The Role of ACEs and Discrimination on Mental Health: A Longitudinal Analysis Among College Students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and perceived discrimination have been found to impact mental health in adults, but less is understood about the ways they interact to affect anxiety and depression symptoms. In the spring and summer of 2020, there were large societal changes stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and social and racial justice movements in the United States. The current study aimed to characterize the interactive associations of ACE history and perceived discrimination with mental health in a sample of college students assessed prior to the pandemic in the fall of 2019 and then again in the fall of 2020. Results showed that in 2019, greater discrimination and more ACEs were associated with greater anxiety/depression symptoms. In 2020, a negative interactive effect of ACE history and discrimination on mental health was found, such that for individuals with low ACEs, greater discrimination was associated with significantly greater anxiety/depression symptoms. We also found that increases in perceived discrimination from 2019 to 2020 were significantly positively associated with increases in anxiety/depression symptoms over that same time period. The findings highlight the significant impacts that both ACEs history and perceived discrimination have on mental health and suggest that experiences of discrimination should be thought of as a critical, dynamic factor impacting college students’ mental health.