Positive childhood experiences serve as protective factors for mental health in pandemic-era youth with adverse childhood experiences

Hasina Samji; David Long; Jillian Herring; Rachel Correia; Jacqueline Maloney

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106640

Positive childhood experiences serve as protective factors for mental health in pandemic-era youth with adverse childhood experiences

Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Jan 25:106640. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106640. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hasina Samji¹, David Long², Jillian Herring³, Rachel Correia⁴, Jacqueline Maloney⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada; Population and Public Health Division, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, 655 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4R4, Canada. Electronic address: hsamji@sfu.ca.
² Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada; Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317 - 2194, Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada. Electronic address: david_long@sfu.ca.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: jillian_herring@sfu.ca.
⁴ Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: rcorreia@sfu.ca.
⁵ Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: jacquie_maloney@sfu.ca.

PMID: 38278687
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106640

Abstract

Background: While adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) predict poorer mental health across the life course, positive childhood experiences (PCEs) predict better mental health. It is unclear whether PCEs protect against poor mental health outcomes and promote mental well-being in pandemic-era adolescents with ACEs.

Methods: We examined the individual and joint contributions of ACEs and PCEs to mental health and well-being (MHW) in eleventh-grade British Columbian adolescents (N = 8864) during the fifth wave of COVID-19. We used a novel measure of ACEs that included community- and societal-level ACEs in addition to ACEs experienced at home to investigate the role of social and structural determinants of mental health in supporting the MHW of pandemic-era adolescents. A series of two-way ANCOVAs were conducted comparing MHW outcomes between adolescents with and without ACEs. Interaction effects were examined to investigate whether PCEs moderated the association between ACEs and MHW.

Results: Adolescents with no ACEs had significantly better MHW than those with one or more ACE. Having six or more PCEs was associated with better MHW in adolescents with and without ACEs. PCEs significantly moderated the association between ACEs and depression. Effect sizes were larger for PCEs than ACEs in relation to depression, mental well-being, and life satisfaction.

Conclusions: PCEs may protect against depression among adolescents with ACEs and promote MHW among all pandemic-era adolescents. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing social determinants of mental health to mitigate the impact of ACEs and promote PCEs as part of a public health approach to MHW.

Keywords: Adolescents; Adverse childhood experiences; Mental health; Positive childhood experiences; Well-being.