Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-14-2020
Publication Title
Children and Youth Services Review
Volume
111
Abstract
Objectives
There has been increasing attention to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among adolescents in the U.S because ACEs may result in severe mental health issues. Although associations between ACEs and mental health have been explored, research on how different types or combinations of ACEs render different impacts on adolescents is limited. Therefore, this study aims to (a) examine latent classes of ACEs among adolescents who have experienced at least one ACE and (b) investigate associations of each latent group of ACEs with mental health problems, depression and anxiety.
Method
Questionnaires on ACEs and depression/anxiety from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) were used, and a total of 11,437 adolescents aged 10–17 years were included in this study. For analyses, latent class analysis (LCA) was implemented to identify the number and types of classes, which are pertinent to represent the heterogenous combinations of ACEs. Moreover, chi-square tests and ordinal regression were performed to investigate the associations of class memberships within ACEs with depression/anxiety.
Results
The LCA found four class memberships within ACEs: Multiple High-Risk, Broken Family, Income Hardship, and Multiple Low-Risk. These classes displayed differences in depression/anxiety. For both pre-existing and current conditions of depression/anxiety, the most prominence has been found in the Multiple High-Risk, followed by the Multiple Low-Risk, the Broken Family, and the Income Hardship, in order.
Conclusions
These differences among the classes indicate that understanding of ACEs and interventions should be based on considering latent classes of ACEs.
Recommended Citation
Lee, H., Kim, I., Jeong, J., & Nam, S. (2020) Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Associations with Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents. Children and Youth Services Review, 111, 104850. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104850
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Children and Youth Services Review on February 14, 2020 , available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104850