Adverse Childhood Experiences and Associations with Mental Health, Substance Use, and Violence Perpetration among Young Adults in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have debilitating effects on child well-being, with consequences persisting into adulthood. Most ACE studies have been conducted in high-income countries and show a graded relationship between multiple ACE exposures and adverse health outcomes. Less is known about the types and burden of ACEs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Objective: To estimate the pooled prevalence of six individual and cumulative ACE exposures (physical, sexual, and emotional violence; orphanhood; witnessing interparental and community violence) and assess their association with mental health outcomes, substance use, and violence perpetration among young adults in SSA. Participants and setting: Aggregate data from the Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) in Cote d'Ivoire 2018, Kenya 2019, Lesotho 2018, Mozambique 2019, and Namibia 2019 included a sample of 11,498 young adults aged 18-24 years. Methods: Cumulative ACEs were defined by an integer count of the total number of individual ACEs (0 to 6). Weighted prevalence and adjusted odds ratios were estimated. Result: ACEs prevalence ranged from 7.8% (emotional violence) to 55.0% (witnessing community violence). Strong graded relationships between cumulative ACE exposure and all study outcomes for both males and females were observed. Among females, witnessing interparental violence was the only individual ACE risk factor significantly associated with increased odds of substance use; among males, emotional violence was significantly associated with all outcomes. Conclusion: ACEs are associated with adverse mental health, substance use, and violence perpetration in SSA. Gender-specific and culturally sensitive intervention strategies are needed to effectively mitigate ACEs in this population.

Parental absence as an adverse childhood experience among young adults in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Parental absence in childhood has been associated with multiple negative consequences, such as depression and anxiety in young adulthood. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether parental absence for six months or more in childhood is associated with poor mental health and substance use in young adulthood and whether parental absence accounts for additional variance beyond those explained by other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among youth in sub-Saharan Africa. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: We used combined Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) data from Cote d'Ivoire (2018), Lesotho (2018), Kenya (2019), Namibia (2019), and Mozambique (2019). Analyses were restricted to 18-24-year-olds (nf = 7699; nm = 2482). METHODS: We used logistic regression to examine sex-stratified relationships between parental absence in childhood (defined as biological mother or father being away for six months or more before age 18) and mental health problems and substance use and whether parental absence explained additional variance beyond those explained by other ACEs. RESULTS: In sub-Saharan Africa, parental absence in childhood was common (30.5 % in females and 25.1 % in males), significantly associated with poor mental health and substance use among females and males and accounted for additional variance beyond those explained by conventional ACEs. For example, after controlling for study covariates and other ACEs, females who experienced any parental absence had 1.52 (95 % CI = 1.02-2.26) higher odds of experiencing moderate/serious psychological distress compared with those who did not. CONCLUSION: The observed association between parental absence and poor mental health suggests that this experience has significant adverse consequences and merits consideration as an ACE.

Approaches for measuring cumulative childhood adversity: A study of youth from 5 sub-Saharan African countries.

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include forms of abuse, neglect, and household stressors that are potentially early life traumatic experiences. A summed integer count of ACEs is often used to examine cumulative childhood adversity (CCA) but has limitations. OBJECTIVES: The current study tests two additional methods for measuring CCA using large samples of youth in low- and middle-income countries. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Pooled data were analyzed from a multi-country, nationally representative sample of youth aged 18-24 years (N = 11,498) who completed the Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) in Lesotho, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia, and Mozambique. METHODS: ACE exposures included: physical, sexual, and emotional violence; witnessing interparental violence; witnessing community violence; orphanhood. CCA was operationalized using an ACE score, ACE impact (standardized regression coefficients from outcome severity), and ACE exposure context (household; intimate partner; peer; community). Associations between CCA with mental distress (MD) were examined by sex using p ≤ 0.05 as the significance level. RESULTS: Exposure to ≥3 ACEs was associated with MD (p < 0.05) for both sexes. Among females, all contexts contributed to MD except peer ACEs (p < 0.05). Among males, household and community ACEs contributed to MD. High-impact ACEs were associated with MD both sexes. ACE context was the best-fitting model for these data. CONCLUSIONS: The challenges operationalizing CCA warrant continued research to ensure adversity type, severity, and context lead to validly assessing ACEs impact on child wellbeing.

