How Adverse Childhood Experiences Relate to Subjective Wellbeing in College Students: The Role of Resilience and Depression

Mohammedhamid Osman Kelifa, Yinmei Yang, Herbert Carly, Wang Bo and Peigang Wang ()
Additional contact information
Mohammedhamid Osman Kelifa: Wuhan University
Yinmei Yang: Wuhan University
Herbert Carly: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Wang Bo: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Peigang Wang: Wuhan University

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2021, vol. 22, issue 5, No 7, 2103-2123

Abstract: Abstract The enduring and detrimental impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on later health and wellbeing is now well established. However, research on the relationship between ACEs and subjective wellbeing, along with the potential risk and protective factors, is insufficient in the context of developing countries. The current study therefore, examined the mental health of young adults from a wellbeing perspective in a community emerging from a longstanding war. A national representative sample of college students was withdrawn from the Eritrean Institutions of Higher Education using a stratified systematic sampling (N = 507). Data regarding ACEs, resilience, depression symptoms, and subjective wellbeing were obtained through a direct administration of survey questionnaire. Mediation and moderation effects were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results revealed that ACEs were negatively associated with resilience. In turn, resilience was correlated with lower depression and higher subjective wellbeing. ACEs had a positive association with depression, which in turn was negatively related to subjective wellbeing. Further, depression and resilience independently and jointly fully mediated the effect of ACEs on subjective wellbeing. Targeted interventions should be tailored to enhance resilience and prevent depression in this population.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Resilience; Depression; Subjective wellbeing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-020-00308-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00308-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... fe/journal/10902/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10902-020-00308-7

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Happiness Studies is currently edited by Antonella Delle Fave

More articles in Journal of Happiness Studies from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().