Course
Practice-Informed Research in Health Systems
Document Type
Capstone
Publication Date
Fall 12-1-2024
Purpose
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction before the age of 18, have a substantial correlation with long-term physical, mental, and social health. The study's outcomes are also impacted by the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), which include socioeconomic position, community safety, and access to services. The purpose of this study is to act as a resource to provide understanding into how institutional disparities perpetuate trauma, with the hopes of allowing for the creation of personalized treatments that in turn should increase resilience and promote fair outcomes for persons who have suffered ACEs. Due to the ever-growing mental health inequalities, society’s response has become more unconscious of the structural imbalances that further necessitate trauma-informed care, and the challenges that can be addressed through holistic healing and response. Having an understanding of the interaction of human trauma and environmental circumstances is critical for developing effective, fair remedies that break individual and environmental cycles of adversity.
Methods
The researchers recruited adult subjects from Alternative Family Services (AFS), a foster family agency located in Sacramento, CA. Researchers of the study attended scheduled meetings with the field liaison who provided oversight at AFS where data was being collected. The researchers used mixed methods including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The survey used was formatted as a mix of 31 scalable questions as well as descriptive open-ended questions that required short answers or yes and no responses. The data was categorized into qualitative and quantitative trends and analyzed using Qualtrics, transcribing and detecting themes and patterns from the survey. The findings in the study demonstrate some of the possible long-term consequences adverse childhood experiences have on the participants overall well-being.
Findings & Conclusions
The study includes 17 participants (11 women, 5 men, and 1 non-binary) with participants' age range being 19 to 47 with an average age of 34. Participants took a mixed method survey capturing quantitative data on ACEs and SDoH along with providing qualitative insight into their lived experiences. The findings show that 79% of participants had some level of exposure to physical abuse, neglect, or emotional abuse, with 50% subsequently having mental health illnesses, including depression or anxiety. Furthermore, 43% of participants self assessed their mental health as average or below emphasizing the enduring effects of unresolved trauma. Exposure to violence was considerable, while 79% witnessed or experienced illicit behaviors by parental figures and 57% directly impacted, resulting in concerns such as distrust, relational decay, and psychological challenges including anxiety and sadness.
Recommendations
Limitations include a small sample size and a narrow focus on former foster adolescents which does not fully represent the general population. Furthermore, self-reported data of events that occurred before participants reached the age of 19 may add recollection biases. Additionally, the cross-sectional design may not capture long-term intervention results. Furthermore, one key weakness of this study is that it relies on volunteers from organizations that help past and present foster youngsters. Given that the participants had access to support services, this may result in biases and potentially biased information, eliminating information from those who do not have access to such services. While considering the limitations, it is believed that for future studies, the sample size should be increased, opening the range to capture greater numbers of experiences. There also is a need for longitudinal designs, structured for analyzing long-term consequences of aces. There is a need for an effective therapy strategy that has the capacity to address the intricate connections between one’s individual traumas and institutional injustices. It is also notable that there is a great need for an increase in financing for community based mental health initiatives in order to grant more accessible resources to trauma informed care. Long-term health consequences are associated with ACEs, SDoH, and systemic injustices, which gives mental health professionals the chance to interrupt trauma cycles.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Amiyah and Buggs, Drew, "Exploring the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Social Determinants of Health (SD0H)" (2024). MSW Capstone Conference. 14.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/msw-conference/14
