The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Hope, Depression, and Anxiety

Purpose: Research has consistently shown that Adverse Child Experiences (ACEs) are associated with poorer psychological well-being. Yet, no research to date exists that explores the relationships between ACE and the positive cognitive set of hope. This study sought to explore the relationships between ACEs and hope, along with a confimatory examination of ACEs and their relationship to depression and anxiety. The study hypothesized a negative relationship between ACEs and hope and consistent with previous research, a positive relationship between ACEs and depression and anxiety.

Methods: The study was a cross sectional examination of a sample of adult homeless individuals (N = 118) receiving services from an outreach agency. The measures included in the study were: 1.) The ACE Scale, a 10-item measure that captures the total number of ACEs experienced per respondent. Responses are captured in a “yes” or “no” format, with the number of ACEs totaled to produce scores ranging from 0-10; 2.)  The Hope Scale, a brief measure of dispositional hope that has demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in multiple studies; and the 3.) PHQ-9, a brief measure of well being that includes both depression and anxiety items.A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to examine differences between ACE groups on the 3 dependent variables of interest. 

Results: The sample consisted of a gender breakdown of 38% female and 62% male. Regarding ethnicity, the sample was: Asian 2%; America Indian 14%; African American 17%; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 1%; White 48%; Hispanic 1%; Multiracial 16%;  Other 1%. The average age was 47 years (SD ±12.9).

Using Pillai’s trace for interpretation, results indicated a statistically significant difference between the ACE groups (0-4+) on the variables of  hope, depression, and anxiety (V = 0.295, F (12, 204) = 1.854, p = .042).  Planned polynomial contrasts indicated a statistically significant linear trend on the variables by ACE score, with greater ACEs being negatively associated with hope and positively associated with depression and anxiety. 

Implications: Given that hope has been shown to be positively associated with life satisfaction, global self-worth, and perceptions of meaningfulness of life, the negative relationship between ACE scores and hope suggests the importance of trauma informed interventions to reduce the harsh impact of ACEs on psychological well-being.  Trauma informed interventions with ACEs survivors  may be enhanced by incorporating specific therapy elements from hope based therapies designed to increase hopeful thinking.