Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38819702›Full record

ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2025

Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health on School Success in Autistic Children: Findings from the 2016-2021 National Survey of Children's Health.

Hélène A Gussin, Cheng-Shi Shiu, Christianna Danguilan, Iulia Mihaila, Kruti Acharya, Kristin L Berg

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Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Hélène A GussinDepartment of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Cheng-Shi ShiuUniversity of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Christianna DanguilanDepartment of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, 1640 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA.
Iulia MihailaDepartment of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Kruti AcharyaDepartment of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Kristin L BergDepartment of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. kberg2@uic.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1452-2005

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeSchool is an important developmental setting for children. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to overall lower educational attainment and are more prevalent in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) than in their neurotypical peers. The aim of this study is to test the association between ACEs and school outcomes among autistic children and whether mental health conditions explain this association.

methodsWe combined 2016-2021 data from the National Surveys of Children's Health for children, ages 6-17, identified by parents as having ASD (N = 4,997), to examine the relationship between ACEs and school outcomes (grade progression, school attendance, and engagement). We analyzed depression and anxiety variables to investigate the extent to which mental health can explain the relationships between ACEs and school outcomes.

resultsACEs were significantly associated with school outcomes. With increased ACEs, autistic children experienced a significant decrease in the odds of school attendance, grade progression and school engagement (p < .05). Furthermore, although depression and anxiety symptoms were significantly associated with school outcomes, they cannot explain away the enduring, strong relationship between ACEs and level of grade progression, engagement, and school success index.

conclusionOur findings suggest ACEs predict school success among autistic children, with mental health conditions appearing to mediate the relationship between ACEs and key factors in school success. Efforts should be made to proactively identify and address the impact of ACEs and associated mental health conditions among autistic students.

Indexed as

Academic SuccessAdverse Childhood ExperiencesAutism Spectrum DisorderMental HealthAdolescentAnxietyChildDepressionFemaleHealth SurveysHumansMaleSchoolsStudentsAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs)AutismMental healthNational survey of children’s healthResilienceSchool success

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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.