Parent, Friend and Teacher Relationships Buffer against the Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Disorders among Adolescents in Urban Vietnam

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aimed to measure how these parent, friend and teacher relationships could mediate the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental disorders. MethodA cross-sectional study was implemented on students at an urban multi-level school in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 1275 students were included in the study. The Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale-21 items (DASS-21) and Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q) scales were used. The present study employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the potential mediation effects of different relationships on the associations between ACEs and mental health. ResultsThe rate of depression, anxiety and stress among students were 44.0 %, 35.6 % and 30.6 %, respectively. Overall, 19.7 % experienced one mental disorder, 15.2 % suffered two disorders and 20.0 % experienced three disorders. Parent-child, friend-friend and student-teacher relationships were determined to partly mediate the connections between ACEs and mental disorders among students. The mediating effects of the parent-child, friend-friend and student-teacher relationships accounted for 13 %, 4.4 % and 5.8 % of the total effect, respectively; and 15 %, 4.6 % and 6.1 % of the direct effect, correspondingly. ConclusionThis study highlighted that receiving good parent-child, friend-friend and student-teacher relationships independently affected adolescents’ mental health, as well as buffered the effect of ACEs on mental disorders.