Childhood verbal abuse as a child maltreatment subtype: A systematic review of the current evidence.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the prevalence of childhood emotional abuse has surpassed other forms of maltreatment. Childhood verbal abuse (CVA) is a key attribute of emotional abuse, yet CVA is not recognized as its own form of maltreatment and thus, has not received adequate attention. Clear terminology, definitions, and measures are needed to aid in assessing the occurrence and impact of CVA for its recognition and prevention. OBJECTIVE: We aim to synthesize the evidence on the terms, definitions, and measurements of CVA and identify outcomes associated with CVA. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A systematic review focused on adult perpetration of CVA among children and adolescents using clinical, community-based, and population-based samples. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed and four databases were utilized in May 2022: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ProQuest. A total of 149 quantitative and 17 qualitative studies were identified. RESULTS: Across studies reviewed, the most common perpetrators of CVA were parents, mothers, and teachers. Definitional themes for CVA included negative speech volume, tone, and speech content, and their immediate impact. The most frequent measures cited were Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE) Questionnaire and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS); 50 % used self-created measures. CVA was associated with a range of internalizing and externalizing outcomes across the lifespan. CONCLUSIONS: Recognizing CVA as a form of maltreatment will be a starting point for its identification and prevention. Primary prevention of CVA using trauma-informed approaches must include adult training on the importance of safety, support, and nurturance during verbal communication with children.

Adverse childhood experiences, risk of opioid misuse and its pathway among students at a public university.

OBJECTIVE:  We examine role of ACEs and pathways to risk of opioid misuse among young adults. Participants and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of validated measures of ACEs, risk of opioid misuse, and health conditions with a sample of 1,402 students from a large public university followed by multivariate logistic regression and pathway analysis. Results: Majority (61%) of participants reported at least one ACE. A dose-response relationship between numbers of ACEs with risk for opioid misuse was present. Compared to participants with no ACEs, participants with ≥4 ACEs and 0-3 ACEs were 2.93 (95% CI: 1.95, 4.39; p < 0.001) and 1.96 (95% CI: 1.46, 2.65; p < 0.001) times more likely to be at risk for opioid misuse, respectively. Having at least one existing or past health condition significantly mediated the association. Conclusions: Our findings suggest need to include assessment of ACEs as a screening criterion for opioid prescription and administration among college-aged individuals.

Assessment of adult learning outcomes from a school-based training on adverse childhood experiences science and trauma-informed care.

BACKGROUND: Implementing trauma-informed care (TIC) practices in educational settings requires preparing school staff to understand adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their impact to provide a restorative rather than a punitive response. OBJECTIVES: To assess learning outcomes of a TIC training delivered to kindergarten to 12-grade (K-12) staff. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A TIC training informed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) Framework was delivered August to December 2017 to twenty-seven K-12 staff in Southeastern U.S. Majority were women (93 %) aged 25 to 58 years; 52 % were White and 48 % were Black/African American (48 %). METHODS: Curricular content included an overview of ACEs; stress physiology; recognition of symptoms in self and others; strategies for response; and self-care. A post-training questionnaire with 11 learning statements was administered to assess participants' level of agreement with learning each concept using a 5-point Likert scale. Self-reflective narratives of challenging situations with students were also submitted and qualitatively analyzed for applications of TIC. RESULTS: Between 62.9 % to 96 % of participants agreed/strongly agreed with learning new concepts related to ACEs and their symptoms. Qualitative data indicated that participants were able to recognize stress symptoms in students and in themselves and integrate strategies learned such as breathing and creating safe space to allow students to have voice and choice. CONCLUSIONS: TIC training curriculum that includes ACEs and toxic stress science is a critical component that promotes recognition of trauma symptoms in themselves and others. Self-reflective practice using narratives is an essential training tool for implementing TIC.

