ArticleChild abuse & neglect2017
Unpacking the impact of adverse childhood experiences on adult mental health.
Article in Child abuse & neglect, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 301 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
301 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Psychological mediators of the associations between adverse and benevolent childhood experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of traumatic stress · 2026Pooled it
- Adverse childhood experiences and risk of late-life dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- Measuring adversity in the ABCD® Study: systematic review and recommendations for best practices.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Pooled it
- Lifestyle behaviours do not moderate the association between childhood maltreatment and comorbid depression and cardiometabolic disease in older adults: a meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Links of Adversity in Childhood With Mental and Physical Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Mediating and Moderating Mechanisms.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2023Pooled it
- Adverse childhood experiences and risk of diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2022Pooled it
- Deconstructing pathways to resilience: A systematic review of associations between psychosocial mechanisms and transdiagnostic adult mental health outcomes in the context of adverse childhood experiences.Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2022Pooled it
- Longitudinal patterns of adversity from childhood to adolescence: Examining associations with mental health through emerging adulthood using a random-intercept latent transition analysis.Developmental psychology · 2024Trial
- The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and common mental disorders among pregnant women living with HIV in Malawi.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Trial
- Pathways from adverse childhood experiences to parenting competence: the roles of cognitive emotional regulation and social support.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Childhood Adversity and Health in Emerging Adulthood.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Exploring the Links between Individual Types of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Self-Reported Psychiatric and Neurocognitive Conditions.Journal of child & adolescent trauma · 2026Article
- Article
- The Differential Impact of Emotional Support on Social Problem-Solving and Mental Health Among Latina Immigrant Survivors of Adverse Childhood Experiences.Research in nursing & health · 2026Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Substance Use: The Mediating Role of Executive Function Deficits.Journal of adolescence · 2026Article
- Feelings of Not Mattering and Moral Injury Distress in University Students Exposed to Traumatic Events and Adverse Childhood Experiences.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Testing Associations Between Childhood Abuse and Health in Young Adults in the Deep South: The Mediating Role of Psychological Symptoms.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Growing in the Shadow of Mental Illness: Quality of Life, Health Status, Social Functioning, and Health Care Utilization Among Adults to Parents With Severe Mental Illness.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing · 2026Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and well-being in middle-aged men in South Korea: mediating role of andropause symptoms.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2026Article
- Mental Health Outcomes of Foster and Adopted Individuals with Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Validation of Known Risks Using EHR Data.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
241 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Exposure to childhood adversity has an impact on adult mental health, increasing the risk for depression and suicide. Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and several adult mental and behavioral health outcomes are well documented in the literature, establishing the need for prevention. The current study analyzes the relationship between an expanded ACE score that includes being spanked as a child and adult mental health outcomes by examining each ACE separately to determine the contribution of each ACE. Data were drawn from Wave II of the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study, consisting of 7465 adult members of Kaiser Permanente in southern California. Dichotomous variables corresponding to each of the 11 ACE categories were created, with ACE score ranging from 0 to 11 corresponding to the total number of ACEs experienced. Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to examine the relationship between ACEs and adult mental health outcomes adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Results indicated a graded dose-response relationship between the expanded ACE score and the likelihood of moderate to heavy drinking, drug use, depressed affect, and suicide attempts in adulthood. In the adjusted models, being spanked as a child was significantly associated with all self-reported mental health outcomes. Over 80% of the sample reported exposure to at least one ACE, signifying the potential to capture experiences not previously considered by traditional ACE indices. The findings highlight the importance of examining both cumulative ACE scores and individual ACEs on adult health outcomes to better understand key risk and protective factors for future prevention efforts.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.