Lifestyle Behaviors and Chronic Disease Risk in Emerging Adults with a History of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Abstract

The growing body of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) literature over the past two decades provides strong evidence that there is a dose-response relationship between the number of ACEs experienced and the negative downstream effects on one’s health. However, due to an abundance of retrospective public health survey data, but absence of data across the lifespan, the mechanisms that contribute to worse health outcomes remain unclear. Recent findings indicate that ACEs are associated with higher chronic disease prevalence even among young adults. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine the relationships between ACEs and various aspects of physical and mental health in a healthy emerging adult population.

Using a college student sample, participants completed an online questionnaire that included the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire (ACE-Q) and measures of physical health, mental health, and lifestyle health behaviors. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive associations between ACEs and symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, ADHD, emotion dysregulation, sleep difficulties, and somatic symptoms; mild positive associations were also observed between ACEs and perceived stress, disordered eating, illicit substance use, and e-cigarette use. Hierarchical linear regression analysis demonstrated that ACE-Q scores significantly predicted these factors when controlling for demographic covariates such as gender, race/ethnicity, and SES.

The findings of this study help to fill an etiological knowledge gap by providing more information about the prevalent risk factors related to individuals with a history of high ACEs that could contribute to the development of chronic diseases. In addition to various mental health symptoms, sleep difficulties and somatic symptoms appear to be prominent health issues for emerging adults with a history of ACEs. Healthcare providers for this age group may want to increase screening, prevention, and intervention efforts to address these symptoms, as this may have a positive influence on reducing chronic disease risk.