How Adverse Childhood Experiences Relate to Subjective Wellbeing in College Students: The Role of Resilience and Depress
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How Adverse Childhood Experiences Relate to Subjective Wellbeing in College Students: The Role of Resilience and Depression Mohammedhamid Osman Kelifa1,2 · Yinmei Yang1,3 · Herbert Carly3 · Wang Bo3 · Peigang Wang1
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The enduring and detrimental impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on later health and wellbeing is now well established. However, research on the relationship between ACEs and subjective wellbeing, along with the potential risk and protective factors, is insufficient in the context of developing countries. The current study therefore, examined the mental health of young adults from a wellbeing perspective in a community emerging from a longstanding war. A national representative sample of college students was withdrawn from the Eritrean Institutions of Higher Education using a stratified systematic sampling (N = 507). Data regarding ACEs, resilience, depression symptoms, and subjective wellbeing were obtained through a direct administration of survey questionnaire. Mediation and moderation effects were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results revealed that ACEs were negatively associated with resilience. In turn, resilience was correlated with lower depression and higher subjective wellbeing. ACEs had a positive association with depression, which in turn was negatively related to subjective wellbeing. Further, depression and resilience independently and jointly fully mediated the effect of ACEs on subjective wellbeing. Targeted interventions should be tailored to enhance resilience and prevent depression in this population. Keywords Adverse childhood experiences · Resilience · Depression · Subjective wellbeing
1 Introduction A substantial body of literature has consistently linked adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to poor wellbeing (Oshio et al. 2013; Hughes et al. 2017; Mosley-Johnson et al. 2019) and lifetime and recent depressive disorders (Chapman et al. 2004). The World * Peigang Wang [email protected] 1
School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
2
Orotta College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Asmara, Meakel, Eritrea
3
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
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Mental Health Survey reported that childhood adversities accounted for 29.8% of all mental health disorders worldwide (Kessler et al. 2010). Additionally, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study, depressive disorders rank as the second-highest attributable cause of years lost to disability in young people (Mokdad et al. 2016), showing the widespread prevalence and impact of depression. The mental health of young adults in Eritrea is of particular research interest due to the impact of war and postwar challenges on families and communities. War or postwar trauma is highly prevalent among Eritreans (Graf 2018; Akresh et al. 2012), as Eritrea has only enjoyed 7 years (1991–1997) of complete peace since the end of World War II. The Ethiopian war of 1998–2000 marked th
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