Agbaje Olaoluwa Samson, Nnaji Chinwe Patience, Nwagu Evelyn Nwanebe, Iweama Cylia Nkechi, Umoke Prince Christian Ifeanachor, Ozoemena Lawretta Eyuche, Abba Charles Chike
Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Arch Public Health. 2021 Apr 29;79(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s13690-021-00587-3.
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.
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.
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.
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.
童年不良经历（ACEs）的暴露构成了与成年期不良心理后果（如心理困扰）相关的公共卫生问题。本研究调查了ACEs和心理困扰的患病率，并探讨了ACEs与心理困扰以及年轻成年人中的人口统计学因素之间的关联。
我们在2018年5月至2018年7月对330名学生进行了一项横断面研究。参与者完成了国际童年不良经历问卷（ACE-IQ）、凯斯勒心理困扰量表（K10）和社会人口统计学概况量表。我们使用描述性统计来描述样本中ACEs和心理困扰的患病率。在调整了人口统计学协变量后，使用二元和多变量逻辑回归确定ACEs与心理困扰的关联。
共有203名平均年龄为20.76±2.73岁的学生完成了研究。ACE总分平均为4.58±1.59，心理困扰总分平均为20.76±6.31。大多数参与者（86.7%）经历过ACEs，14.8%报告经历过1次ACE，30.5%报告经历过2 - 3次ACE，41.3%报告经历过4次及以上ACE。此外，约85%的年轻人在童年时期至少经历过一种形式的性虐待，女性报告的ACEs数量高于男性。性虐待（OR = 2.36；95% CI：2.36，7.65）、身体忽视（OR = 2.87；95% CI：1.57，5.31）、总体ACE暴露（OR = 6.66；95% CI：2.41，18.42）、经历1次ACE（OR = 4.40；95% CI：1.32，14.70）、经历2 - 3次ACE（OR = 4.13；95% CI：1.39，12.29）以及经历4次及以上ACE（OR = 11.67；95% CI：3.95，34.45）与心理困扰显著相关。
ACEs在年轻成年人中普遍存在，并与成年期的心理困扰相关。此外，父母因素与ACEs和心理困扰有关。因此,实施基于学校,社区和机构的常规心理健康筛查项目对于及时识别,预防和治疗有童年逆境和不良心理健康结果的青少年至关重要。
