Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: a longitudinal survey.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been consistently linked to psychiatric difficulties in children and adults. However, the long-term effects of ACEs on mental health during the early adult years have been understudied. In addition, many studies are methodologically limited by use of non-representative samples, and few studies have investigated gender and racial differences. The current study relates self-reported lifetime exposure to a range of ACEs in a community sample of high school seniors to three mental health outcomes-depressive symptoms, drug abuse, and antisocial behavior-two years later during the transition to adulthood.

METHODS:
The study has a two-wave, prospective design. A systematic probability sample of high school seniors (N = 1093) was taken from communities of diverse socioeconomic status. They were interviewed in person in 1998 and over the telephone two years later. Gender and racial differences in ACE prevalence were tested with chi-square tests. Each mental health outcome was regressed on one ACE, controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and SES to obtain partially standardized regression coefficients.

RESULTS:
Most ACEs were strongly associated with all three outcomes. The cumulative effect of ACEs was significant and of similar magnitude for all three outcomes. Except for sex abuse/assault, significant gender differences in the effects of single ACEs on depression and drug use were not observed. However, boys who experienced ACEs were more likely to engage in antisocial behavior early in young adulthood than girls who experienced similar ACEs. Where racial/ethnic differences existed, the adverse mental health impact of ACEs on Whites was consistently greater than on Blacks and Hispanics.

CONCLUSION:
Our sample of young adults from urban, socio-economically disadvantaged communities reported high rates of adverse childhood experiences. The public health impact of childhood adversity is evident in the very strong association between childhood adversity and depressive symptoms, antisocial behavior, and drug use during the early transition to adulthood. These findings, coupled with evidence that the impact of major childhood adversities persists well into adulthood, indicate the critical need for prevention and intervention strategies targeting early adverse experiences and their mental health consequences.

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Author information

Author/s: Schilling, Elizabeth A (EA); Aseltine, Robert H (RH); Gore, Susan (S);

Affiliation: Institute for Public Health Research, University of Connecticut, East Hartford, Connecticut 06108, USA. eschilling(-atsign-)uchc.edu

Grants: R01-MH55626 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: BMC public health (BMC Public Health), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-; vol 7 (issue ) : pp 30

Dates: Created 2007/03/27; Completed 2007/05/01; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 17343754, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Adult
Boston - epidemiology
Comorbidity
Continental Population Groups - statistics & numerical data
Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data
Depression - epidemiology
Divorce - statistics & numerical data
Ethnic Groups - statistics & numerical data
Female
Humans

Life Change Events
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Mental Health - statistics & numerical data
Parent-Child Relations
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Regression Analysis
Sex Distribution
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Unemployment - statistics & numerical data
Violence - statistics & numerical data

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