Associations of adverse childhood experiences with depression and anxiety among children in the United States: Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health

Timothy A Matthews; Hongshan Shao; Myriam Forster; Isak Kim

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.121

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Associations of adverse childhood experiences with depression and anxiety among children in the United States: Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Associations of adverse childhood experiences with depression and anxiety among children in the United States: Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health

Timothy A Matthews, Hongshan Shao, Myriam Forster and Isak Kim

Journal of affective disorders, Vol.362, pp.645-651

10/01/2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.121

PMID: 39029666

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Abstract

To assess associations of ACEs with depression and anxiety, with special emphasis on potential racial and ethnic disparities. Data were from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), 2021-2022, a large, cross-sectional, nationally representative, population-based study of United States children aged 0-17. The associations of cumulative ACEs with depression and anxiety among 104,205 children and adolescents were assessed via multivariable logistic regression, including adjustment for age, sex, race, household income, and parental educational attainment. ACEs were associated with depression and anxiety in a linear, dose-dependent manner. After adjustment for covariates, compared to no ACE exposures, participants with exposures to one, two, and three ACEs exhibited significantly higher odds of depression (fully-adjusted ORs and 95 % CIs = 2.18 [2.03, 2.35], 4.95 [4.55, 5.39], and 11.39 [10.18, 12.75], respectively). For anxiety, compared to no ACEs exposures, participants with exposure to one, two, and three ACEs had significantly higher odds of anxiety (fully-adjusted ORs and 95 % CIs = 1.90 [1.81, 2.00], 3.66 [3.44, 3.90], and 6.91 [6.30, 7.58], respectively). Notably, stratified analyses indicated potential effect modification by race, wherein the associations of ACEs with depression and anxiety were strongest in Black and White participants. ACEs were robustly associated with depression and anxiety in a national sample of U.S. children and adolescents, with differential impacts of ACES on mental health observed across racial and ethnic groups. These findings underscore the need for urgent government and healthcare interventions and policies to ameliorate ACEs' health effects, especially among disproportionately impacted minority groups.

Adolescent

Adverse Childhood Experiences - statistics & numerical data

Anxiety - epidemiology

Anxiety - ethnology

Anxiety - psychology

Child

Child, Preschool

Cross-Sectional Studies

Depression - epidemiology

Depression - ethnology

Ethnicity - psychology

Ethnicity - statistics & numerical data

Female

Health Status Disparities

Health Surveys

Humans

Infant

Infant, Newborn

Male

Mental Health - ethnology

Mental Health - statistics & numerical data

United States - epidemiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Associations of adverse childhood experiences with depression and anxiety among children in the United States: Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health
Creators: Timothy A Matthews - California State University, Northridge
Hongshan Shao - California State University, Northridge
Myriam Forster - California State University, Northridge
Isak Kim - University of Nebraska at Omaha
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of affective disorders, Vol.362, pp.645-651
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.121
PMID: 39029666
NLM abbreviation: J Affect Disord
ISSN: 0165-0327
eISSN: 1573-2517
Language: English
Date published: 10/01/2024
Academic Unit: Counselor Education; Center for Social Science Innovation
Record Identifier: 9984949217902771

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