TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Adverse childhood experiences and mental health among students seeking psychological counseling services
JO  - International journal of environmental research and public health
A1  - Craig, Francesco
A1  - Servidio, Rocco
A1  - Calomino, Maria Luigia
A1  - Candreva, Francesca
A1  - Nardi, Lucia
A1  - Palermo, Adriana
A1  - Polito, Alberto
A1  - Spina, Maria Francesca
A1  - Tenuta, Flaviana
A1  - Costabile, Angela
SP  - e5906
EP  - e5906
VL  - 20
IS  - 10
N2  - Recent years have seen a marked rise in the number of students accessing University Psychological Counseling (UPC) services, and their concerns have been increasingly severe. This study aimed to examine the impact of cumulative adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health in students who had approached counseling services (N = 121) and students who had no experience with counseling services (N = 255). Participants completed an anonymous online self-report questionnaire measuring exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE-Q), psychological distress (General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), personality traits (PID-5), and coping strategies. We found that students who approached UPC services scored higher on cumulative ACEs than the non-counseling group. While ACE-Q score was a direct positive predictor of PHQ-9 (p < 0.001), it did not predict GAD-7. Moreover, the results supported the existence of a mediation effect of avoidance coping, detachment, and psychoticism on the indirect effects of ACE-Q score on PHQ-9 or GAD-7. These results underlined the importance of screening for ACEs in a UPC setting because it can help identify students at higher risk for developing mental and physical health problems and provide them with early interventions and support.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1661-7827
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105906
ID  - ref1
ER  -