Patterns of adverse childhood experiences and associations with lower mental well-being among university students.

Adverse childhood experiences Latent class analysis Mental health Mental illness Well-being

Journal

Child abuse & neglect
ISSN: 1873-7757
Titre abrégé: Child Abuse Negl
Pays: England
ID NLM: 7801702

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
30 Mar 2024
Historique:
received: 02 08 2023
revised: 05 03 2024
accepted: 20 03 2024
medline: 1 4 2024
pubmed: 1 4 2024
entrez: 31 3 2024
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

University students report high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which can lead to severe mental health problems. Understanding how ACEs impact well-being in this population is essential, yet research to date is limited. To explore ACE patterns and their association with lower well-being in university students. 1023 Spanish students (71.6 % female) aged between 18 and 64 years old (M = 20.10, SD = 3.93) completed a self-report questionnaire. This study used a cross-sectional design. The ACE International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale were used to assess, respectively, childhood adversities and mental well-being. Latent Class Analysis and regression modeling were conducted to analyze the link between ACEs and lower mental well-being, considering the covariates of age, country of origin, sexual orientation, and mental illness. Four ACE classes were identified: Low ACEs (49.5 %), Dysfunctional Household (12.3 %), Household and Peer Abuse (31.0 %), and High ACEs (7.2 %). The regression analysis (F(3, 1007) = 19.2, p < .001, R These findings underscore the relationship between childhood adversity and mental health, offering insights for future prevention efforts and enriching our understanding of ACEs and their impact on well-being.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
University students report high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which can lead to severe mental health problems. Understanding how ACEs impact well-being in this population is essential, yet research to date is limited.
OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE
To explore ACE patterns and their association with lower well-being in university students.
PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING METHODS
1023 Spanish students (71.6 % female) aged between 18 and 64 years old (M = 20.10, SD = 3.93) completed a self-report questionnaire.
METHODS METHODS
This study used a cross-sectional design. The ACE International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale were used to assess, respectively, childhood adversities and mental well-being. Latent Class Analysis and regression modeling were conducted to analyze the link between ACEs and lower mental well-being, considering the covariates of age, country of origin, sexual orientation, and mental illness.
RESULTS RESULTS
Four ACE classes were identified: Low ACEs (49.5 %), Dysfunctional Household (12.3 %), Household and Peer Abuse (31.0 %), and High ACEs (7.2 %). The regression analysis (F(3, 1007) = 19.2, p < .001, R
CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS
These findings underscore the relationship between childhood adversity and mental health, offering insights for future prevention efforts and enriching our understanding of ACEs and their impact on well-being.

Identifiants

pubmed: 38555713
pii: S0145-2134(24)00159-5
doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106770
pii:
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

106770

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest None.

Auteurs

Marina Bartolomé-Valenzuela (M)

Research Group on Child and Adolescent Victimization (GReVIA), Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Noemí Pereda (N)

Research Group on Child and Adolescent Victimization (GReVIA), Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: npereda@ub.edu.

Georgina Guilera (G)

Research Group on Child and Adolescent Victimization (GReVIA), Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Classifications MeSH