scholarly journals Adverse Childhood Experiences and Building Resilience With the JoyPop App: Evaluation Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela MacIsaac ◽  
Aislin R Mushquash ◽  
Shakira Mohammed ◽  
Elizabeth Grassia ◽  
Savanah Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Resilience Intervention

BACKGROUND The effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health, self-regulatory capacities, and overall resilience are well-known. Given such effects, ACEs may play a role in how individuals adjust to challenges later in life. Of interest in this study is the transition to university, a time of heightened stress when adapting to circumstances is required and when those with ACEs may need additional in-the-moment support to exercise resilience. A smartphone app may provide a worthwhile and readily accessible medium for a resilience intervention, provided behavioral outcomes are adequately evaluated. OBJECTIVE This study evaluates the impact of an innovative, smartphone app–based resilience intervention. The JoyPop app was designed to promote resilience through the use of self-regulatory skills such as emotion regulation and executive functioning. Among a sample of first-year undergraduate students, we explored whether use of the app would be associated with positive changes in resilience and related outcomes, and whether these benefits were influenced by level of childhood adversity. METHODS Participants (N=156) were requested to use the JoyPop app for 4 weeks, at least twice daily. Changes in resilience, emotion regulation, executive functioning, and depression were assessed after 2 and 4 weeks of app usage using multilevel modeling. RESULTS The sample of 156 participants included 123 females and 33 males, with a mean age of 19.02 years (SD 2.90). On average participants used the app on 20.43 of the possible 28 days (SD 7.14). App usage was associated with improvements in emotion regulation (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup><sub>1</sub>=44.46; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), such that it improved by 0.25 points on the 18-point scale for each additional day of app usage, and symptoms of depression (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup><sub>1</sub>=25.12; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), such that depression symptoms were reduced by .08 points on the 9-point scale with each additional day of app usage. An interaction between ACEs and days of app usage existed for emotion regulation, such that participants with more adversity evidenced a faster rate of change in emotion regulation (<i>P</i>=.02). CONCLUSIONS Results highlight that daily incorporation of an app-based resilience intervention can help youth who have experienced adversity to improve emotion regulation skills and experience reductions in depression. The JoyPop app represents an important step forward in the integration of resilience intervention research with a technology-based medium that provides in-the-moment support.

scholarly journals Adverse Childhood Experiences and Building Resilience With the JoyPop App: Evaluation Study

10.2196/25087 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e25087
Author(s):  
Angela MacIsaac ◽  
Aislin R Mushquash ◽  
Shakira Mohammed ◽  
Elizabeth Grassia ◽  
Savanah Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Resilience Intervention

Background The effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health, self-regulatory capacities, and overall resilience are well-known. Given such effects, ACEs may play a role in how individuals adjust to challenges later in life. Of interest in this study is the transition to university, a time of heightened stress when adapting to circumstances is required and when those with ACEs may need additional in-the-moment support to exercise resilience. A smartphone app may provide a worthwhile and readily accessible medium for a resilience intervention, provided behavioral outcomes are adequately evaluated. Objective This study evaluates the impact of an innovative, smartphone app–based resilience intervention. The JoyPop app was designed to promote resilience through the use of self-regulatory skills such as emotion regulation and executive functioning. Among a sample of first-year undergraduate students, we explored whether use of the app would be associated with positive changes in resilience and related outcomes, and whether these benefits were influenced by level of childhood adversity. Methods Participants (N=156) were requested to use the JoyPop app for 4 weeks, at least twice daily. Changes in resilience, emotion regulation, executive functioning, and depression were assessed after 2 and 4 weeks of app usage using multilevel modeling. Results The sample of 156 participants included 123 females and 33 males, with a mean age of 19.02 years (SD 2.90). On average participants used the app on 20.43 of the possible 28 days (SD 7.14). App usage was associated with improvements in emotion regulation (χ21=44.46; P<.001), such that it improved by 0.25 points on the 18-point scale for each additional day of app usage, and symptoms of depression (χ21=25.12; P<.001), such that depression symptoms were reduced by .08 points on the 9-point scale with each additional day of app usage. An interaction between ACEs and days of app usage existed for emotion regulation, such that participants with more adversity evidenced a faster rate of change in emotion regulation (P=.02). Conclusions Results highlight that daily incorporation of an app-based resilience intervention can help youth who have experienced adversity to improve emotion regulation skills and experience reductions in depression. The JoyPop app represents an important step forward in the integration of resilience intervention research with a technology-based medium that provides in-the-moment support.

Emotion regulation moderates between maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and oxytocin response

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian England-Mason ◽  
Harriet L. MacMillan ◽  
Leslie Atkinson ◽  
Meir Steiner ◽  
Andrea Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood

scholarly journals Association of Social Adversity with Comorbid Diabetes and Depression Symptoms in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study: A Syndemic Framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 975-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L McCurley ◽  
Angela P Gutierrez ◽  
Julia I Bravin ◽  
Neil Schneiderman ◽  
Samantha A Reina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Ethnic Discrimination ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Neighborhood Problems ◽  
Hispanic Community ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Social Adversity