Investigating oral health among individuals with depression: NHANES 2015-2016.

Objectives: Depression is highly prevalent across populations, yet studies on its contribution to oral health are lacking. Therefore, our goal is to examine the association of depression and oral health problems (preventative care, access to dental care, and oral condition in relation to quality of life) controlling for sociodemographic and chronic disease indicators (CDI). Methods: 5,992 respondents' data 18+ years old were analyzed from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The independent variable of interest was depression symptoms status. Oral health outcomes were the dependent variables. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression and the Oral Health Questionnaire (OHQ) to measure oral health outcomes. Covariates included sociodemographics (age, education, sex, race/ethnicity, and income) and CDI included current smoking, diabetes, and body mass index. All data were weighted using 2 years sample weight. Results: The mean age of respondents was 47.22 years (45.97-48.46) and 46% were males. Participants with depression present 6.93%, and females 63.85% were higher than males 36.15%.Participants with depression have significantly low income 43.10% than others p value < 0.0001. After adjusting for sociodemographics and CDI, participants who have depression were more prone to report fair/poor oral condition [aOR = 1.91 (1.29-2.84)], oral pain [aOR = 2.66 (1.91-3.71)], and difficulty accessing needed dental care [aOR = 2.52 (1.96-3.24)] than others. Having depression was associated with poor oral health perceptions [aOR = 2.10 (1.41-3.13)], and having difficulty at job/school because of their oral health [aOR = 2.85 (1.90-4.26)]. Conclusion: Based on the empirical evidence provided by our study, there is an association between depression and oral health outcomes and oral health-related quality of life.

A comprehensive mobile health intervention to prevent and manage the complexities of opioid use.

OBJECTIVES: The Opioid Use crisis continues to be an epidemic with multiple known influencing and interacting factors. With the need for suitable opioid use interventions, we present a conceptual design of an m-health intervention that addresses the various known interacting factors of opioid use and corresponding evidence-based practices. The visualization of the opioid use complexities is presented as the "Opioid Cube". METHODS: Following Stage 0 to Stage IA of the NIH Stage Model, we used guidelines and extant health intervention literature on opioid apps to inform the Opioid Intervention (O-INT) design. We present our design using system architecture, algorithms, and user interfaces to integrate multiple functions including decision support. We evaluate the proposed O-INT using analytical modeling. RESULTS: The conceptual design of O-INT supports the concept of collaborative care, by providing connections between the patient, healthcare professionals, and their family members. The evaluation of O-INT shows a preference for specific functions, such as overdose detection and potential for high system reliability with minimal side effects. The Opioid Cube provides a visualization of various opioid use states and their influencing and interacting factors. CONCLUSIONS: O-INT is a promising design with a holistic approach to manage opioid use and prevent and treat misuse. With several needed functionalities, O-INT design serves as a decision support system for patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, and policy makers. Together, O-INT and the Opioid Cube may serve as a foundation for development and adoption of highly effective m-health interventions for opioid use.

Review, Assess, Classify, and Evaluate (RACE): a framework for studying m-health apps and its application for opioid apps.

