Title : Can support received as a child versus an adult reduce depression and increase life satisfaction? The differential impact among those with adverse childhood experiences
Abstract:
Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. (2019), are “potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years of age). ACEs can include violence, abuse, neglect, instability due to parental separation or household members being in jail or prison. and growing up in a family with mental health or substance use problems. Toxic stress from ACEs can change brain development and affect how the body responds to stress. ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood.” ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood. ACEs can also negatively impact education and job opportunities. In the combined years 2022 and 2023 from the BRFSS, fully two thirds of the U.S. population had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system (BRFSS) is administered by the Centers for Disease Control in the United States, resulting in more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world. The BRFSS regularly asks adult survey respondents the standard ACE questions every year. Three additional questions were added to the survey beginning in 2022, two of which inquire about the presence of support received in childhood, while the third question inquires about the support currently received as an adult. The following questions were utilized (1) For how much of your childhood was there an adult in your household who made you feel safe and protected? (2) For how much of your childhood was there an adult in your household who tried hard to make sure your basic needs were met? (3) How often do you (currently) get the social and emotional support you need? Eight separate combinations of all three questions were run using regression analyses to ascertain which combinations of the three questions had the greatest impact, and which the least. Two separate dependent/outcome variables were run, one asking if the respondent had ever been diagnosed with a depressive disorder, and the other asking how satisfied the respondent currently was with their life. Given that a number of individuals may avoid mental health practitioners, a separate emotional measure (life satisfaction) was included for greater reliability. An ACE Index was constructed to capture the sum total of all ACEs experienced per individual, and standard socio-demographic control variables were included in the regression analyses as well. The results indicated that emotional support currently received as an adult had a significant protective impact on depression, and significantly increased life satisfaction as well. Those least likely to report depression diagnosis, and most likely to report higher life satisfaction, reported strong emotional support in their current adult lives, while support received in childhood played a much more minor role. The results indicate that despite suffering from childhood trauma, emotional support in one’s adult life can greatly reduce the likelihood of clinical depression, as well as increase satisfaction with one’s life.
