Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) affect numerous outcomes in adulthood, but relatively few studies examine their implications for adolescents. Understanding the effects of ACEs is important since adolescent behaviors affect subsequent life course milestones and transitions. One area of the ACEs research that is deficient involves adolescent substance use. In addition, there is a paucity of studies addressing whether the association between ACEs and substance use differs by race/ethnicity. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study aims to fill these gaps by (a) examining whether adolescents who experience more ACEs tend to be at higher risk of alcohol and marijuana use; and (b) whether the association between ACEs and these forms of substance use differs among White, Black, and other racial/ethnic youth. The results show that, among Black youth, ACEs tend to affect alcohol and marijuana use at high levels (four or more). Among White youth, this association is limited to marijuana use. Nonetheless, age and peer substance use appear to have more consequential effects on the odds of alcohol and marijuana. The findings suggest that additional research is warranted, but that ACEs should be a focus of research on adolescent substance use.

The therapeutic alliance is a core element of successful treatment in therapy. Recent literature has explored variables that predict the alliance at various time points during therapy, but few studies have explored how the alliance develops over time and the factors that influence its rate of change. The current study addresses these questions by estimating latent growth-curve models to analyze how male and female partners' alliance scores develop over time and how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impact the development of the alliance during the first six sessions of therapy. Results from these analyses show that neither men nor women's ACEs had a significant effect on the rate of change in the alliance. A discussion of the attachment implications of these findings, as well as the limitations of this study and potential directions for future research are then presented.

Background: A 1998 seminal study catapulted adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) into the zeitgeist and shaped assessment of these experiences and long-term health consequences via The ACEs Study Questionnaire (ACE-SQ). However, the ACE-SQ's childhood sexual abuse (CSA) item requires the perpetrator have been 5-years or older than the survivor for endorsement. This may not adequately capture CSA and limit the questionnaire's ability to detect survivors. Objective: This study assessed whether CSA survivors were missed by this 5-year modifier, whether service access was restricted, and whether those missed were at elevated risk for adverse outcomes. Participants and setting: A sample of 974 women (M age = 30.46) completed an online survey. Methods: Histories of CSA were assessed using the original ACE-SQ and an alternative version without the 5-year modifier. Participants were grouped by endorsement (Modifier, No Modifier, No CSA) and compared across numerous physical and mental health outcomes using MANOVA, ANOVA, and logistic regression. Results: Numerous CSA survivors are presently missed by the 5-year modifier (n = 118 of N = 249). This group demonstrated the same elevated depression (t = 3.44, p = .002, d = 0.34), heightened somatic symptom burden (t = 3.34, p = .003, d = 0.35), and poorer subjective health (t = -2.86, p = .012, d = 0.27) as those captured by the modifier. Conclusions: Recommendations for research, practice, and policy include removing the 5-year modifier from CSA assessment, creating an empirically informed CSA definition, and eliminating or adjusting requisite cut-scores for accessing services.

Offenders and persons with serious mental illness experience disproportionate exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). This study examines prevalence, distribution, and correlates of ACEs in 182 male and female forensic psychiatric inpatients in secure care. Descriptive statistics, chi-squares analysis, ANOVA, and logistic regression were used to describe ACEs by race and gender and to identify associations between ACEs and onset of aggression, arrest, and psychiatric hospitalization. Participants evidenced significant exposure to ACEs, with significant differences by race and gender. ACE score, race, and foster care or investigations of child abuse were significant predictors of outcomes related to aggression and criminality.

Introduction: A culturally competent survey currently does not exist to characterize the burden of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among a HIV/AIDS population receiving care at a local Center of Excellence (COE). Methods: A qualitative study was conducted including 11 interviews involving opinions on national surveillance questions to develop a culturally competent survey. Purposive sampling, reactive probing, and analysis of transcribed interviews were completed using structured coding to determine which questions were kept, modified, or removed in the final survey. Results: The final 55-question survey contained more generalized ACE questions, topics pertaining to barriers to HIV care, and a list that patients could select from to indicate what they need to improve their HIV care. Conclusion: The final survey provided the opportunity to characterize the burden of ACEs at a COE. Future directions involve piloting the survey as a quality improvement tool with the goal of increasing retention rates through more individualized HIV care.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between (1) different types of ACEs and migraine, and (2) the number of ACEs and migraine among adolescent mothers in Lima, Peru. Methods: Our cross-sectional study included 787 adolescent mothers (14- to 18-years of age) in Peru. In-person interviews were conducted postpartum, in hospital, within 2-days of delivery. Nine types of ACEs were assessed, including exposure to three categories of abuse, two categories of neglect, and four categories of household dysfunction. Multivariable logistic regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the association between ACEs and migraine while adjusting for putative confounders. Results: Approximately 75% of adolescent mothers reported having experienced at least one type of ACE. Adolescent mothers who reported any childhood abuse had 1.49-fold increased odds of migraine (aOR = 1.49; 95% CI 1.03–2.18) compared to those with no history of childhood abuse. Adolescent mothers who reported experiencing household dysfunction had 1.56-fold increase odds of migraine (aOR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.09–2.24). Compared to participants who reported no ACE, those who experienced four or more ACEs had 3.09-fold (aOR = 3.09; 95% CI 1.80–5.40) increased odds of migraine (ptrend < 0.001). Conclusion: Exposure to ACEs is highly prevalent in adolescent-aged mothers postpartum and is associated with increased odds of migraine. These findings support the importance of screening for ACEs and migraine among adolescent mothers; and the need for providing culturally appropriate, trauma-informed headache care. / National Institutes of Health / Revisión por pares

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Adverse life events that occur in childhood may decrease an individual’s ability to effectively cope with challenges throughout their lives. The proper management of stress is essential to avoid problems that can crop up in all areas of life. College students who employ stress management tactics are better able to achieve well-being and academic success. This study examined the potential moderating association between “from within” coping supports or internal risk factors and academic success, mental health, and resilience qualities. Using a sample of college students at a large public university in the southeastern United States, this study demonstrates that viewing stress in a negative way may increase a student’s chances of failing to cope well with difficulty. Similarly, results of the analysis demonstrate that high perceived stress increases college students’ mental health issues and may diminish their capacity to cope with the challenges of the college environment. University officials may use the results from this study to inform policy and practice to address students’ ability to cope with stress and succeed academically.