Adverse Childhood Experience and Adolescent Well-being: Do Protective Factors Matter?

Studies have found traumatic experiences in childhood to have lasting effects across the lifecourse. These adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include a variety of types of trauma, including psychological, physical or sexual abuse; living in poverty; violence in the home; living with a substance abuser; living with a mentally ill or suicidal person; or living with someone who is or has been imprisoned. Long-term effects among adults have been found in previous studies; but there is limited research on the association between ACEs and adolescent development and even less on potential protective factors to mediate these associations. Utilizing the U.S. 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health, this study examines both the prevalence of ACEs in a nationally representative sample of 12-17 year old adolescents and the cross-sectional relationship between experiencing ACEs and multiple measures of well-being. Potential protective factors are then examined in a mediation model. Results indicate that the more ACEs adolescents experience, the less likely they are to enjoy high levels of well-being. Many factors partially mediate this association, including residing in a safe neighborhood, attending a safe school, and parental monitoring of friends and activities. We conclude that measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) represent an important construct for indicator systems; in addition, these findings indicate that measures of protective factors represent important components of indication systems.