TY - JOUR

T1 - Relationships between adverse childhood experiences and adult mental well-being

T2 - results from an English national household survey

AU - Hughes, Karen

AU - Lowey, Helen

AU - Quigg, Zara

AU - Bellis, Mark A

PY - 2016/3/3

Y1 - 2016/3/3

N2 - BACKGROUND: Individuals' childhood experiences can strongly influence their future health and well-being. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse and dysfunctional home environments show strong cumulative relationships with physical and mental illness yet less is known about their effects on mental well-being in the general population.METHODS: A nationally representative household survey of English adults (n = 3,885) measuring current mental well-being (Short Edinburgh-Warwick Mental Well-being Scale SWEMWBS) and life satisfaction and retrospective exposure to nine ACEs.RESULTS: Almost half of participants (46.4 %) had suffered at least one ACE and 8.3 % had suffered four or more. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for low life satisfaction and low mental well-being increased with the number of ACEs. AORs for low ratings of all individual SWEMWBS components also increased with ACE count, particularly never or rarely feeling close to others. Of individual ACEs, growing up in a household affected by mental illness and suffering sexual abuse had the most relationships with markers of mental well-being.CONCLUSIONS: Childhood adversity has a strong cumulative relationship with adult mental well-being. Comprehensive mental health strategies should incorporate interventions to prevent ACEs and moderate their impacts from the very earliest stages of life.

AB - BACKGROUND: Individuals' childhood experiences can strongly influence their future health and well-being. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse and dysfunctional home environments show strong cumulative relationships with physical and mental illness yet less is known about their effects on mental well-being in the general population.METHODS: A nationally representative household survey of English adults (n = 3,885) measuring current mental well-being (Short Edinburgh-Warwick Mental Well-being Scale SWEMWBS) and life satisfaction and retrospective exposure to nine ACEs.RESULTS: Almost half of participants (46.4 %) had suffered at least one ACE and 8.3 % had suffered four or more. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for low life satisfaction and low mental well-being increased with the number of ACEs. AORs for low ratings of all individual SWEMWBS components also increased with ACE count, particularly never or rarely feeling close to others. Of individual ACEs, growing up in a household affected by mental illness and suffering sexual abuse had the most relationships with markers of mental well-being.CONCLUSIONS: Childhood adversity has a strong cumulative relationship with adult mental well-being. Comprehensive mental health strategies should incorporate interventions to prevent ACEs and moderate their impacts from the very earliest stages of life.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events

KW - Aged

KW - England

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Mental Disorders

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Personal Satisfaction

KW - Psychiatric Status Rating Scales

KW - Retrospective Studies

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Young Adult

KW - Journal Article

U2 - 10.1186/s12889-016-2906-3

DO - 10.1186/s12889-016-2906-3

M3 - Article

C2 - 26940088

VL - 16

SP - 222

JO - BMC Public Health

JF - BMC Public Health

SN - 1471-2458

ER -