@article{ref1,
title="How are adverse childhood experiences and women's mental health associated? A latent class analysis",
journal="Acta psychologica",
year="2023",
author="Fontanil, Yolanda and Méndez, María Dolores and Postigo, Álvaro and Martín-Higarza, Yolanda and Ezama, Esteban",
volume="241",
number="",
pages="e104088-e104088",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a cumulative effect on adult mental health; however, the effect of such combinations is less well known. The purpose of this study is to assess the association between specific combinations of early adversities and women's mental health. <br><br>METHODS: A total of 378 women (M(years) = 41.4; SD(years) = 13) receiving support from mental health and social services participated in this cross-sectional study. Latent class analysis was performed to classify participants based on the number of ACEs types. <br><br>RESULTS: Our results provided support for four latent classes which differed in ACEs types reported: class 1 range of maltreatment but no family disruption (16.40 %; n = 62), class 2 range of maltreatment with family disruption (24.87 %; n = 94), class 3 few ACEs (44.71 %; n = 169), class 4 high maltreatment/high family disruption (14.02 %; n = 53). Differences in psychological functioning (presence of psychopathology, attachment, emotion dysregulation, and coping strategies) were found between the classes, especially between few ACEs and high maltreatment/high family disruption classes. In addition, women who lived in a low-adversity home and those who lived in a home with maltreatment, but no family disruption, differed in their desire for closeness, problem-solving and emotional expression strategies. <br><br>CONCLUSION: This study highlights that the probability of exposure to different combinations of ACEs is associated with differences in adult psychological functioning. Deeper insight into this association may contribute to a better understanding of mental health problems and to improved prevention and intervention strategies in public support systems.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0001-6918",
doi="10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104088",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104088"
}