OBJECTIVE: The proliferation of m-health interventions has led to a growing research area of app analysis. We derived RACE (Review, Assess, Classify, and Evaluate) framework through the integration of existing methodologies for the purpose of analyzing m-health apps, and applied it to study opioid apps. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 3-step RACE framework integrates established methods and evidence-based criteria used in a successive manner to identify and analyze m-health apps: the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, inter-rater reliability analysis, and Nickerson-Varshney-Muntermann taxonomy. RESULTS: Using RACE, 153 opioid apps were identified, assessed, and classified leading to dimensions of Target Audience, Key Function, Operation, Security & Privacy, and Impact, with Cohen's kappa < 1.0 suggesting subjectivity in app narrative assessments. The most common functions were education (24%), prescription (16%), reminder-monitoring-support (13%), and treatment & recovery (37%). A majority are passive apps (56%). The target audience are patients (49%), healthcare professionals (39%), and others (12%). Security & Privacy is evident in 84% apps. DISCUSSION: Applying the 3-step RACE framework revealed patterns and gaps in opioid apps leading to systematization of knowledge. Lessons learned can be applied to the study of m-health apps for other health conditions. CONCLUSION: With over 350 000 existing and emerging m-health apps, RACE shows promise as a robust and replicable framework for analyzing m-health apps for specific health conditions. Future research can utilize the RACE framework toward understanding the dimensions and characteristics of existing m-health apps to inform best practices for collaborative, connected and continued care.

What is already known?• M-health apps are increasingly utilized to address overall health and well-being.• M-health apps are currently studied using a wide range of methodologies.• There is a need for a framework to guide systematic investigation of m-health apps.What did we find?• Three-step RACE framework is designed for systematic investigation of m-health apps.• By applying RACE to opioid apps, we derived numerous insights for practice and research.• Lessons learned from this implementation can be applied to the study of m-health apps for other health conditions.

Timing, duration, and differential susceptibility to early life adversities and cardiovascular disease risk across the lifespan: Implications for future research.

Early life adversities (ELA), include experiences such as child maltreatment, household dysfunction, bullying, exposure to crime, discrimination, bias, and victimization, and are recognized as social determinants of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Strong evidence shows exposure to ELA directly impacts cardiometabolic risk in adulthood and emerging evidence suggests there may be continuity in ELA's prediction of cardiometabolic risk over the life course. Extant research has primarily relied on a cumulative risk framework to evaluate the relationship between ELA and CVD. In this framework, risk is considered a function of the number of risk factors or adversities that an individual was exposed to across developmental periods. The cumulative risk exposure approach treats developmental periods and types of risk as equivalent and interchangeable. Moreover, cumulative risk models do not lend themselves to investigating the chronicity of adverse exposures or consider individual variation in susceptibility, differential contexts, or adaptive resilience processes, which may modify the impact of ELA on CVD risk. To date, however, alternative models have received comparatively little consideration. Overall, this paper will highlight existing gaps and offer recommendations to address these gaps that would extend our knowledge of the relationship between ELA and CVD development. We focus specifically on the roles of: 1) susceptibility and resilience, 2) timing and developmental context; and 3) variation in risk exposure. We propose to expand current conceptual models to incorporate these factors to better guide research that examines ELA and CVD risk across the life course.

A Pilot Study on the Awareness and Knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences Science and Trauma-informed Care among Medical School Students.

BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma is widespread and contributes to clinical, behavioral, and social health consequences. Despite more than 2 decades of research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study, ACEs science is still not fully integrated into medical school curricula. Therefore, we conducted a pilot study to assess the level of awareness about ACEs and trauma-informed care (TIC) curricula among medical students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Medical College of Georgia using a sample of convenience. Enrolled first-, second-, and third-year students were invited to complete a survey during the Spring 2020 semester. A total of 194 students responded to specific questions about training on and knowledge of ACEs and principles of TIC. RESULTS: The majority of students (80%) indicated they heard of the ACEs Study, and 70% reported they received information about ACEs. Regarding TIC, findings indicated less knowledge on cultural context related to stress and trauma. In addition, first-year students were less likely to know about TIC principles than third-year students. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study is the first of its kind in the state of Georgia, where recent surveillance data indicate that 60% of adults have experienced at least one ACE. Given that ACEs are widespread, effective educational practices to increase knowledge about ACEs science, and skills to carry out TIC practices may benefit future practicing physicians by introducing ACEs in the first-year curriculum.

