Adverse childhood experiences among youth reported to child welfare: Results from the national survey of child & adolescent wellbeing

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2017-08, Vol.70, p.292-302
• Main Authors: Garcia, Antonio R., Gupta, Meera, Greeson, Johanna K.P., Thompson, Allison, DeNard, Christina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adverse childhood experience; Adverse childhood experiences; Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Affective Symptoms - epidemiology; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Child; Child abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse - diagnosis; Child Abuse - psychology; Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis; Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Child sexual abuse; Child welfare; Child Welfare - psychology; Child Welfare - statistics & numerical data; Child, Preschool; Childhood; Childhood experiences; Childhood factors; Children; Community mental health services; Domestic violence; Female; Health problems; Health research; Health Services; Help seeking behavior; Hispanic Americans; Hospitalization; Humans; Infant; Internal-External Control; Internalization; Internalizing disorders; Latin American cultural groups; Life Change Events; Logistic Models; Male; Medicine; Mental health; Mental Health Programs; Mental health service use; Mental health services; Mental Health Services - statistics & numerical data; National Surveys; Polls & surveys; Prevalence; Racial disparity; Sexual abuse; Social Adjustment; State Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; United States; Violence - psychology; Violence - statistics & numerical data; Well being; Young Adult; Youth
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.06.019

The negative influence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) outcomes are well documented. However, no research to date has examined the effect of ACEs on SEB outcomes in youth who received mental health services after reporting to the child welfare system. This study's analyses of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II revealed that the most prevalent ACEs included hospitalization for a medical condition, neglect, and exposures to domestic and community violence. Logistic regression of this data showed that the odds of being diagnosed with internalizing problems increased with age and when sexual abuse was reported. The results also showed that compared to Caucasian youth, Latinos were less likely to be diagnosed with externalizing behaviors, even when sexual abuse had been reported. Contrary to one of this study's hypotheses, mental health service use within the past 18 months increased the odds of being diagnosed with SEB problems. These findings highlight the persistence of SEB problems despite receipt of mental health services. Future research should assess the impact of interventions that aim to mitigate poor SEB outcomes due to ACEs, especially sexual abuse.