Adverse Childhood Experiences, Future Expectations, and Mental Health Outcomes

• In Event: Aging and the Life Course Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 2: Life course Approaches to Mental Health and Well-being

Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) remain a critical source of inequality in mental health across the life course. Drawing on longitudinal data from Waves 1–4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examine how three domains of ACEs—abuse, household challenges, and neglect—shape adult depressive symptoms and whether multidimensional resilience resources help explain or buffer these associations. Extending prior research that relies on cumulative ACE indices, we distinguish ACE domains and conceptualize resilience as psychological (future expectations and hopefulness), social (romantic relationship quality), and socioeconomic (educational attainment), assessing their roles as both mediators and moderators. Preliminary nested OLS regression models with robust standard errors indicate that higher levels of abuse, household challenges, and neglect are each significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms in adulthood. Higher-quality romantic relationships and greater educational attainment are associated with lower depressive symptoms and modestly attenuate ACE coefficients. Psychological resilience measures—particularly optimism and future expectations—substantially reduce the magnitude of ACE domain effects, suggesting partial mediation. Predicted margins illustrate a graded relationship between increasing ACE exposure and higher depressive symptoms across all domains. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing ACE domains and conceptualizing resilience as multidimensional, demonstrating that resilience resources partially mediate—but do not fully eliminate—the mental health consequences of childhood adversity.

Authors

• Miranda Habrecht, University at Buffalo

• Devon Skufca, University at Buffalo