Association of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience With Obesity, High Blood Pressure, and Parental Report of Behavioral Health Symptoms in Children: A Cross Sectional Study

• Main Authors: Ashleigh Hall DO (Author), Xandria West MA (Author), Marilyn Brown MA (Author), Erin Hall MD (Author), Ella Kim MA (Author), Alexa Leib MD (Author), Paige Mergaman MD (Author), Zanaib Salih MA (Author), Stephen Aronoff MD (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: SAGE Publishing, 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

The interplay between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and resilience on health in children is not well understood. Parents completed 3 questionnaires: ACEs, Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM), and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17(PSC-17). BMI and blood pressure were measured. 19.8% of children had 4 or more ACEs, resilience ranged from 25 to 51, 14.3% had a positive PSC-17 score, 25.6% were obese, 3.1% had systolic hypertension, and 1.2% had diastolic hypertension. Higher ACEs (ACE OR: 1.398, 95% CI = 1.044-1.893, P  = .026) and lower resilience (Resilience OR: 0.740, 95% CI 0.668-0.812; P  = 1.13 × 10 −9 ) were predictive of increased reports of behavioral health symptoms, but not obesity or hypertension. The personal resilience subscale was a predictor of positive PSC-17 score (OR 0.646, 95% CI = 0.546-0.749, P  = 3.18 × 10 −8 ); relationship subscale was not. Cultivating resilience, especially personal aspects, may provide an effective intervention for behavioral health symptoms in children.

Item Description

2333-794X
10.1177/2333794X231159518