ArticleArchives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique2021
Adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress among higher education students in Southeast Nigeria: an institutional-based cross-sectional study.
Article in Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 14 papers.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship between childhood adversity and premenstrual syndrome: mediating role of alexithymia and psychological distress in medical students.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- The relationship between adverse childhood experience, resilience, and psychosocial well-being among undergraduates in Osun State, Nigeria.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Relationship Between Ageist Attitudes and Adverse Childhood Experiences of Health Sciences Students: A Multicenter Study.Journal of caring sciences · 2026Article
- School protective factors and adolescent mental health in Nigeria: an investigation of cumulative effects, buffering mechanisms, and gender differences.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Psychological Distress and Coping Mechanisms Among Flood-Affected Children in Maiduguri, Nigeria.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and common mental disorders among young people in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study using WHO ACE-IQ.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Association of maternal and paternal adverse childhood experiences with emotional and behavioral problems among preschool children.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- Adverse childhood experiences, personality traits and internalising disorder among adolescents in Nigeria.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2025Article
- Prevalence and correlates of sexual violence against adolescents: Quantitative evidence from rural and urban communities in South-West Nigeria.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- "I'm a Prospective Professional Helper, but I'm Vulnerable": A Mixed Methods Study of the Self-Regulation of Psychology Students with Adverse Childhood Experiences.Journal of child & adolescent trauma · 2024Article
- ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIOUR IN STUDENTS OF A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA.Annals of Ibadan postgraduate medicine · 2024Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and dental anxiety among Chinese adults in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Instruments to identify risk factors associated with adverse childhood experiences for vulnerable children in primary care in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Correction to: Adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress among higher education students in Southeast Nigeria: an institutional-based cross-sectional study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) constitutes public health problems linked to adverse mental outcomes such as psychological distress during adulthood. This study examines the prevalence of ACEs and psychological distress and explores the association between ACEs and psychological distress and demographic factors among young adults.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 330 students from May 2018 to July 2018. The participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), and the sociodemographic profile scale. We used descriptive statistics to describe the prevalence of ACEs and psychological distress in our sample. After adjusting for the demographic covariates, ACEs' association with psychological distress was determined using binary and multivariate logistic regressions.
resultsA total of 203 students with a mean age of 20.76 ± 2.73 years completed the study. The total mean ACE score was 4.58 ± 1.59, and the total mean psychological distress score was 20.76 ± 6.31. Most of the participants (86.7%) experienced ACEs, 14.8% reported experiencing one ACE, 30.5% reported experiencing 2-3 ACEs, and 41.3% reported experiencing 4+ ACEs. Further, about 85% of the youth have experienced at least one form of sexual abuse during childhood, and females reported a higher number of ACEs than males. Sexual abuse (OR = 2.36; 95% CI: 2.36, 7.65), physical neglect (OR = 2.87; 95% CI: 1.57, 5.31), overall ACE exposure (OR = 6.66; 95% CI: 2.41, 18.42), having 1 ACE (OR = 4.40; 95% CI: 1.32, 14.70), having 2-3 ACEs (OR = 4.13; 95% CI: 1.39, 12.29), and having 4+ (OR = 11.67; 95% CI: 3.95, 34.45) were significantly associated with psychological distress.
conclusionsACEs are prevalent among young adults and are associated with psychological distress in adulthood. Furthermore, parental factors are associated with ACEs and psychological distress. Thus, implementation of school, community-and facility-based routine mental health screening programs is essential for prompt identification, prevention, and treatment of youth with childhood adversities and poor mental health outcomes.
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