ACEtimation—The Combined Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Violence, Health-Harming Behaviors, and Mental Ill-Health: Findings across England and Wales

Rebekah Lydia Miriam Amos (), Katie Cresswell, Karen Hughes and Mark A. Bellis
Additional contact information
Rebekah Lydia Miriam Amos: School of Medical and Health Sciences, Bangor University, Wrexham LL13 7YP, UK
Katie Cresswell: School of Medical and Health Sciences, Bangor University, Wrexham LL13 7YP, UK
Karen Hughes: School of Medical and Health Sciences, Bangor University, Wrexham LL13 7YP, UK
Mark A. Bellis: School of Medical and Health Sciences, Bangor University, Wrexham LL13 7YP, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) encompass various adversities, e.g., physical and/or emotional abuse. Understanding the effects of different ACE types on various health outcomes can guide targeted prevention and intervention. We estimated the association between three categories of ACEs in isolation and when they co-occurred. Specifically, the relationship between child maltreatment, witnessing violence, and household dysfunction and the risk of being involved in violence, engaging in health-harming behaviors, and experiencing mental ill-health. Data were from eight cross-sectional surveys conducted in England and Wales between 2012 and 2022. The sample included 21,716 adults aged 18–69 years; 56.6% were female. Exposure to child maltreatment and household dysfunction in isolation were strong predictors of variant outcomes, whereas witnessing violence was not. However, additive models showed that witnessing violence amplified the measured risk beyond expected levels for being a victim or perpetrator of violence. The multiplicative effect of all three ACE categories demonstrated the highest level of risk (RRs from 1.7 to 7.4). Given the increased risk associated with co-occurring ACEs, it is crucial to target individuals exposed to any ACE category to prevent their exposure to additional harm. Implementing universal interventions that safeguard children from physical, emotional, and sexual violence is likely to mitigate a range of subsequent issues, including future involvement in violence.

Keywords: adverse childhood experiences; childhood adversity; child maltreatment; household dysfunction; mental health; health-harming behaviors; violence; cross sectional; survey data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/17/6633/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/17/6633/ (text/html)

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:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:17:p:6633-:d:1223455

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().