Assessment of age-related differences in smoking status and health-related quality of life (HRQoL): Findings from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Despite significant declines in the use of cigarettes, a significant proportion of adults smoke. This study explores the association between smoking and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by age. The 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey was administered to adults in 50 states and District of Columbia (n = 437,195). Physically unhealthy days (PUDs) and mentally unhealthy days (MUDs)) were regressed on age strata (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, ≥ 65 years) and smoking status (never, former, someday, and everyday) using negative binomial regression models with adjustment for sociodemographic covariates. For each age group, everyday smoking highly predicted PUDs and MUDs. Predicted PUDs increased with age; predicted MUDs decreased with age. Among adults aged 45-54 and 55-64 years, 3-day difference in PUDs was observed between never smokers and everyday smokers. Among young adults (18-24 years), a 4.3-day difference in MUDs was observed between everyday and never smokers. The discrepancies were nonlinear with age. The observed relationship between smoking and HRQoL provides novel information about the need to consider age when designing community-based interventions. Additional research can provide needed depth to understanding the relationship between smoking and HRQoL in specific age groups.

Continuing conversations about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) screening: A public health perspective.

Currently, in the U.S. and worldwide, childhood trauma is a public health crisis. Childhood adversities, such as abuse, neglect, and related household stressors, are common, interrelated and contribute to multiple adverse social, behavioral and health outcomes throughout the lifespan. The present article provides further discussion regarding adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) screening in healthcare utilizing the etic and emic perspectives. Screening in the healthcare system leans toward the etic view: objective observations of symptoms, which may then lead to intervention delivery. Whereas the emic view provides the subjective perspective as experienced by participants of a system, culture, or common group. Finkelhor's argument about cautions regarding widespread screening is relevant in the current allopathic healthcare system, which utilizes an etic perspective and where evidence-based ACEs interventions within a biomedical-centric model are lacking. Therefore, in healthcare settings, universal ACEs screening may serve the clinicians with a surveillance tool to inform and guide medical practice and policy as they relate to delivering trauma-informed care. The Public Health Code of Ethics and Basis for Action reminds us about the values approach for collecting and using data ethically to protect population health. Practitioners and researchers across the globe are beginning to take community-engaged action, with an emic view of all community members involved.

Utilizing the salutogenic paradigm to investigate well-being among adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and other adversities.

The long-term negative consequences of adverse childhood experiences are well documented. However, less is known about salutogenesis (well-being) among adult survivors of childhood adversity. The 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data were analyzed to assess the contribution of four health promoting factors (physical activity, smoking abstinence, educational level, social-emotional support) with positive health-related quality of life (HRQoL), among adults who retrospectively reported childhood abuse or exposure to other childhood toxic stressors (n=12,032) and separately for adults who reported childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Outcomes examined included positive self-rated health (good/very good/excellent); mentally unhealthy days (MUDS) and physically unhealthy days (PUDS) in the past 30 days. After controlling for demographic characteristics and existing health conditions, physical activity (p<.05), smoking abstinence (p<.05), education of high school or greater (p<.05), and social-emotional support (p<.05) were associated with positive HRQoL outcomes among adult survivors of childhood adversity and adult survivors of CSA. Each unit increase of the health promoting factor score (0-4) resulted in adjusted odds ratio of 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3-2.4) for self-rated health and 1.6 (95%CI: 1.1-2.6) for <14 PUDs among male CSA survivors; among female survivors the adjusted odds ratios were 2.4 (95% CI: 1.8-3.2) for self-rated health, 2.3 (95% CI: 1.7-3.1) for <14 MUDs, and 2.2 (95% CI: 1.6-3.0) for <14 PUDs. The study validates that a large proportion of adults survive childhood adversities and underscores the importance of the salutogenic paradigm to identify strategies that may contribute to well-being.