Academic Journal
Unpacking adverse childhood experiences: Unique effects on depression, post-traumatic stress, and social anxiety among young adults in seven countries.
| Τίτλος: | Unpacking adverse childhood experiences: Unique effects on depression, post-traumatic stress, and social anxiety among young adults in seven countries. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Inanoglu S; Department of Psychological Sciences, William and Mary, USA., Crutchfield AB; Department of Psychological Sciences, William and Mary, USA., Moore SF; Department of Psychological Sciences, William and Mary, USA., Bravo AJ; Department of Psychological Sciences, William and Mary, USA., Kaminer D; Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa., Labella MH; Department of Psychological Sciences, William and Mary, USA. Electronic address: mhlabella@wm.edu. |
| Συλλογικό Έργο: | Cross-Cultural Addictions Study Team |
| Πηγή: | Child abuse & neglect [Child Abuse Negl] 2026 Aug; Vol. 178, pp. 108150. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 06. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Science Inc Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 7801702 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-7757 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01452134 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Child Abuse Negl Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Oxford : Elsevier Science Inc Original Publication: Oxford, Elmsford, N. Y., Pergamon Press. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Adverse Childhood Experiences*/psychology , Adverse Childhood Experiences*/statistics & numerical data , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*/epidemiology , Depression*/epidemiology , Depression*/psychology , Depression*/etiology , Anxiety*/psychology , Anxiety*/epidemiology, Students/psychology ; Canada/epidemiology ; Spain/epidemiology ; United States/epidemiology ; Argentina/epidemiology ; South Africa/epidemiology ; Uruguay/epidemiology ; England/epidemiology ; Virginia/epidemiology ; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Young Adult ; Universities ; Adult ; Adolescent ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Child ; Surveys and Questionnaires |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to mental health problems, with a growing body of literature examining specific effects of individual ACEs on psychopathology. To date, few studies have included specific effects of community ACEs or examined whether unique effects of individual ACEs generalize across cultural contexts. Objective: The present study aimed to expand on prior findings related to cumulative ACE exposure by investigating unique mental health outcomes of individual ACEs and by testing cross-national invariance of these associations. Participants and Setting: Participants were 5945 university students recruited from seven countries (i.e., United States [Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Virginia], Argentina, Spain, Uruguay, England, Canada, and South Africa) across 12 universities. Methods: Students' adverse experiences were assessed with the Adverse Childhood Experiences- International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). Mental health was assessed with the general depression, traumatic intrusions, and social anxiety subscales of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS). Results: Sexual abuse, emotional neglect, household mental illness, household violence, and bullying independently predicted all three mental health outcomes, whereas community violence uniquely predicted depression and PTSS. Multigroup models corroborated these patterns across countries, with the exception that emotional neglect was not consistently associated with anxiety and PTSS (particularly in non-American contexts). Conclusions: Findings illustrate the value of unpacking ACE scores and emphasize the salience of sexual abuse, emotional neglect, household mental illness, household violence, and bullying for young adult mental health outcomes. Findings of the present study can be used to inform targeted mental health programs for university students. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors report no conflict of interest. |
| Grant Information: | T32 AA018108 United States AA NIAAA NIH HHS |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Cross-cultural; Mental health; University students |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260606 Date Completed: 20260701 Latest Revision: 20260726 |
| Update Code: | 20260726 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13390701 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.108150 |
| PMID: | 42250494 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1873-7757 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.108150 |