80.5% of teenagers had at least one negative experience in childhood

MONDAY, Oct. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News). Adverse childhood experiences (ACCs) are highly prevalent among teenagers, according to a study published online Oct. 28. Pediatrics.

Using data from 16 states, Elizabeth A. Swedo, MD, MPH, of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of eight individual and cumulative ACEs among a large population-based sample of adolescents overall and by demographic characteristics.

The researchers found that emotional abuse, poor mental health in the family, and physical abuse had the highest prevalence (65.8, 36.1, and 32.5 percent, respectively). Overall, 80.5 and 22.4 percent of adolescents experienced at least one ACE and four or more ACE, respectively. Adolescents who were female (27.7 percent), non-Hispanic mixed race (33.7 percent), non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (27.1 percent), gay or lesbian (36.5 percent), or bisexual (42 .1 percent), or who described their sexual identity in some other way or were unsure of their sexual identity (survey; 36.5 percent) had the highest prevalence of experiencing four or more ACEs.

“The differences in ACE experiences among racial, ethnic, or sexual minority students highlight the need to tailor prevention and mitigation efforts to different social and cultural contexts, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach to prevention and intervention to better support groups. to the disproportionate influence of ACE,” the authors write.

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