AbstractBackgroundU.S. Hispanics/Latinos experience high lifetime risk for Type 2 diabetes and concurrent psychological depression. This comorbidity is associated with poorer self-management, worse disease outcomes, and higher mortality. Syndemic theory is a novel social epidemiological framework that emphasizes the role of economic and social adversity in promoting disease comorbidity and health disparities.PurposeInformed by the syndemic framework, this study explored associations of socioeconomic and psychosocial adversity (low income/education, trauma history, adverse childhood experiences, ethnic discrimination, neighborhood problems [e.g., violence]) with comorbidity of diabetes and depression symptoms in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) and Sociocultural Ancillary Study.MethodsParticipants were 5,247 Latino adults, aged 18–74, enrolled in four U.S. cities from 2008 to 2011. Participants completed a baseline physical exam and measures of depression symptoms and psychosocial adversity. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations of adversity variables with comorbid diabetes and high depression symptoms.ResultsHousehold income below $30,000/year was associated with higher odds of diabetes/depression comorbidity (odds ratio [OR] = 4.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.89, 7.33) compared to having neither condition, as was each standard deviation increase in adverse childhood experiences (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.16, 1.71), ethnic discrimination (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.50), and neighborhood problems (OR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.30, 1.80).ConclusionLow household income, adverse childhood experiences, ethnic discrimination, and neighborhood problems are related to comorbid diabetes and depression in U.S. Latinos. Future studies should explore these relationships longitudinally.

scholarly journals The Direct and Indirect Influences of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Physical Health: A Cross-Sectional Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (22) ◽  
pp. 8507
Author(s):  
Yolanda Martín-Higarza ◽  
Yolanda Fontanil ◽  
María Dolores Méndez ◽  
Esteban Ezama
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Fear Of Rejection

A growing and significant body of research has documented the close relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and health outcomes in adults. Less is known about the complex pathways through which ACEs exert their influence. This article examines the direct relationship between the quality of perceived physical health and childhood adversities. The association between the adversities and the physical health with other psychological and social variables is also analyzed. Data were collected from a sample of 170 subjects, using tools to assess adverse childhood experiences, physical health-related quality of life, socioeconomic vulnerability, emotion regulation, coping strategies, attachment, and social support. Results showed a high frequency of ACEs among the adult population, and the correlation with poor physical health was highly significant. Regression equations to predict physical health also revealed the following as significant variables: wishful thinking, social withdrawal, and cognitive restructuring as coping styles; reappraisal to achieve emotion regulation; fear of rejection or abandonment, and desire for closeness in relation to attachment figures; hardship; and poor financial support. The relationship between the different forms of ACE and social vulnerability identifies the important indirect contribution of childhood adversity to health and socioeconomic conditions in adulthood.

scholarly journals Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Adulthood: Examining Potential Psychological, Biological, and Behavioral Mediators in the Whitehall II Cohort Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya S. Deschênes ◽  
Mika Kivimaki ◽  
Norbert Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Heart Disease ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood

Background This study investigated potential psycho‐bio‐behavioral mediators of the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in adulthood. Methods and Results Participants were 5610 British civil servants (mean age, 55.5; 28% women) from the Whitehall II cohort study without CHD at baseline in 1997 to 1999 (wave 5) when retrospective data on the number of ACEs were collected via questionnaire (range, 0–8). Potential mediators assessed at wave 5 included depression and anxiety symptoms, health behaviors (smoking, alcohol dependence, sleep, and physical activity), and cardiometabolic dysregulations. New diagnoses of CHD (myocardial infarction, definite angina, coronary artery bypass grafting, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) were assessed from wave 6 (2001) to wave 11 (2012–2013). Logistic regressions examined associations between ACEs, potential mediators, and CHD during the follow‐up period. Natural indirect effects were examined using mediation analysis. A total of 566 (10.1%) participants developed CHD during the follow‐up period. ACEs were associated with an increased likelihood of CHD (odds ratio per ACE, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.00–1.19). Controlling for age and sex, mediation analyses revealed an indirect effect of depression symptoms (natural indirect effects, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.03–1.07), anxiety symptoms (natural indirect effects, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.10–1.15), and a greater number of cardiometabolic dysregulations (natural indirect effects, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.03) in the association between ACEs and incident CHD. Behavioral factors were not statistically significant mediators. Conclusions Depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and cardiometabolic dysregulations partially mediated the association between ACEs and CHD. Regular screening and treatment of symptoms of psychological disorders and cardiometabolic dysregulations may help mitigate the long‐term health burden of ACEs.

scholarly journals The Role of Adverse Childhood Experience on Depression Symptom, Prevalence, and Severity among School Going Adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mekonnen Tsehay ◽  
Mogesie Necho ◽  
Werkua Mekonnen
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Depressive Disorders ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression Symptom ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Increased Risk

Background and Objectives. Adverse childhood experiences include stressful and potentially traumatic events associated with a higher risk of long-term behavioral problems and chronic illnesses. In this study, we had estimated the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and association with depression symptoms prevalence and severity as a function of ACE counts. Methods. A cross-sectional school-based study was employed. Five hundred forty-six secondary school students were selected using multistage sampling technique from 5 selected secondary schools. We obtained retrospective information on adverse childhood experiences of adolescents by ACEs, self-reported 10-item questionnaire, and current depression prevalence and severity by PHQ-9. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate child depression severity by retrospective ACE count. Results. Among the 546 adolescents who participated in this study, 285 (50.7%) of the participants answered yes to at least one or more questions among the total 10 questions of ACEs. Experiences of ACEs increased the risk for depressive symptoms, with unstandardized β = 1.123 (β = 1.123, 95% CI (0.872, 1.373). We found a strong, dose–response relationship between the ACE score and the probability of lifetime and recent depressive disorders (p<0.0001). Conclusions. The number of ACEs has a graded relationship to both the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms. These results suggest that exposure to ACEs is associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms up to decades after their occurrence. Early recognition of childhood abuse and appropriate intervention may thus play an important role in the prevention of depressive disorders throughout the life span.

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