Turgoose, D. orcid.org/0000-0001-5509-9122 and Murphy, D. (2024) Adverse Childhood Experiences in a Clinical Sample of U.K. Military Veterans. Traumatology. ISSN 1085-9373
Abstract
Objective: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are consistently linked with poorer psychosocial and mental health outcomes, including in military veterans. Military veterans are an at-risk group because of the combined risk factors of ACEs and being more likely to experience high stress and trauma in adulthood. This study aimed to report rates of self-reported ACEs in a clinical sample of U.K. military veterans, and to test for associations between high levels of ACEs and psychosocial variables. Method: Participants were a clinical sample of military veterans who were seeking treatment for mental health issues at a U.K. veterans mental health charity. Participants completed surveys relating to their experiences of ACEs and their current mental health and well-being. Associations were tested using regression analyses. Results: A high proportion (35%) reported a high-risk level of 4+ ACEs. Higher ACE scores, and reporting 4+ ACEs were not associated with any specific mental health outcomes, but were associated with having low levels of perceived social support (OR = 0.2000, 95% CI [0.083, 0.482]). Conclusions: Military veterans are at high risk for experiencing multiple ACEs which may leave them more likely to develop to mental health difficulties in adulthood. Additionally, those with high ACEs may require additional help in accessing social support as this is a key risk/protective factor in mental health issues such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | adverse childhood experiences, military veterans, mental health, social support |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 01 Mar 2024 10:41 |
Last Modified: | 01 Mar 2024 10:41 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | American Psychological Association |
Identification Number: | 10.1037/trm0000498 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:209773 |