Examining the Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Health Risk Behaviours, and Psychological Well-Being in a Convenience Sample of Lithuanian University Students.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(6)2022 03 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1760575
ABSTRACT
This study examines the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), health risk behaviours, and psychological well-being among Lithuanian university students. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with a convenience sample of 393 students (80.7% females and 19.3% males) recruited from mostly undergraduate courses (96.4%) in Lithuanian universities. Participants, aged 18-25 years (21.07 ± 1.53), completed a web-based survey in which they were asked to retrospectively self-report on ACEs while answering questions on health risk behaviours (e.g., smoking, substance use, riding a car with a drunk driver) and psychological well-being. Only 8.7% of the study sample experienced no ACEs, and almost half of the sample (48.9%) experienced ≥4 ACEs. Findings from adjusted models showed that, compared with students with no ACEs, those who experienced ≥4 ACEs had higher odds of lifetime illicit drug use (AOR = 2.73, p < 0.05), riding with a drunk driver (AOR = 2.44, p < 0.05), suicidal ideation before age 18 (AOR = 28.49, p < 0.01) and in the past 12 months (AOR = 5.39, p < 0.01). An increased number of ACEs was also associated with lower psychological well-being (B = -3.94, p < 0.001). Findings from this study have implications for mental health professionals as well as university administrators, as students with a higher number of traumatic experiences may require greater levels of support and services.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph19063253
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