE categories and ACE scores (i.e., the sum of each ACE category experienced by a person) among DSPs (n = 386) working in licensed settings. Seventy-five percent of DSPs experienced at least one ACE and 30% had an ACE score of four or more. DSPs who identified as female and those who had been in their position less than one year had significantly higher ACE scores than males and others who had been in their position longer, respectively. In comparison with other studies, the four most common ACE categories among DSPs (i.e., divorce, emotional abuse, mental illness, and substance abuse) were the same, however, DSPs in the present study had a higher average ACE score and nearly twice the percentage of persons having an ACE score of four or more. The potential implications of ACEs among DSPs, at the intersection of their work with individuals with IDD, are discussed.

Adverse childhood experiences influence white matter microstructure in patients with bipolar disorder

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (14) ◽  
pp. 3069-3082 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Benedetti ◽  
I. Bollettini ◽  
D. Radaelli ◽  
S. Poletti ◽  
C. Locatelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Mean Diffusivity ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Axial Diffusivity ◽  
Adverse Childhood

BackgroundBipolar disorder (BD) is associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACE), which worsen the lifetime course of illness, and with signs of widespread disruption of white matter (WM) integrity in adult life. ACE are associated with changes in WM microstructure in healthy humans.MethodWe tested the effects of ACE on diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) measures of WM integrity in 80 in-patients affected by a major depressive episode in the course of BD. We used whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics in the WM skeleton with threshold-free cluster enhancement of DTI measures of WM microstructure: axial, radial and mean diffusivity, and fractional anisotropy.ResultsACE hastened the onset of illness. We observed an inverse correlation between the severity of ACE and DTI measures of axial diffusivity in several WM fibre tracts contributing to the functional integrity of the brain and including the corona radiata, thalamic radiations, corpus callosum, cingulum bundle, superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and uncinate fasciculus.ConclusionsAxial diffusivity reflects the integrity of axons and myelin sheaths, and correlates with functional connectivity and with higher-order abilities such as reasoning and experience of emotions. In patients with BD axial diffusivity is increased by lithium treatment. ACE might contribute to BD pathophysiology by hampering structural connectivity in critical cortico-limbic networks.

scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress among higher education students in Southeast Nigeria: an institutional-based cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaoluwa Samson Agbaje ◽  
Chinwe Patience Nnaji ◽  
Evelyn Nwanabe Nwagu ◽  
Cylia Nkechi Iweama ◽  
Prince Christian Ifeanachor Umoke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood

Abstract Background Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) constitutes public health problems linked to adverse mental outcomes such as psychological distress during adulthood. This study examines the prevalence of ACEs and psychological distress and explores the association between ACEs and psychological distress and demographic factors among young adults. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 330 students from May 2018 to July 2018. The participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), and the sociodemographic profile scale. We used descriptive statistics to describe the prevalence of ACEs and psychological distress in our sample. After adjusting for the demographic covariates, ACEs’ association with psychological distress was determined using binary and multivariate logistic regressions. Results A total of 203 students with a mean age of 20.76 ± 2.73 years completed the study. The total mean ACE score was 4.58 ± 1.59, and the total mean psychological distress score was 20.76 ± 6.31. Most of the participants (86.7%) experienced ACEs, 14.8% reported experiencing one ACE, 30.5% reported experiencing 2–3 ACEs, and 41.3% reported experiencing 4+ ACEs. Further, about 85% of the youth have experienced at least one form of sexual abuse during childhood, and females reported a higher number of ACEs than males. Sexual abuse (OR = 2.36; 95% CI: 2.36, 7.65), physical neglect (OR = 2.87; 95% CI: 1.57, 5.31), overall ACE exposure (OR = 6.66; 95% CI: 2.41, 18.42), having 1 ACE (OR = 4.40; 95% CI: 1.32, 14.70), having 2–3 ACEs (OR = 4.13; 95% CI: 1.39, 12.29), and having 4+ (OR = 11.67; 95% CI: 3.95, 34.45) were significantly associated with psychological distress. Conclusions ACEs are prevalent among young adults and are associated with psychological distress in adulthood. Furthermore, parental factors are associated with ACEs and psychological distress. Thus, implementation of school, community-and facility-based routine mental health screening programs is essential for prompt identification, prevention, and treatment of youth with childhood adversities and poor mental health outcomes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document