Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among Married Individuals at Presbyterian Church of East Africa (P.C.E.A), Nairobi North Presbytery, Kenya

Purity Kendi, Stella Nyagwencha and Naomi Nyarigoti
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Purity Kendi: Doctoral Candidate, United State International University-Africa
Stella Nyagwencha: Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology, United State International University-Africa.
Naomi Nyarigoti: Assistant Professor of English Language & Linguistics, United State International University-Africa.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 2024, vol. 8, issue 8, 3299-3307

Abstract: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) involve a wide range of childhood traumatic events such as emotional, sexual and physical abuses. The detrimental effects of ACEs on adulthood have received increasing attention recently, which has been found to be significantly associated with increased risks of mental disorders and quality of relationship. Therefore, this present study aims at estimating the proportion of ACEs among the married individuals attending the Presbyterian church of East Africa (P.C.E.A), known as the Nairobi North Presbytery. This study utilized a cross-sectional research design, using a quantitative research approach to collect data from 288 married individuals sampled from 14,400 married couples across 17 parishes using Cochran (1963) formula. The total of 288 married individuals’ both male (N=150, 52.1%) and female (N= 138, 47.9%) with age ranges from 20 years to 75 years old with the mean age 45.9 ± (SD: 12.235) were sampled and screened to participate in the study. The ACE International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) is a 43-item scale which was developed according to model of ACEs by World Health Organization (2009) was used to assess childhood experiences of the participants. Results from the study showed the general prevalence of ACEs, that is the proportion of the respondents who experienced at least four or more childhood experiences at 90.6%. Also, the frequency of multiple exposure to ACEs was higher among the respondents aged 41-65 years at 54.9%, among the male respondents at 47.9%, and among the married individuals at 73.3%. Also, this study found the top three highest proportion of childhood traumatic experiences among the participants, which are community violence (91%), emotional neglect (83%), and violence against household members (79.9%). This study therefore recommended that churches in Kenya particular, and worldwide in general may consider engaging the services of clinical psychologists to help in screening married individuals for ACEs and to ensure access to mental health services for children and families, including early intervention and trauma-informed care.

Date: 2024
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