Abstract
BackgroundIndividuals’ childhood experiences can strongly influence their future health and well-being. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse and dysfunctional home environments show strong cumulative relationships with physical and mental illness yet less is known about their effects on mental well-being in the general population.MethodsA nationally representative household survey of English adults (n = 3,885) measuring current mental well-being (Short Edinburgh-Warwick Mental Well-being Scale SWEMWBS) and life satisfaction and retrospective exposure to nine ACEs.ResultsAlmost half of participants (46.4 %) had suffered at least one ACE and 8.3 % had suffered four or more. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for low life satisfaction and low mental well-being increased with the number of ACEs. AORs for low ratings of all individual SWEMWBS components also increased with ACE count, particularly never or rarely feeling close to others. Of individual ACEs, growing up in a household affected by mental illness and suffering sexual abuse had the most relationships with markers of mental well-being.ConclusionsChildhood adversity has a strong cumulative relationship with adult mental well-being. Comprehensive mental health strategies should incorporate interventions to prevent ACEs and moderate their impacts from the very earliest stages of life.
Highlights
Individuals’ childhood experiences can strongly influence their future health and well-being
A US study using the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) framework found a cumulative relationship between childhood adversity and markers of mental well-being in the general population, including mentally healthy days and life satisfaction [18]
While the high prevalence of mental disorders in the most vulnerable children and the continued risks of mental illness in adults who suffered ACEs are widely recognised, data linking childhood adversity to the development and persistence of low mental well-being in the broader population is scarce
Summary
Individuals’ childhood experiences can strongly influence their future health and well-being. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse and dysfunctional home environments show strong cumulative relationships with physical and mental illness yet less is known about their effects on mental well-being in the general population. Research exposing the harmful effects that childhood adversity has on adult physical and mental health has advanced significantly over the past few decades. Much research on the long-term impacts of ACEs has focused on their relationships with mental illness. The literature on the impact of ACEs on broader measures of mental health and well-being is less extensive. Positive mental well-being has been associated with better physical and mental health and with reduced mortality in both healthy and ill populations [14, 15]. The promotion of mental well-being has become a public and mental health priority both globally and in countries such as the UK [16, 17]
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