Generational differences in latent classes of exposure to adverse childhood experiences

Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have increased across generations; however, it is unclear how ACE exposure clusters into classes and how exposure differs by generation. To examine this clustering, we used data from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (n = 56,262). We identified ACEs exposure classes and examined the probability of belonging to each ACEs exposure class by birth generation, sex assigned at birth, race/ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ identity. We identified three ACEs exposure classes: Low ACEs, High ACEs without Sexual Abuse, and High ACEs with Sexual Abuse. Findings demonstrate that, relative to Baby Boomers, the probability of experiencing High ACEs without Sexual Abuse was 5 % higher for Gen X and 11 % for both Millennials and Gen Z. The probability of experiencing High ACEs with Sexual Abuse was highest for Gen X and lowest for Gen Z. Significant intersectional relationships were found between LGBTQ+ identity and both generation and sex assigned at birth. These findings have implications for health policy.