Kim Youngmi, Park Aely, Murphy Jennifer
School of Social Work, 6889Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Department of Social Welfare, 65380Sunchon National University, Suncheon, South Korea.
J Interpers Violence. 2023 Feb;38(3-4):3011-3029. doi: 10.1177/08862605221102487. Epub 2022 May 18.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are concerning exposures that may have detrimental effects on mental health. Much of the prior evidence on ACEs comes from the U.S and western developed countries. In light of the limited knowledge of ACEs in other social contexts and the interconnection among adversities, this study aims to identify distinct patterns of co-occurring ACEs and examines the associations between those adversities and mental health in South Korea. We used data from a national sample of Korean college students recruited via non-probability quota sampling in 2019 ( = 1037). The dependent variables included three measures of mental health assessed by the Brief Symptom Inventory depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and somatization symptoms. The independent variable was the patterns of ACEs identified using 14 indicators of childhood adversity. We conducted a Latent Class Analysis with a distal outcome, using the Bolck, Croons, and Hagenaars method. The analysis found four patterns of ACEs: (8%) (20.3%) (10.4%), and (61.3%). The extreme adversity group exhibited multiple exposures, including interpersonal violence in home environments, economic hardship, and bullying victimization by peers. The results suggest that the extreme adversity and family violence groups showed significantly worse mental health symptoms than the economic adversity and low adversity groups. Also, the extreme adversity group reported significantly higher levels of depression symptoms and somatization symptoms than the family violence group. This study expands the current understanding of ACEs and their harmful effects on mental health in young adulthood specific to Korea while comparing them with other social contexts. Researchers and practitioners should recognize the co-occurrence of child adversities, rather than overestimating sole adversity, to develop effective strategies for promoting mental health.
童年不良经历（ACEs）是令人担忧的暴露因素，可能对心理健康产生有害影响。先前关于ACEs的许多证据来自美国和西方发达国家。鉴于在其他社会背景下对ACEs的了解有限，以及各种逆境之间的相互联系，本研究旨在识别ACEs同时出现的不同模式，并考察韩国这些逆境与心理健康之间的关联。我们使用了2019年通过非概率配额抽样招募的韩国大学生全国样本数据（n = 1037）。因变量包括通过简明症状量表评估的心理健康的三个指标：抑郁症状、焦虑症状和躯体化症状。自变量是使用14项童年逆境指标确定的ACEs模式。我们采用Bolck、Croon和Hagenaars方法对远端结果进行了潜在类别分析。分析发现了四种ACEs模式：A（8%）、B（20.3%）、C（10.4%）和D（61.3%）。极端逆境组表现出多种暴露情况，包括家庭环境中的人际暴力、经济困难以及同伴欺凌受害。结果表明，极端逆境组和家庭暴力组的心理健康症状明显比经济逆境组和低逆境组更差。此外，极端逆境组报告的抑郁症状和躯体化症状水平明显高于家庭暴力组。本研究扩展了目前对ACEs及其对韩国特定青年期心理健康有害影响的理解，同时将其与其他社会背景进行了比较。研究人员和从业者应认识到儿童逆境的同时出现，而不是高估单一逆境，以便制定促进心理健康的有效策略。
