The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Social Support, and Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), preventable traumatic events that occur before a person reaches 18 years of age, have long lasting implications for an individual’s health, educational attainment, and socioeconomic status. In my thesis, I examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences when the child is 9 years old and his or her mental health outcomes when he or she reaches 15 years old. In addition, I examine whether having access to social support at the time of adverse experiences moderates the association between ACEs and adolescent mental health outcomes. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS; N=2,509), I find a strong association between adverse childhood experiences and adolescent depression. However, for adolescent anxiety, there is only an association when the adolescent experienced multiple categories of adverse childhood experiences. I do not find evidence that having access to social support at the time of experiencing ACEs moderates the association between ACEs and adolescent mental health outcomes. The results emphasize the importance of protecting children from toxic environments, and the results further understandings of the social determinants of mental health outcomes. In particular, mental health outcomes like depression or anxiety, which are commonly attributed to biological factors, such as genetics or physical health, are also linked to social conditions during childhood.