Abstract
Methods A cross-sectional school-based study was employed. Five hundred forty-six secondary school students were selected using multistage sampling technique from 5 selected secondary schools. We obtained retrospective information on adverse childhood experiences of adolescents by ACEs, self-reported 10-item questionnaire, and current depression prevalence and severity by PHQ-9. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate child depression severity by retrospective ACE count. Results Among the 546 adolescents who participated in this study, 285 (50.7%) of the participants answered yes to at least one or more questions among the total 10 questions of ACEs. Experiences of ACEs increased the risk for depressive symptoms, with unstandardized β = 1.123 (β = 1.123, 95% CI (0.872, 1.373). We found a strong, dose–response relationship between the ACE score and the probability of lifetime and recent depressive disorders (p < 0.0001). Conclusions The number of ACEs has a graded relationship to both the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms. These results suggest that exposure to ACEs is associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms up to decades after their occurrence. Early recognition of childhood abuse and appropriate intervention may thus play an important role in the prevention of depressive disorders throughout the life span.
Highlights
Background and ObjectivesAdverse childhood experiences include stressful and potentially traumatic events associated with a higher risk of long-term behavioral problems and chronic illnesses
The US Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) defines child abuse and neglect as, at a minimum, any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or as an act or failure to act which presents imminent risk of serious harm [3]
The findings demonstrate that adverse experiences of childhood are associated with prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms, which shows that by making other factors, gender, social support, residence, grade level, and selfrated health constant, have adverse experience negative life event during childhood increases Patient health questionnaire-9 for adolescents (PHQ-9A) score by 1.123 (β = 1:123, 95% CI 0.872, 1.373)
Summary
Adverse childhood experience (ACE) is a term used to describe a wide range of stressful or traumatic events, including neglect, abuse, and household dysfunction such as growing up with family members who have substance use disorders, mental health problems, or intimate partner violence. According to WHO report [4], child maltreatment is the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age It includes all types of physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, household violence, household mental illness, the household member being incarcerated, household member substance use, and parental divorce/instability, which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust, Depression Research and Treatment or power. The present study aims to retrospectively describe the prevalence of distinct types of ACEs (i.e., abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction among adolescents) and to examine whether these ACEs are differentially associated with the prevalence and severity of depression adolescence
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